Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport: Pre-Cruise Hotel Review

The verdict

Holiday Inn Airport ranks sixteenth of nineteen, on 15 points, and it's built for planes, not ships. The hotel says it's 400 metres from Terminals 1, 2 and 3, a five-minute walk, and runs a 24-hour shuttle that costs A$3 (about US$2) a person to the airport and is free from it.

Our routing puts Station Pier 16.2 road miles (26.1 km) away, 26 minutes with no traffic — so the walk and the shuttle both end at the terminals. The hotel's parking packages are written for airport flights, so don't read them as cruise parking.

Vargas Restaurant and Bar serves modern Australian food, and a fitness centre is listed — but there's no pool, and no breakfast with a standard room. Two parking prices on the hotel's own pages disagree, so settle that before you pay.

I'd pick it for a late landing before the ship, or a night before an early flight, and not for being near the pier.

Book it if

You land late and want a 24-hour shuttle to the terminals.
You want bags held at the front desk while you sort out the pier taxi.
You have children under 12, who eat free through the Kids Stay and Eat Free programme.

Look elsewhere if

You're hoping for a pool after a long flight.
You want breakfast in a standard rate. It's sold as a package.
You'd like one parking price. The hotel's FAQ and its parking page disagree.

The Night Before

Vargas for dinner, a gym instead of a pool

The evening

Food or bar on site

Vargas Restaurant and Bar serves modern Australian food. A fitness centre is listed, and no pool is stated.

Free breakfast

Not in the rate

No breakfast comes with a standard room, and a Breakfast and Parking Package is sold on top.

Address

Centre Road, Melbourne Airport

10-14 Centre Road, Melbourne Airport VIC 3045
Hotel website

To the Ship

Terminals in five minutes on foot, the pier in 26 by car

This hotelOther ranked hotels, tap one to open itCruise terminalStraight line to the ship, not a routeReal geography: NOAA’s GSHHG shoreline, generalised — the Yarra River and the bay piers aren’t drawn at this scale, so Station Pier’s pin sits at the shoreline. Map pins from the Esri World Geocoder: address matches, except Pullman City Centre and The Hamptons Apartments, which are place matches, and the Grants Road pin that Novotel and ibis Styles at the airport share, which is a street point. The Station Pier pin is Esri’s point for 6 Waterfront Place, not a berth, and the airport pin is a point at the terminals.

The 400 metres is the hotel's own figure, and it's to the terminals, so the walk saves you nothing on the ship leg.

Leg 1 · Melbourne Airport to the hotel

Hotel shuttle

A$3 a person to the airport · free from it

A 24-hour on-demand shuttle runs to the terminals. It costs A$3 a person to the airport, and nothing coming back.

Hotel shuttle

Leg 2 · Hotel to the ship

Shuttle not stated

No ride to the pier is listed. The 24-hour shuttle goes to the terminals, so the pier is a taxi you book.

Leg 1 · The tram toward the pier

Tram link not documented

The walk and the shuttle end at the terminals, and the hotel's pages name no rail link, so we haven't counted one.

Driving? The hotel's two parking prices are laid out further down, and they disagree.

Leg 2 · Hotel to the ship

Shuttle not stated

Same on the way out: the shuttle stops at the terminals, so the pier is a taxi.

Landing the night before the ship? That's what this hotel is for.

Which terminal

Station Pier

Station Pier is the one cruise terminal, and the lines and the season are in the Melbourne cruise guide.

Source: ports.vic.gov.au

Distance

400 metres from Terminals 1, 2 and 3, per the hotel

The hotel's 400 metres and five minutes are the walk to the airport. The ship is a separate trip, by car.

Source: melbourneairport.holidayinn.com

By tram

Tram link not documented

No tram or train link is named, and the walk and the shuttle are for the terminals.

Source: melbourneairport.holidayinn.com

To the ship

No shuttle stated

The shuttle doesn't run that way, so the pier is a taxi from the hotel.

Source: melbourneairport.holidayinn.com

Score

15 points: a 10 for distance, a 5 for dinner

15No. 16 of 19

Distance to the pier10/30

Getting to the ship0/25

A ride to the pier0/20

Free breakfast0/10

The evening before5/15

The airport band earns 10 of 30 and the restaurant adds 5 — with no pool, the evening scores 5 of 15, and the scale tops out at 100.

Sail Morning

The A$3 shuttle, then a taxi

A$3 a person gets you to the terminals on the 24-hour shuttle. The pier is a separate taxi.

Evening

Dinner and gym

Vargas for dinner, a fitness centre, and no pool.

Before bed

Shuttle and taxi

Use the shuttle for the terminals only; the pier needs its own taxi.

Sail morning

Breakfast

Not in a standard rate. The Breakfast and Parking Package is the add-on.

Heading out

To the pier

Skip the shuttle on sail morning and book a taxi — it's 26 minutes by car with no traffic on our routing.

Parking

Guest parking

Ask which parking price applies before you book.

The Pier

A$28 pre-booked, A$40 not

Guest parking

Guest parking from A$28

The hotel's FAQ gives A$28 (about US$20) a night if pre-booked and A$40 (about US$30) if not. Its parking page says from A$25 (about US$17) for a walk-in.

Source: melbourneairport.holidayinn.com

At Station Pier

Limited, charged, no rate

Neither is a cruise rate — the hotel's parking packages are written for airport flights.

At the pier, Ports Victoria lists limited, charged parking in Waterfront Place and prints no rate. Compare the pier parking with the hotel's car park, or see what the tram section says.

Source: ports.vic.gov.au

Fact Sheet

Packages, bags and kids

Bags are the easy part — the front desk stores them before check-in and after check-out, per the hotel.

Check-in and check-out

Check-in14:00

Check-out11:00 — IHG One Rewards members can check out as late as 14:00

Minimum age

—

Holiday Inn Airport gives no minimum age.

Extra fees

Not stated

Wi-Fi

Not stated

Parking for your stay

A$28 a night pre-booked, A$40 if not (FAQ) — the parking page says from A$25 for a walk-in

Breakfast

Not included with a standard room — a Breakfast and Parking Package is sold

Pool

A fitness centre — no pool is stated

Pets

The pages we read for Holiday Inn Airport don't mention pets.

Food and drink on site

Vargas Restaurant and BarModern Australian

Rooms

Rooms with two double beds and interconnecting rooms — counts and sizes aren't stated.

Accessibility

Nothing on accessible rooms appears in the pages we read. If you need one, ring Holiday Inn Airport before you book.

On site

EV chargingNot stated
Guest laundryNot stated
GymYes
Pets allowedNot stated

Nearby, by the hotel’s count

Terminals 1, 2 and 3400 metres, a five-minute walk

The 400 metres and the five minutes are the hotel's own count, in its own units.

Also worth knowing

The front desk stores bags before check-in and after check-out
Kids under 12 eat free through its Kids Stay and Eat Free programme

Worth Knowing

Airport distances, not ship distances

On the hotel's pages

Check-in at 14:00, check-out at 11:00 — IHG One Rewards members can check out as late as 14:00.
The shuttle costs A$3 a person to the airport, and nothing coming back.
Kids under 12 eat free through the Kids Stay and Eat Free programme.
Bags are stored at the front desk before check-in and after check-out.
No room rate appears in the text we read, so ask what the total includes.

Not on them

A pool
Room count and sizes
Which parking price applies

These facts are from the hotel's pages, read October 6, 2026 — its parking figures conflict between two pages. Get the parking rate from the hotel, not a package page.