Keep on running
The Westin brand has been carving a wellness niche and its new Brisbane property is no exception.
It’s just after 7, quite brisk but with the promise of a clear, warm Brisbane winter morning. This is the type of day to be taken in leaps and bounds. Indeed, it’s Global Running Day and I’m part of The Westin hotel team on a 5km jog through the city to celebrate the occasion.
But I’m being overpowered by the aroma of coffee from the street cafes and hatches along the way, so (don’t ask, don’t tell) I’m going to peel off, order a cup and take a leisurely stroll through the City Botanic Gardens, along historic George Street and back to the hotel in Mary Street just in time to join the triumphant joggers for a healthy breakfast. I am revelling in how changed is Brisbane, the big smoke of my Queensland country youth, now embracing the river it once ignored. Even at this early hour the streets and riverside paths are a dazzle of walkers, runners, cyclists and scooter-riders.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally in tune with The Westin’s wellness gig. It is the niche the brand has carved for itself within the Marriott Hotels umbrella, promoting a passion for sleeping well, eating well and moving well, so significant for the business and leisure traveller. Later in the day I’ll be working out in the Fitness Studio where the usual “haven’t packed gym clothes” is no excuse because this hotel has a gear-lending program. I have treatments lined up at Heavenly Spa, Australia’s first, and will retire to my supremely large and comfortable Heavenly Bed. There are a lot of Heavenly-s at The Westin, which for the most part are divine.
Strengthening the hotel’s fitness credentials, fellow guests include the Blues on the eve of the first State of Origin game. NSW legends Steve Menzies and Nathan Hindmarsh entertain guests with patter at a poolside barbecue, enlightening the uninitiated on what rugby league Origin is all about. Some US and Chinese guests, who will attend the game, are left bemused about what they will see on the morrow. Westin uses the event to announce its exclusive partnership with the Melbourne Marathon on October 13, which joins the group’s association with the Tokyo and Shanghai marathons. Now that’s serious athleticism.
The Westin Brisbane, which opened last November, has 299 guestrooms and suites with a penthouse way above for the very special occasion. My suite has floor-to-ceiling windows with a view over Mary Street, historic buildings, new office blocks and apartment towers in a part of the CBD once not all that lively. The suite has a living area with sofa, round table and chairs; bedroom with that bed to lose yourself in (more than 200cm x 200cm); separate dressing area; and bathroom with tub, rain shower and twin vanities. I’m spoilt for choice with Elemis and Heavenly White Tea Aloe bath products. And to ensure a good sleep, there is a lavender balm to apply to wrists and temples.
The wellbeing principle extends through dining options, under the stewardship of executive chef Steve Sweetman. But while fresh, seasonal and local are the go, let’s not get too self-righteous. There’s no one here to scold, just like the run concierge did not finger-wag over my piking this morning. If I want to indulge in chips bathed in pink salt, they’re on the menu, and while the Ginger Highball Mocktail served at the Nautilus swim-up pool bar looks sensational, I settle for a Mojito that is generous on the Bacardi Carta Blanca.
Steve leads guests on a morning foray to forage through Brisbane City Markets, held on a Wednesday in Reddacliff Place, opposite Treasury Casino at the river end of Queen Street. He is after the choicest on offer from regional producers and swoops on delectable fare except perhaps chokoes, which need explanation for international visitors. I almost exercise my right of reply; the choko grown on a backyard vine and boiled to oblivion by our mothers was the stuff of every Queensland child’s nightmare, I swear. But Steve’s other selections, including lamb shoulders, are beyond dispute.
At Eden’s Table, The Westin’s signature restaurant, I love the Brisbane lobster (aka Moreton Bay bug) ravioli with prawn bisque, crispy rocket and tomato chips as well as the organic grass-fed eye fillet with pommes anna. There’s dining also in The Charles, a street-level venue named for two Australian pioneer aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, who in 1928 made the first trans-Pacific flight from Oakland, California to Brisbane; their plane, Southern Cross, is on display at Brisbane airport. The Charles transforms into a jazz bar, with live music on selected evenings.
I have been impressed by the local wines on offer in the hotel, including the Kooroomba chardonnay pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon from the Fassifern Valley, south-west of Brisbane, and fly at the opportunity, as it were, of joining a guest experience helicopter jaunt to the vineyard. We pick up the chopper at Archerfield airport and head for the Scenic Rim, an area just beyond Ipswich and the Gold Coast hinterland, taking in Tamborine Mountain, the Teviot and McPherson ranges and Mount Barney. It is a magnificent sweep of the Great Dividing Range and NSW lies just yonder. Our destination, Kooroomba Vineyard, Lavender Farm and Restaurant, is a showstopper, nestled near Mount Alford, close to Boonah. I spy Cunningham’s Gap through which we often passed as a family on our way from home in Warwick to Brisbane. The flight gives a fine appreciation of Fred Williams’s dots-and-dashes portrayal of the Australian bush. The vineyard has a cellar door and restaurant serving modern Australian cuisine with produce sourced from the region. There’s also a lavender shop, and the farm supplies The Westin with its products.
Back in the city in the blink of an eye (the beauty of chopper transfers), I have time for a walk along the Brisbane River from Eagle Street Pier to the hip Howard Street Wharves precinct under the north pylon of the Story Bridge. Riverfront buildings from the 1930s have been repurposed for dining and drinking venues and event spaces. With nearby James Street in Fortitude Valley chock full of retail wonders, it strengthens Brisbane’s reputation as a diverse and stylish destination.
So, after all this energy, I head for my appointment at Heavenly Spa and surrender to a 60-minute signature massage followed by a 30-minute refresher facial. Same old face at the end unhappily, but I feel radiant and blissed out on aromas. I have been invited to choose one of three stones with a word on each to contemplate. “Love” I would like; “Hope” I could do with in this crazy old world; but, after such a healthy and comfortable Westin stay, I can only select “Gratitude”.
Graham Erbacher was a guest of Westin Hotels & Resorts.
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More to the Story
Brisbane sure is getting runs on the hospitality board, with stylish new and refurbished hotels, both boutique and brand-name. It marks the coming of age of the Queensland capital, now marketing itself as Australia’s new world city. Beside The Westin in the CBD, W Brisbane has just celebrated its first birthday and Capri by Fraser Hotel Residences is coming up for its second. Emporium Hotel South Bank is settling in well alongside Novotel Brisbane South Bank. The Art Series brand fuses culture and accommodation at The Johnson in Spring Hill and The Fantauzzo in the Howard Smith Wharves precinct. In the re-energised Fortitude Valley-New Farm area, look for Spicers Balfour, FV by Peppers, Alex Perry Hotel, The Calile and Ovolo The Valley. Ovolo Inchcolm offers a comfy stay on Wickham Terrace. Brisbane’s gateway significance will grow with completion of a new airport runway next year.
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In the Know
The Westin Brisbane is about a 20-30 minute drive from Brisbane airport. The hotel offers accommodation in 14 categories with guestrooms from about $209 and suites from $359.