Brisbane Travel Guide
Tags: Australia Hotels / Island Resorts / Beach Hotels / → All Tags
Canoodle With the Dolphins at Australia's Tangalooma Resort
Some say an ex-whaling station is a strange place to build a resort — but we have a feeling that it's a great place for the Tangalooma Island Resort off the coast near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
Ironically, Tangalooma used to be the biggest whaling station in the southern hemisphere, but now it's all about being nice to big fish (and mammals). For example, there's a pod of dolphins who seem to call Tangalooma home now, routinely comin' around to be fed and have even brought gifts of eels to their feeders.
But if dolphins aren't your creature of choice, you can also go jet skiing to check out some turtles and dugongs, or snorkel around 15 different shipwrecks where there are plenty of colorful fish. And in the right seasons, there's even whale watching; uh, obviously the whales have erased the memory of what used to happen to them at Tangalooma.
There's a variety of accommodation styles within the resort, including hotel rooms starting at A$290 ($220) for doubles (just a short sprint to the beach), and there are also fancier beachfront apartments if you're traveling with friends; a two-bedroom place (which can actually sleep six if you include the sofa bed in the living room) starts around A$660 ($500) a night. You also have to get out there — remember it's an island — so you usually need to add a A$70 ($50) transfer fee. Unless you can arrange to hitch a ride on a dolphin.
Tags: Brisbane Hotels / Design Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / → All Tags
Sweet Design Hotel :: The Limes in Brisbane Gives You Chocolate Brownies
We were quite excited about the Limes Hotel in Brisbane, Queensland, even before it opened, and now that we can delve a bit deeper we're still intrigued.
The Limes is a new favorite topic for design lovers and a recent post about it summed up the whole theory of designer Alexander Lotersztain pretty nicely:
Alexander concentrated his design focus on the 21 rooms to cater for the independent traveller, rejecting the 5-star norms and opting to focus on guests' primary travel requirements through unique design solutions in styled lodgings.
Some of these "primary travel requirements" turn out to be things like hammocks on the balconies, which definitely add a welcome relaxing touch to a Brisbane stay, or chocolate brownies on arrival: absolutely a travel requirement.
The Limes has now been open a couple of months and they have started offering a few specials; we like the sound of the Pampered People package with two nights' accommodation for two, sparkling wine on arrival and two selections from the bar menu--remembering it's a roof-top bar near the roof-top cinema--from A$499 (US$470).
[Photo: Limes Hotel]
Tags: Hotel Technology / Holiday Inns / Australia Hotels / Hotel Trends / → All Tags
Are Hotel Holographs the Way of the Future?
New hotel technology has gotta start somewhere and down in Australia, the University of Queensland's School of Tourism has been trying to get students to have some brainwaves for the future.
When we first heard about this idea we figured that a bunch of students who've only ever stayed in youth hostels might not have many brilliant ideas for the future of hotels, but the results were better than we'd expected.
Tags: Westin Hotels / Australia Hotels / Hotel Openings / Brisbane Hotels / → All Tags
Down Under They're Gettin' Another Westin
It might not be planning to check in any guests until 2012, but the Westin chain are excited enough to tell us that they are planning to open up in Brisbane soon as part of an Australian expansion.
Queensland's sunny capital, Brisbane, will house the third Aussie Westin after Sydney and Melbourne. The new Westin will be purpose-built and will have 306 rooms in a handy spot in the center of the city--near the Central Station, casino and the large convention center. It will share a 66-story tower that will also include private residences.
The Westin bed will be there, of course, and a spa, indoor pool and fitness center--although they're not saying yet whether we'll be able to get fit with their Wiis or not. We sure hope so. Then again, come 2012, there might be an even more fun way of getting a workout.
[Photo: iZoom]
Tags: Brisbane Hotels / Hotel Openings / Boutique Hotels / Design Hotels / → All Tags
Brisbane Boutiques: Limes Due To Open in May
Boutique hotels in the Queensland capital of Brisbane are quite a new thing. The Design Hotels group has just announced that another one is on its way, with the predicted May 1, 2008 opening of the Limes Hotel in Brisbane's nightlife district, Fortitude Valley.
However, designer Alexander Lotersztain says that it's not exactly a hotel: it's a "designer bar/cinema with contemporary rooms". The Limes website is full of poetry espousing the virtues of the not-exactly-hotel, with a few spectacularly corny lines like:
Night falls your head onto our heavenly beds / Home ... you'll find yourself not wanting to leave / Luxury at your fingertips down to your feet.
