Sounds like you were looking for somewhere flash? I stayed in Melb many years ago at a place called Staffa House in Fitzroy. It was such a dive and they charged so much! I believe it’s gone now and a backpackers is in its place

TripAdvisor is always good in finding hotels to suit specific requirements.

I have found Mantra hotels affordable and good.

Check of any Mantra hotels are close by, as they are usually self contained.

Use triviago, I went to Sydney with some girlfriends, and we got a 5 star penthouse for a 3 star price. If your dates coincide with vacancies it’s amazing what you can get

Trivago or lastminute.com are good sites to go to. Also you can get some really good help by going to your state’s motoring organization (like NRMA or RAA), as they can help enormously with finding out what facilities are available at different hotels. They also have free booklets that give details of accommodation covering all areas, price ranges and facilities.

Use the website Trivago or booking.com they are really good and they have really good deals all the time.

Perhaps try looking at accommodation in the Docklands area. My friend and his mother in law recently took his niece and his son there and it had lots of things close by and a large shopping centre as well.