I travel a lot and have stayed at many different Hotels. I have stayed at the Gateway over 80 times for both business and pleasure and have always enjoyed the experience.

My wife & I recently returned from a relaxing long weekend in Melbourne.
We chose to stay at the Clarion Suites mainly due to other reviews on this site, location & price. We stayed in a One bedroom riverview apartment.
Had all the amenities you would expect (fully equip Kitchen, stereo, flat screen Tv, DVD etc..)
From 7pm you can see the fire display from the Crown complex, which is something different.
The location can't be faulted, Crown casino 2mins walk (great restaurants), CBD 2mins, or catch the free tram outside.
The overall apartment is clean & comfortable with reasonable room. We did have an issue with the air con not heating up (which they promptly solved, and our DVD player didn't work-again happily & quickly replaced it. So no complaints with service or staff), I think it is important how problems are dealt with rather than the problem itself.
I would have no problems staying here again, & would definately recommend it to others.

Just a small heads up that it is located on a railway line, so you can hear trains time to time, but we soon forgot about it.
You are afterall in a hotel in the CBD and some noise is not avoidable.

Also, if you like Chinese food, you must eat at the Red Emperor within the Southgate complex. Not the cheapest place, but well worth it.

Enjoy!

I recently stayed at this hotel and found the hotel rooms very spacious, lovely to have somewhere to relax (couch in rooms) with separate bedroom very adequate kitchen. We ordered room service and it was delivered promptly and a great meal. There is a pool on the fifth floor and great for swimming some laps before enjoying a cooked breakfast. The location of this hotel is great , a short walk to Crown Casino and the free City Circle tram stop right outside the hotel. The level of service at this hotel was excellent from reception and restaurant staff.

I stay at the Clarion Suite Gateway 3 to 4 nights a week, every week. This I have been doing for the last 18 months. The location is great, it is near the Yarra river, South Bank precinct and the crown casino. The spacious rooms with full ammenties, kitchen & balcony, gives you plenty of space to move and spread out. But what keeps me coming back to the same hotel is the customer service. I can not speak more highly of the staff and management. Whilst this service continues I will continue to use and recommend this hotel.