‘Right in our own backyard’: Is this Brisbane’s best staycay?

There’s a hidden gem right here in the city offering culture, roof-top bars and fine dining. Is it Brisbane‘s best staycation?

Through the spokes of the Wheel of Brisbane, a shard of late afternoon sun is glinting off the tall and slender The One tower on the other side of the river.

To the south, walkers, joggers, cyclists and scooter riders are streaming back and forth like ants across the Goodwill Bridge while below us, South Bank is bustling with blue-sky Saturday crowds.

It’s the first weekend of the school holidays and we’re taking in the vista from the balcony of our king suite in Rydges South Bank, where we’ve just checked in to savour one of the “springtime staycation” experiences on offer at the hotel.

Our social media feeds might be littered with envy-inducing posts from friends soaking up the sun in Europe or Bali, but there’s a lot to be said for a nice little “staycay”. Aside from the fact you don’t need to re-mortgage the house to pay for airfares, Brissie really is beautiful at this time of year – and there’s so much to see and do right in our own back yard.

While Rydges offers undercover valet parking, we opt to take the train from our home on the Gold Coast. We mistakenly get off at South Bank station (South Brisbane is actually much closer to Rydges) but our rail fail gives us the chance to stroll to the hotel via the Grand Arbour with its vibrant pink bougainvillea canopy.

View from the Rydges South Bank

The Brisbane Festival is in full swing and the parklands are packed with punters soaking up the fun and sun, or wining and dining in buzzing bars, restaurants and cafes.

Our spacious corner suite in the Rydges boasts a separate luxe bedroom with king bed and ensuite, queen sofa bed lounge in the living room, two big-screen TVs, kitchenette with microwave and Nespresso machine and a large balcony to enjoy the river views.

First order of business is a sunset cocktail in the Soleil pool bar on the hotel’s podium level, replete with colourful and comfy furnishings from which to take in the balmy vibe.

As darkness falls, we join the throngs on the Goodwill Bridge for a pleasant walk to the Botanic Gardens to check out Lightscape, one of the Brisbane Festival’s major attractions.

Billed as “an after-dark oasis of botanical brilliance”, the internationally-acclaimed Lightscape is a 2km self-guided journey of the senses that sees the park’s real and man-made trees, plants and water features light up in alternating neon colours with an ethereal soundtrack and the city skyline as a backdrop.

Oohs and aahs abound as we meander with the crowds through the gardens, pausing to admire (and Instagram) larger-than-life water lilies, Indigenous artwork illuminated on the pathway and tunnels of golden lights and hanging poppies.

It’s a magical experience but dinner soon beckons and we make our way back to Rydges where a divine degustation menu awaits in Bacchus, the hotel’s elegant fine-dining restaurant.

Here, we’re treated to a sumptuous seven-course feast featuring sashimi with ponzu, golden sesame, daikon and sea grape; champagne lobster with chardonnay sauce and potato; duck with cannellini, lentils and juniper jus; melt-in-the-mouth black angus eye fillet with pumpkin, dukkha, pepitas and red wine jus and a quirky but delicious mascarpone and mulled wine apple dessert.

Soleil pool bar at Rydges South Bank.

Each course is paired with a delightful selection of wines, starting with Ghost Rock Sparkling, Grosset Apiana fiano (sashimi), Dicey chenin blanc (lobster), Coates pinot noir (risotto), Yangarra Old Vine grenache (duck), Moss Wood Amy’s cabernet (eye fillet) and Disznoko Tokaji late harvest furmint (dessert).

Our excellent young waiter, Ryac, explains each course and accompanying wine but when he also offers us the Chef’s cheese selection, our protesting waist bands say we must politely decline.

The following morning, Brisbane is again bathed in spring sunshine and we take an early morning river loop stroll to walk off some of the previous night’s excesses. Then, it’s back to Bacchus for yet more food in the form of the hotel’s hearty buffet breakfast.

Later, we get swept up in a Voice “Yes” rally as we make our way over to GOMA to check out captivating feature exhibitions by two acclaimed but very different Australian artists in eX de Medici (Beautiful Wickedness) and Michael Zavros (The Favourite).

Big-name exhibitions aside (sadly both will be over by the time we go to press), you can get lost for hours in GOMA and the Queensland Art Gallery, but another staycation highlight awaits us over at QPAC: a matinee performance of Mamma Mia! The Musical.

Stocked up with popcorn and luridly-coloured alcoholic slushies, we take our seats in a full-house Lyric Theatre for one of the final Brisbane shows of this global hit musical. While it’s the end of a six-week season for this Abba-solutely fabulous show, there are more big-ticket musicals on the horizon for QPAC including Chicago and Beauty and The Beast.

Bacchus restaurant at Rydges South Bank.

After the show, we head back to Rydges for a freshen-up and late afternoon beverage on the balcony before jumping into an Uber for a ride across town to one of Brisbane’s coolest rooftop bars, MAYA in Fortitude Valley.

The upmarket Mexican joint is pumping when we arrive, our visit coinciding with the launch of the venue’s groovy Sunday Vibes and Tunes sessions that will run throughout summer.

A DJ has the young and beautiful crowd “vibing”, as they say, and Josh the bar manager shows us somewhat more “mature” patrons to a table towards the back of the establishment but with a stunning outlook over the city. A delicious guacamole bowl, a tequila shot and a few margaritas later, we’re vibing too as the music cranks up and the sun sinks.

We awake the next morning back at Rydges, a little the worse for wear. But it’s nothing that a dip in the hotel pool and a slap-up brekky at Bacchus before checkout won’t fix.

Rydges South Bank Brisbane
9 Glenelg St, South Brisbane

Spring Staycation packages are from $319pn and include buffet breakfast and valet parking.

rydges.com