New luxury hotels turn up the glamour in Brisbane
Brisbane’s newest crop of luxury hotels — from ultra flamboyant to the elegantly chic — make it easy to stay a little longer. Why go abroad for a vacation when ultimate luxury is at your doorstep?
Brisbane News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Brisbane News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Should you stay or should you go? The answer’s obvious, with Brisbane’s newest crop of luxury hotels. From ultra flamboyant to the elegantly chic, these glamorous haunts make it easy to stay a little longer.
W BRISBANE, city
Brisvegas has never seen anything like it.
With a giant golden thong in the foyer, purple beetles climbing the lift walls, and shiny pineapples as ubiquitous as prawns on a barbie, the new W Brisbane hotel is cool, kitsch and ready to party.
While the grand design includes bold, contemporary artworks and more colour than you can poke a glow stick at, it’s the attention to detail that impresses.
Take the welcome mats in the lifts that are changed thrice-daily, from Good Morning to Good Afternoon and Good Evening; the motion-sensitive neon room numbers that change colour as you pass by; a concierge on hand via WhatsApp; DJs in every bar; and edible lipstick ‘pops’ in the Away Spa lounge. It would be exhausting if it weren’t such fun.
Our room is a Marvellous King Suite, one of 312 guest rooms. Spacious, funky and bright, it has river views and sleeps two but a glamorous sit-up bar for four invites guests to bring friends.
After a seamless check-in, a stressful week calls for a visit to W’s Away Spa — an invigorating exception in an industry dominated by neutral tones and dolphin music.
Imagine rocking up to a slumber party in a glitzy nightclub, complete with tempting cocktail menu, and you’ve got it.
The treatment menu makes for a fun read (Needle-less to Say facial anyone?), but once you’re in a therapist’s hands, it’s all business.
The Corrective Objective facial targets my fine lines, while the therapist offers a skin diagnosis and tips.
Nightfall brings cocktail hour, with the choice of the Living Room Bar, or the glamorous WET Deck poolside bar.
There’s no time to linger though — our table at Three Blue Ducks awaits.
‘The Ducks’, including chefs Darren Robertson and MasterChef 2012 winner Andy Allen, have wildly popular sister venues in Sydney and Byron Bay.
Roasted Moreton Bay bugs with charred cavolo nero and XO butter are a standout, with local craft beers, and the novelty of wine ‘on tap’.
Breakfast at the Ducks is one for the personal ‘best hotel breakfasts ever’ file.
From Asian-inspired hot bowls to a side of hot smoked salmon with lemon dill sauce, it’s a tour de force of flavours and choices.
W Brisbane’s glitz and glamour doesn’t so much challenge notions of restrained good taste as trample all over them in glitter-encrusted kinky boots.
It’s clever, creative and spectacular fun; those lacking a GSOH should probably stay at home.
Book: W Brisbane, 81 North Quay, city, ph: 3556 8888, from $329/night.
THE WESTIN BRISBANE, city
The only thing better than a luxury hotel with a sky-high swimming pool is a luxury hotel with a swim-up bar in its sky-high swimming pool.
The Westin Brisbane has one, and I don’t think I can swim anywhere else now.
It’s the only one of its kind in the CBD. Like a layer cake of luxury, the hotel is stacked with these genius inclusions in a tranquil sanctuary above the city hubbub.
Opened late last year, The Westin is all chilled-out connoisseur with a penchant for relaxation pods and yoga on the pool deck (both available at The Westin) in contrast to its sister hotel W Brisbane, which is pure sequin dress-shimmer.
A health and wellbeing ethos permeates every offering at The Westin and our stay in a Westin Renewal Suite gave us the best of them all. From the king sized Heavenly Bed to the Nespresso coffee machine in the fully equipped kitchen, everything in this executive level suite invites you to unwind and recharge.
There’s a big dose of fun for pint-sized guests too.
A fairylight-adorned teepee appeared in our living room, much to Miss Four’s delight, on our return from lunch.
But back to that pool.
With panoramic city views, it’s surrounded by cabanas and day beds but the best seat is submerged at the deep end.
Here, bartenders serve up killer cocktails and tempting snacks.
But save space for dining at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Eden’s Table.
It’s the place to be after a quick tipple at The Charles, an aviation inspired jazz bar on the ground level that transitions from cafe by day to wine and cocktail bar by night.
