The best places to stay in Brisbane

The Calile Hotel Brisbane: This former big country town has come of age, and its accommodation offerings reflect this.

If you haven't been in a few years, you won't recognise Brisbane. This former big country town has come of age – establishing itself as one of Australia's most sophisticated cities. Its accommodation offerings reflect this, with billions of dollars' worth of investment into some of the best new hotels in Australia. There's everything here from five-star city hotels to historic guesthouses, even resorts on islands just a short journey from the city centre.

Crystalbrook Vincent

Perfect for: Culture lovers who love to be social

It's as much an art gallery as a hotel. But you don't have to love art to stay. If you're a fan of a killer view, you'll love the panoramic one from the roof-top bar of the hotel over the Brisbane River and CBD. The Crystalbrook Vincent is carved into a sandstone cliff under the Story Bridge, and you can stroll right straight out of the lobby and into Brisbane's best new entertainment and dining precinct, the Howard Smith Wharves. You can also choose between rooms cocooned into a rock, or rooms with views over the city.

5 Boundary Street, Brisbane City. Phone: [phone]. See crystalbrookcollection.com/Vincent. From $265 a night.

Emporium Hotel

Perfect for: Couples and families who want to feel spoiled

There's 143 suites with river views set in Brisbane's premier arts and leisure precinct, South Bank (across the river from the CBD). There's also an infinity pool on the roof-top, beside restaurants and bars with views over the entire city. Or you could lash out on one of Australia's fanciest penthouses, The Parklands Suite, which has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, three dining rooms, a 15-metre infinity pool and a wrap-around balcony on the 21st floor of the hotel. It comes with an Ambassador (think: a butler who doesn't stay in your room).

267 Grey Street, South Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. See www.emporiumhotels.com.au. From $339 a night.

Novotel South Bank

Perfect for: Families keen to keep the kids busy

The Novotel South Bank offers something for every traveller – especially those with small children. Parents have plenty of options staying in the heart of Brisbane's cultural precinct, a short walk from the city. But kids are particularly well catered for, with an outdoor racetrack for electric cars, an outdoor pool with all manner of pool toys, a Lego butler who can deliver Lego any time of the day or night, a kids' mini bar and teepees set up in the junior suites of each family suite with lots of games – the perfect haven for kids to escape to.

38 Cordelia St, South Bank. Phone: [phone]. See www.novotelbrisbanesouthbank.com.au. From $269 a night.

Spicers Balfour Hotel

Perfect for: Couples escaping to the city

Spicers Retreats offer rural sanctuaries in some of Australia's prettiest regions - this is the city version, following the same philosophies. Located in the chic inner-city suburb of New Farm, the hotel offers nine rooms within an historic Queenslander, and eight suites within an Art Deco building next door. Both have access to a roof-top bar with a honesty drinks system, and one of the city's most fancied Vietnamese restaurants, Balfour Kitchen & Bar. You're a two-minute stroll from cafes, restaurants, bars and boutiques - but when you're home, hide in your private little world.

37 Balfour Street, New Farm. Phone: [phone]. See spicersretreats.com. From $349 a night.

Hotel X

Perfect for: Foodie and art loving couples

Look out for the huge white geometric façade – but what would you expect of a hotel in Brisbane's hippest neighbourhood, Fortitude Valley. Don't worry: this place isn't at all pretentious, even its roof-top restaurant, Iris, Brisbane's trendiest roof-top venue, is gloriously free from attitude. Book a suite to secure an outdoor terrace overlooking the city, there's artwork on every wall and a French bistro and bar in the lobby. Hotel X is proof (if you needed it) that Brisbane has truly come-of-age culturally. The James Street Precinct is a two minute walk away.

458 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. Phone: [phone]. See hotelx.com.au. From $230 a night.

Tangalooma Island Resort

Perfect for: A family holiday combining city and sand

Brisbane is home to over 350 islands set in Moreton Bay – consider them Queensland's most under-rated (semi) tropical islands. Take a 75 minute fast catamaran ride from the city and you'll find one of the best family accommodation options in Brisbane. Set on the world's second-largest sand island (Moreton Island), Tangalooma Island Resort offers families beaches, snorkelling over shipwrecks, sand toboganning, whale watching tours and hand-feeding wild dolphins. It's an easy escape after or before a city vacation for families who like a bit of everything when they travel.

