Locations is absolutely perfect. Next to southern cross station, tram around the corner and a 5 minute walk from the Yarra river.
Unfortunately I could not upload my first rooms pictures because they are panoramic.
This is the 2nd room I stayed in (arrived a day early so made 2 separate bookings).
This room (135) in the prison like set up was not for me. First floor hardly any day light/fresh air and a smoking area in-front of my room. This is the back part of the hotel.
One night there was even construction going on till around midnight I think from the building behind us.
The other section (front/street side) it is better. What a hotel should be.
Wifi did also not work properly and because your build in my optus network did only work when I was sitting infront off the window
6/10 is my rating

My wife and I recently needed to stay in Melbourne, Victoria for a family event. While we were there there was a lot of competition for accommodation with the Grand Prix, football and a number of other events. We chose to book into the Great Southern Hotel on Spencer Street. The address gave us a heads up re train noise as it is down the street from one of Victoria's busiest railway station. The rooms are basic but clean and fit with the three or so star reputation. Costs were inflated due to the myriad of events happening while we were there. The staff were friendly and helpful and the place is convenient as we needed to travel by train most days.
What we did not expect however was the constant night time noise caused by drunken people yelling and swearing throughout much of each night on the street around the Hotel. The noise was so loud and offensive it caused great difficulty sleeping and to go out on the street after about 2230 hours was a most unpleasant experience. I know that the Great Southern cannot be responsible for the poor behaviour of louts staying at the nearby backpackers or attending the nearby drinking establishment but this is a factor that travellers who are with children or family do need to consider. The weekend was particularly bad for this loutish behaviour.
There is a small restaurant attached to the hotel where you can get meals from breakfast to dinner. The food is acceptable and reasonably priced and the staff are friendly and helpful. You are waiting for a "but" and you are correct. While we were there we experienced some less than considerate behaviour from other patrons. This included people picking up food from the service tubs in their hands (scrambled eggs for one). Another involved putting the spoon from the conserve bottles into their mouth and then back into the bottles. Just a little warning that some travellers don't share the same food safety standards as others. If you are concerned about any of these issues that we experienced I would suggest you look somewhere else.

We booked two rooms in this hotel for it's easy access to Southern Cross station and the Sky Bus. It was a very reasonable price and great location.
We both booked a 'courtyard' room thinking it would be quieter than ones facing busy Spencer St. Problem was there is minimal natural light and because the 'courtyard' is all concrete and metal it echoes noise from every level. It's possible non-courtyard rooms would be better.
The room was small and a bit stuffy - needed the air-conditioner on all night, not all the light switches worked, no bedside lamp and the bed was not very comfortable.
The cost was reasonable for the location, the bathroom was great but the room itself was in need of maintenance.
I probably wouldn't stay there again, even with the reasonable cost.