Brisbane Hotel Question

Question for those who know Brisbane, planning a visit in April, tossing up between staying at South Bank or near Queen Street Mall, which side would you recommend? Looking at four days during the week. I'm looking at rooms with two beds, I've narrowed the search down to the Rydges South Bank, Mantra South Bank Brisbane and the Hyatt Regency Brisbane. The budget is $2000 or less for four nights.

I'd recommend South Bank as it has better options for dining in the evenings. It's also a much nicer place to start the day if you like getting out for a walk. Rydges South Bank has been around for decades so it's likely getting a bit tired. But location wise it's excellent.

Emporium is another option but likely at a much higher price point.

Agree Southbank is the better location by far. Hyatt Regency is the better hotel by far. I'd go with the Hyatt, because it's just a short stroll across Victoria Bridge from Southbank anyway, or a quick dash on one of the CityCat ferries.

If you're going for a little break, then Southbank hotels are a great place because of the location and river/north bank views (if you can snag a room facing that direction). For work, hotels near Queen Street are much better for getting around, especially if you need to see people in/around the CBD. In the past, friends have commented that staying at the Ibis Styles (40 Elizabeth St) gave them the best of both options: easy access to the mall just around the corner (3 mins walk), and also the ferry to Southbank a short stroll down to the quay (5 mins walk)..

be careful with room selection at Hyatt - I booked a 'king' room which had the smallest king bed I had ever seen, a really pokey room with a very small bathroom - may have been unlucky with allocation.

Can happen alright. I remember a deluxe room at the Mandarin Oriental in London - with no windows. No mention of that on the booking page. And at the Grand Hyatt in NYC near Grand Central, a room like an oven that could not be cooled because the a/c had been "switched over to winter". All part of the great tapestry of travel.

Yeah, Hyatt is quite good. As a Hilton Diamond I get exceptional value staying at their BNE property, but on 3 occasions in 2023 it was full and so I (well, we) stayed at Hyatt (8 room nights). I sent Hilton a copy of the Hyatt invoices so that they knew they'd missed by business.

See message I left in your Personal Messages.