This was published 5 years ago
Howard Smith Wharves' new hotel is a giant love letter to Asher Keddie
By Lydia Lynch
Everywhere guests turn at Howard Smith Wharves' freshly minted six-storey hotel, they will see one of Australia's most loved actors looking back.
The Fantauzzo hotel, which opened on Tuesday, is themed on the work of acclaimed Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo.
Artist Vincent Fantauzzo with a painting of his wife, Asher Keddie.Credit: Penny Stephens
More than two dozen prints of Fantauzzo wife, Offspring star and Gold Logie winner Asher Keddie, adorn the walls of the 166 room hotel.
There is even a suite named after her.
Heath Ledger adorns a suite. Credit: Cieran Murphy
Other familiar faces include director Baz Luhrmann and actors Heath Ledger and Guy Pearce.
More than 500 of Fantauzzo's prints, mostly portraits, line the corridors and rooms of the latest Art Series Hotel.
The $100 million hotel, hugging the cliffs beneath the Story Bridge, is the Art Series Hotel Group’s second Brisbane venture.
Its first, The Johnson (inspired by artist Michael Johnson), opened at Spring Hill in 2016. The group has a total of eight hotels, each dedicated to the work of a single artist.
The Fantauzzo was the final piece of the puzzle for the long-awaited revitalisation of the Howard Smith Wharves, which was originally put forward in 2006.
More than a decade after the idea was first floated, the plan to transform 3.4 hectares of old wharf lands has become a reality.
After a series of false starts, the majority of the precinct was open in time for Christmas last year, including a mix of corporate and wedding event venues with public bars, eateries and restaurants.
The wharves were first used by their namesake Captain William Howard Smith, who used them as part of his inter-colonial passenger and freight network in the 1880s.
The wharves were then used for cargo until 1960s before the Queensland Water Police used it as a base until the 1980s.
The flagship hotel began its "soft opening" at the weekend before the offical launch party on May 2.
Art Series Hotel's operations manager Andrew Maynard said the hotel was styled to complement the art work throughout the hotel.
An artist's impression of the hotel at Howard Smith Wharves.
"We are incredibly excited that everything is finished and ready to go," he said.
"Why would you not want to build a hotel here? It is in a city ripe for growth and in a great location.
"All the developments here have really brought the wharves back to life."
The Fantauzzo has now become the second five-star hotel to open in Brisbane’s CBD in 20 years, after the W Brisbane on George Street opened its doors in mid-2018.
Marriott’s W Brisbane was the first stage of Shayer Group’s $1 billion mixed-use precinct Brisbane Quarter.