Although Birches is a renovated 70's style apartment block, the decor of the rooms is pleasant enough. They are, however, quite small. A "one bedroom apartment" is more of a small studio: there is a dividing wall, but no door between sleeping and living areas. A surcharge is added for extra guests sleeping on sofa beds. The sofas in our room were, however, uncomfortable to sleep on. You were essentially lying on a leather platform, difficult to fit sheets to. An uncomfortable metal bar running down the middle meant that you had to confine yourself to half. There was a very faint, but not problematic, smell of cigarette smoke in the room.

Although staff were friendly, extra charges meant the place seemed to have a meanness about it. Parking in the extraordinarily tight spaces was an extra $10 a night. Borrowing a DVD from the front desk seemed to have a charge of $6.

Utterly appalling was the typed, laminated note left in our (and, I presume, every) room with the barefaced request: "(The maid) has serviced your apartment during your stay, a small token of appreciation would be greatly appreciated" followed by a clip art picture of a piggy bank. The management should know that gratuities for housekeeping are not the done thing in Australia. They should realise that we have no need to adopt this dubious American custom. Increasing the wages of maids rather than relying on the fluctuating generosity of guests guarantees the secure income they deserve. And then there's this indisputable fact they seem to have forgotten: it's just plain bad manners to ask for a tip.

The location, however, was reasonably good. The Melbourne CBD was a longish, but achievable walk. Frequent trams stop a block away on Victoria Pde. North Richmond, only slightly further, has a station, an Aldi and good value Vietnamese cuisine. The wealthy suburb of East Melbourne contains pleasant examples of Victorian Architecture.

I have stayed a number of times now with Birches in East Melbourne and I continue to chose them as my accommodation preference when I am travelling with my pet. The Apartments are older, but comfortable. The friendliness of the staff makes us feel welcome each time. Conveniently located on a tram line which takes you into the CBD in a matter of minutes. The BBQ was a great place to relax outside our apartment as there are no balconies.

Perfect apartments for a short or long stay in Melbourne - very close to MCG and CBD. Tram 109 takes you straight to the free City Circle route!
Apartments are simple but comfortable and the place is immaculately maintained. Best of all, the staff were friendly and very helpful.
We've booked our return stay already!

Coming from a rural area and being very unsure about trams, trains & car travel, we learned all we needed to know from the very helpful & friendly staff. Nothing was too much for them and being an extra busy time for them due to a lot happening in Melbourne, the staff always made time to attend to our never ending questions and when we encountered a problem, they were there to suggest and offer ways to solve it... A lovely spot, within walking/tram distance of most major attractions .A huge thank you from a very grateful and appreciative family...