Currently renovating, the Grand Hyatt would be better off closing for six months than forcing guests to endure existing conditions at 5-star prices. All bars and restaurants are closed or downscaled within the Club Floor. The breakfast buffet was limited and moved to a grey, dimly lit function room more akin to a youth hostel than the Hyatt. Assistant front office manager was rude about guest protests even though the price was AUD545 for a standard room and breakfast. A shocking experience.

The Grand Hyatt looked very grand on the internet in Sydney but what a shocker. Ended up in a maze in Wilson's Car Park because you couldn't drive through to the foyer as jackhammering was going on and it was not apparent that there was valet parking .

Had to speak loud at the Reception to compete with the noise. It was lucky for the management that my friend and I were the only one's checking in, as we are not exactly petite and there would be difficulties if we had decided to turn around and stretch our arms in their less than grand miniature foyer.

After 5 minutesin the room I asked for another chair to be bought up which they did and whilst looking at the large stain on the chair, the room attendant noted, "It's dusty and there is a stain but we can't remove it".

The furniture was battered, not matching and not very nice and there was no obvious place to plug the kettle to make a cuppa except on the desk where the laptop was. Asked room service if we could have an extension cord so it could go next to the TV. That never materialised so we had to be careful on the desk.

The room view was depressing you could see the mould growing on the concrete on the roof of a building.

Inside the room due to the renovations we thought we were closer to Flinders Station then we actually were.

Their washing machine must be also in need of refurbishment as we only got one sheet on the bed each and by then we were getting scared and checked that it had been washed.

However, the bathroom was nice and the in room breakfast was excellent which is the only kind thing I can say about the place.

It took 15 minutes to decide that I couldn't stay another night and if my friend was not tired from travelling I would have been out of there, there and then.

But there isa happy ending for my Melbourne holiday, now at the Westin which is fantastic, have already met a refugee from the Grand Hyatt who stayed there the night before and too migrated to the Westin which is just down the road.

I was warned about the renovations and at first was worried but turned out the current renovations aren't so bad (maybe it was worse last yr?). The entrance is now via Russell St so you have to walk past the valet parking entrance so just watch out for cars and cabs driving through.

The noise in the lobby was pretty bad in the morning when I was checking in but since I was out of the hotel except for sleep-time, it wasn't a big deal. Couldn't hear anything from the room though, except for the shower next door.

Service at the reception desk and the temporary bar were excellent except for the porters trying to find my luggage when I went back in the afternoon to pick it up after checking out in the morning. It took 10 mins for them to find my one suitcase. While I was waiting I noticed one of the porters was having major problems finding someone else's bag - he kept coming out with the wrong bag and eventually he took the guest back to the storage room to find his own bag!

Overall, looking forward to returning and maybe I'll even have a chance to check out the famous health club next time.

Big hotel, great location near to shops, restaurants, all walking distance and close to the MCG. Bedroom large, not a great view, bathroom large and a decent hairdryer! Concierge very informative. Breakfast buffet style, good choice. Staff very friendly