Moreton Island. Phone: [phone]. See www.tangalooma.com. From $239 a night.

Adina Apartment Hotel

Perfect for: Couples and families who might like to eat in

Here's a hotel in the heart of the city which suits everyone from families to couples on a romantic break. Built within a 1920s government bank building, you'll enter via an old bank chamber that doubles as a lobby with dramatic high ceilings, marble floors, columns and timber panels. Your room has a kitchen to keep costs down, although there's a Donna Chang restaurant downstairs with a Chef's Hat rating that's mighty tempting. You'll also get great cocktails at the Boom Boom Room and you can do laps, or catch some sun rays, at a heated pool open to the Queensland sky.

171 George Street, City. Phone: [phone]. See www.adinahotels.com.au. From $205 a night.

The Calile

Perfect for: Couples that want it all

Pinch us, are we in Beverley Hills? This is the hotel that really put Brisbane on the map. It's more an inner-city resort than a hotel, rooms are all oriented around a 30-metre-long swimming pool encircled by cabanas, palm trees and one of Queensland's best restaurants, Hellenika. It's quite a scene here – but while some of the guests strut, there's no hint of pretense from friendly staff. Located in the heart of Brisbane's hip James Street precinct, if you make it past your hotel, you'll find the city's best bars, boutiques and restaurants just outside.

48 James Street, Fortitude Valley. Phone: [phone]. See thecalilehotel.com. From $431 a night.

Treasury Hotel

Perfect for: Couples who love the roulette table, and a lot more

If you fancy a flutter, there's nowhere better in Queensland to sleep. Though you'd come for the history, or the dining options. The Treasury Hotel is part of Brisbane City's Treasury Casino, so the roulette wheel is an elevator ride away. Located next to the Brisbane River and built within a 135-year-old heritage building, it's easy to escape the bright lights of the city into Brisbane's colonial past. Your room has a sandstone exterior and a 5.4-metre-high ceiling with Edwardian-Baroque finishes, but downstairs there's five restaurants and five bars and the casino's open all night long.

130 William Street, Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. See www.treasurybrisbane.com.au. From $239 a night.

Hotel Indigo

Perfect for: Couples who want culture at a good price

Only the second of its kind for the boutique-hipster brand. Built beside the river in North Quay on the edge of the city, this is what you'd call an art hotel, though it doesn't go overboard and become a museum. Art hits you before you even enter – there's a 16-storey mural on the outside of the building. There's also murals painted by local artists in the lobby, as well as sculptures and suspended overhead installations. You'll love its on-site Japanese restaurant, Izakaya Publico, while its speak-easy bar, 1603, is one of the better hotel bars in Brisbane.

27/35 Turbot Street, City. Phone: [phone]. See hotelindigo.com/hotels/gb/en/Brisbane. From $229 a night.

The Inchcolm by Ovolo

Perfect for: Guests who like nostalgia with convenience

The Inchcolm By Ovolo epitomises Brisbane's evolution; for it feels part big country town with its Martini happy hour each afternoon where strangers chat to each other, but it's very city-chic too, with its enormous open-walled bar that doubles as reception and hip Art Deco touches throughout. Located on the edge of the CBD in Brisbane's leafy Spring Hill beside Fortitude Valley's endless night-time entertainment options, every room is individually decorated with a nod to its century-old heritage, but with enough modern touches to keep it cutting-edge.

73 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill. Phone: [phone]. See ovolohotels.com/ovolo/inchcolm. From $249 a night.

W Brisbane

Perfect for: Couples and families who like style – with oodles of home comforts

This is one of Australia's best hotels for the simple reason: it feels nice being here. It cost $800 million to build and was the first W Hotel to open in Australia, but despite a resident in-house DJ keeping the tunes playing throughout the hotel and a décor that looks like a lounge bar in New York, it feels about as comfy as home. Though your home probably doesn't have a bar like The Wet Deck, an open-air venue set around a swimming pool where you can watch the sun set over Mt Coot-tha, or a restaurant like Three Blue Ducks, the iconic paddock-to-plate Bronte and Byron Bay eatery in its first hotel venue.

W Hotel, 81 North Quay Road, Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. See www.wbrisbane.com. From $350 a night.