Nigella Lawson was recently at Eden’s Table entertaining a room of foodies, but for me it was the seafood that had the real star power.
A starter of grilled Queensland prawns in a chilli jam was only best by a bowl of Moreton Bay bug spaghetti with the perfect chilli hit.
Toowoomba’s Yardstick branded beef is cooked on the parrilla grill, a custom Argentine-style cooker in full view of the dining space.
We tried the Yardstick 18 hour smoked brisket, and the added thrill of selecting a knife for the evening from a debonair Eden’s Table host is another one of those genius inclusions Westin Brisbane surprises you with.
That, and the dessert trolley stacked with macarons, titbits of rocky road, cakes and slices that you can shop like a dessert smorgasbord.
No need to hold back either; just book in for a session at the WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studio in the morning.
Book: The Westin Brisbane, 111 Mary St, city, from $249/night.
EMPORIUM HOTEL SOUTH BANK, South Brisbane
One of the best views of Brisbane’s skyline comes courtesy of a rather unusual vantage point — a bathtub.
Specifically, a bathtub in a River City Suite at Emporium Hotel South Bank, one of Brisbane’s newest boutique luxury hotels.
The chrome spa jets in the long, deep tub wink invitingly; the twin containers of Emporium-branded bath salts beckon with their bespoke scents; and the promised embrace of a plush bathrobe with regal navy piping all but seal the deal.
But then sliding into the waters, my gaze slipped over the kingsize bed to clock an uninterrupted view of Brisbane at “golden hour”, that moment when the setting sun reflects off the glass high-rises and bathes the CBD in an orange glow.
While the river-facing bathrooms afford stunning vistas, they pale next to the three poolside cabana suites on the hotel’s rooftop terrace, overlooking a 23m infinity pool.
Their freestanding bathtubs are front and centre in the suites.
Next to the pool is The Terrace, a rooftop bar with living walls, faux fur-topped bar stools, a light-up dance floor and more magnificent views.
The beauty of the bar is when guests arrive for breakfast the next morning, the dazzling rays provide a perfect excuse for hiding behind dark sunglasses.
But there’s little reason you won’t get a good night’s sleep, with pillow and pyjama menus, and other luxuries such as a Bose soundbar in this haven in the city.
Book: Emporium Hotel South Bank, 267 Grey St, South Brisbane, from $299/night.
THE CALILE HOTEL, Fortitude Valley
It’s the hotel the hip crowd has been waiting for.
Combining Queensland’s subtropical style with South Beach cred, this oasis in the heart of Fortitude Valley’s fashion district is drop dead gorgeous.
Start your stylish stay with an Aperol spritz in the Lobby Bar, where you can watch the designer-clad locals go about their day, then mosey on up to the glamorous pool deck. Whether you’re a swimmer or a spectator, you can’t fail to be impressed by the chic design, sparkling blue water, and shaded cabanas.
After your requisite laps, allow for a tranquil hour or two at Kailo Wellness Medispa — a sanctuary under the arches of The Calile that offers cosmetic procedures; facials using the Ultraceuticals range; beauty treatments and massages.
I was feeling adventurous so opted for some intravenous vitamin therapy under the care of Kailo’s cosmetic physician
Dr Edwina Morgan. Said to be the go-to energy-boosting treatment for the smart set, the session saw me attached to an IV drip of a vitamin solution.
By the time I was done, I was so calm, all I wanted was a snooze in my room — spacious, modern, with a gleaming bathroom.
Think marble vanity and brass taps. Divine.
Nap completed, my partner and I returned to the pool deck for dinner at Hellenika — the Simon Gloftis-owned Greek restaurant which took the number one spot in 2018’s Delicious 100 annual ranking of Queensland eateries.
The delicious souvlaki and dolmades, washed down with a nice Aussie shiraz, prompted memories of taverna dining during my Shirley Valentine days in the Greek islands. If only my digs back then were as glamorous as The Calile.
Book: Take Me Away Calile Package, from $309/night, The Calile Hotel, 48 James St, Fortitude Valley.
CEO drew his now headquarters at age of 15
Tim O’Connor always knew he was destined for the theatre. So much so, that at the age of 15 he had already mapped out the not-for-profit youth arts organisation he would one day lead.
Fark! The herald angels sing: How to survive Christmas
Have yourself a merry old time this silly season with these laugh-out-loud survival tips from fun-loving Brisbane News columnist Brooke Falvey.