Best family-friendly accommodation in Melbourne: hotels and apartments for travelling with kids

Before you start comparing specific properties, it helps to know what you’re looking for.

• A separate bedroom, or at least a wall between the grown-ups and the kids’ bedtime
• A full kitchen or kitchenette, so you’re not eating out for every meal
• In-room laundry if you’re staying more than a couple of nights
• A cot on request, and enough floor space for a travel cot to actually go up
• A spot inside or near the Free Tram Zone, so you’re not relying on a car to get to the big attractions

If Melbourne Zoo, the Museum, Sea Life and Queen Victoria Market are all on the list, a CBD base makes life easiest. At Veriu Queen Victoria Market, you’re an 8-minute walk from the market itself, in a Quad Suite or one-bedroom suite that sleeps three or four, with a full kitchen in every room. The real drawcard for families, though, is the complimentary heated indoor pool. It’s the kind of thing that turns a rainy afternoon from a problem into a highlight.

Prefer to arrive by train and walk from there? Punthill Flinders Lane sits right by Flinders Street Station, with two-bedroom apartments sleeping up to five, a full kitchen and guest laundry in every unit.

Travelling with grandparents, or two families together? You’ll want three bedrooms, not two. Punthill Manhattan, on Flinders Lane, has a three-bedroom apartment sleeping up to seven, with a full kitchen and its own laundry, an easy walk from the MCG and Rod Laver Arena if anyone in the family is there for the sport as much as the sightseeing. Punthill South Yarra has a three-bedroom adjoining apartment that also sleeps seven, close to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Yarra Trail, handy if you want somewhere to run the kids around outdoors between museum visits.

Not every family holiday needs to be CBD-based. About 30 minutes’ drive west of the city, Punthill Caroline Springs has lake-view apartments and two-bedroom interconnecting units, with on-site parking from $12 a night. It’s a genuinely practical base if Werribee Open Range Zoo is on the itinerary, or you’re driving in from regional Victoria and would rather not navigate the CBD with a car full of luggage.

Every Punthill and Veriu property across Victoria, with current rates and room configurations, is listed at Punthill Victoria.

• Confirm the apartment has the number of bedrooms you actually need, not just the guest count
• Check whether the property is inside the Free Tram Zone if you’re not planning to drive
• Ask about kitchen equipment if you’re cooking most nights rather than just reheating
• Check parking costs and availability if you’re driving, since CBD parking is rarely free
• Request a cot or any accessibility needs when you book, rather than on arrival

Browse every Punthill and Veriu property across Victoria, and check room configurations and rates for your dates, at Punthill.

Are serviced apartments better than hotel rooms for families in Melbourne? For most families, yes. A kitchen cuts the cost and stress of eating out every meal, and a second bedroom means the kids’ bedtime doesn’t end your evening too.

Which Punthill property is closest to Melbourne’s family attractions? Veriu Queen Victoria Market and Punthill Flinders Lane are both inside the Free Tram Zone, so the zoo, museum and aquarium are all a short tram ride away.

Do Punthill Melbourne properties have family or group rooms? Yes. Punthill Manhattan and Punthill South Yarra both have three-bedroom apartments sleeping up to seven, and most other CBD properties offer two-bedroom layouts.