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Melbourne’s Crown Casino is a huge complex on the Yarra River waterfront in inner city Southbank, a short walk from Melbourne’s CBD.
Built at a cost of over A$1 billion, the complex includes the 482 room Crown Towers Hotel and the 465 Crown Promenade Hotel.
Online bookings are available for rooms at the two hotels at the Crown Complex - Click here to book a room at the Crown Towers Hotel or Click here to book a room at the Crown Promenade Hotel.
Linking the hotels and casino are several levels of upmarket shopping arcades with restaurants, bars, boutiques and specialty shops. Shops include upmarket retailers like Armani, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Burberry.
There is also a cavernous food centre with Asian, Indian, Italian and western foods at under $10 a meal. You can get everything from the finest dining in Melbourne to $2 slices of pizza in this place.
There is also a cinema complex, a huge children’s amusement parlour and a range of bars that includes a sports bar, several nightclubs, upmarket cocktail bars and live entertainment nightspots – 11 different venues in total. We went on a pub crawl covered half a dozen different pubs without leaving the Crown complex.
The Casino itself is built over several levels and is massive, spreading over half a kilometre along the river bank. Crown claims to be the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s easy to believe. There are endless rows of video “pokies” as well as traditional table games like roulette, blackjack, poker, baccarat. Everything is glitz on a massive scale – there are flashing lights, large video screens promising huge jackpots and enticements like cars for the lucky winners.
Drink service is provided to gamblers on the floor or you can go to one of several bars on the casino floor itself. Whilst smoking is banned on the gaming floor it is allowed in the bars – watch out for the massive smoke haze when you enter a bar for a drink!
If you are hungry there are over 40 restaurants and eating spots in the complex. Everything from casual snacks to 5 star Asian and western cuisine is on offer.
Other facilities include the Palladium ballroom, and the Palms at Crown concert venue which regularly hosts international performers and rock groups. There is also a bowling alley for those so inclined.
Dress standards are very casual with sports shoes and t shirts quite acceptable. There is ample but expensive onsite parking available.
The best thing about the Crown complex in this writer’s view is the level of integration with the city. You aren’t forced to eat at one of Crown’s restaurants – there are hundreds of cafes, bars and restaurants just a 10 minute walk away in downtown Melbourne.
The lobby of the Crown Towers hotel is so ostentatious and impressive that it is worth a visit on its own. There is a well lit water feature and fountain which is just amazing to see. And with rooms at the hotel starting at A$300 a night, the guests expect nothing less.
Outside the complex on the Southbank Promenade there is a series of massive gas pyres which fire up hourly at night and an impressive light and water fountain display. You can enjoy these for free along with the beautiful views across the river to Melbourne’s glittering skyline. See our article on these attractions - click here to read more.
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HOTEL RESERVATIONS 
