Location
It doesn’t take long to get to the Ibis Styles on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane. Nestled in the centre of Brisbane CBD, the hotel is roughly equidistant from the Central, Roma Street and South Brisbane train stations, and adjacent to the Casino in the old Treasury building beside the river. We arrive around lunch time to check-in and our Deluxe Corner Room with River View is ready so we head up to the fifteenth floor and quickly drop off our luggage.
We grab lunch at the neighbouring food court at the Myer Centre which ends up taking a lot longer than we intend merely because there are so many food outlets from which to choose!
Room
When we get back to our room we’re quietly impressed. We’re in a corner room on the 15th floor, so the views are exquisite. One side features a view over neighbouring buildings to the pool of a nearby hotel, but the main view is of the river over toward the South Bank and Victoria Bridge.
The room makes clever use of space so the closet is exposed and the kettle and iron hidden away. There’s a huge big screen TV on the wall near the ceiling. In the entrance way is a table overlooking the floor to ceiling windows, allowing some work to be done should that be necessary.
The bed is huge and comfortable. The blinds are really important in a tropical area: Queensland doesn’t do daylight savings so sunrise is at 6am – not the best if you want to sleep in: you want to make sure that the there are no chinks in the blinds!
When we arrived the sun was out but it didn’t take long for the clouds to roll in. I expected a lightning storm but the sound of distant thunder turned out to be three defence force helicopters travelling maybe twenty metres above out room level following the river south west. I was kicking myself for missing the photo op as I watched them pass at almost eye level.
The view is almost worth it just to watch the sun go down and the city come to life under the night lights. Being so close to the action does come with a pair of negatives though. Around the corner from the hotel, opposite the casino, just outside a burger joint is a congregation point for the homeless. And there’s a live music venue on Reddacliff Place that plays late on the weekend. Hardly the hotel’s fault of course.
I found out later that the hotel has a complimentary guest laundry on level 4. An awesome offering which I wish I had known about.
Breakfast
Apparently all rooms come with a free continental buffet breakfast which you can upgrade to include the cooked items. I’m not sure how they police that, but we were lucky to be given the full experience, and we took advantage of it. The standard cooked and cold offerings were there, with a few additional items which I would not have expected to see.
Things like cinnamon sticks added to the bowls of fruit for a slight twist, and yum cha dumplings added on one of the mornings as a nod to the Chinese guests. The breakfast room is a good size and overlooks the street offering a view of the bustle outside.
Pros and Cons
Pros
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Cons
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Would I Go Back?
Definitely – the location is perfect and the views fantastic. It’s tempting to sit in front of the floor to ceiling windows with a tasty beverage and watch the city transition from bustling city centre during the day, to party entertainment area at night.