There'll be 21 deluxe rooms at the Limes, and they'll be equipped with Ploh bed linens and select toiletries by L'Occitain. Free WiFi will also be standard (yay!). The cinema Lotersztain talks of is actually an outdoor one (perhaps a la San Diego's Pearl) and there's also a tapas bar and a rooftop lounge bar. Online bookings aren't open yet--making it seem like they're not so confident about the May 1 opening--but we'll keep you informed.
Tags: Killer View / Brisbane Hotels / → All Tags
Room with a Killer View: Anzac Square from Brisbane Novotel
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Sometimes we get killer views from hotel rooms, and sometimes we get tips on seeing a killer view without checking in. And that's what we've got for the Novotel Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, although it seems like a reasonable hotel to actually stay in, too.
This view is down to Anzac Square in Brisbane, and traveler bram_souffreau had this to say:
I took this picture from the highest level of the Novotel hotel. Walk through the lobby, take the elevator and choose the highest level. There's a window with a beautiful view over Brisbane. You don't need to sleep there...
Ironically, the Novotel Brisbane has a motto on its website saying "Giving you the space to do as you please, which is kind of what this photographer did.
[Photo: bram_souffreau]
Related Stories:
· Brisbane Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]
· Travel Stories in Brisbane [Jaunted]
Tags: Hotel Hell / Hotel Pools / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags
Hilton Brisbane Not Truthful About Their Hotel Sauna and Steam Bath
An angry FlyerTalk member recently visited the Brisbane Hilton down under and was pissed to find out the place had no sauna/steam bath, gym and whirlpool, as advertised on the hotel site.
Needless to say this FlyerTalker is still pissed. (To get the full effect of pissiness, we kept the grammatical errors in this bit.)
Went to stay at the Hilton Brisbane and then didn`t. Because: When i reserved the room I was told that "yes there is a sauna/steam bath, gym and whirlpool". We arrived and guess what, nothing of that at all. Only a little pool. Called HHonors and through them I could cancel even though i was check in. They promised to change the profile asap. And till today absolutly nothing in the hotels profile has changed.
Which is very sad, as if one wants to have the mentioned Spa like things, it only leaves you to the Hilton in regards to sauna / steam bath.
BTW The rooms are, in my opinion, out dated, small and awfull. And the Mariott is worlds better.
Wow, they really poured salt in the wound on that last sentence. Now imagine how much more effective this would be if they could actually spell?
Tags: Brisbane Hotels / Hotel Openings / Boutique Hotels / → All Tags
New Brisbane Emporium Hotel Too Good To Be True?
Claiming to be the first "real" boutique hotel in Queensland's capital, Brisbane, the Emporium Hotel was scheduled to open this month, but now says it'll be ready to operate in June 2007. While boutique gives the impression of being a bit private and secluded, the Emporium is actually a part of the massive retail and dining precinct.
We might be overly suspicious, but the pre-marketing of the Emporium is just too sickly-sweet to sound realistic. The way they say it, the Emporium will be:
A tangible vision of contemporary elegance and hospitality ... The Emporium Hotel interiors will surprise and delight, creating a fusion of the exquisite with the eclectic, delivered in the art of elite bohemian elegance.
On the factual side of things, suites will include king-size beds, kitchenettes, washing machines, plasma TVs, Wifi, and a pillow menu. Room rates are set to start at almost A$500 (US$415) which is not exactly on the cheap side for Brisbane.
[Photo: Crazy Boot]
Related Stories:
· Brisbane Set To Welcome First True Boutique Hotel [eHotelier]
Tags: Hotel Hell / → All Tags
Outback Jack Girls, Are You Scared of Mice?
Last night the glamorous girly girls on Outback Jack donned jumpsuits over their evening gowns to parachute into the Outback. But will their quest for true love follow in the footsteps of Fear Factor?
I'm talking about chewing mice.
This month two guys riled up the RSPCA after chomping on live rodent in an effort to win some prize money.
"...both men put mice in their mouths and bit off their tails. One of the men went on to further chew his mouse then spat it out."
Come on dahlin' which one of you would do that to get your Jack?
[Note: While it is called the Exchange Hotel, you can rest assured you won't have to sleep amidst guests like these. In Australia, having "Hotel" in the name can also mean it's a pub]
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