Amora Hotel Brisbane

The location was great, the room rate was one of the best around, and we’d likely stay again. We were there on a weeknight for work, and check-in was easy. They gave us a welcome drink, but both tap beer kegs were out, so we had bottled beer instead. We were upgraded to a Premier Room on level 13. It was clean, with a good-sized bathroom, excellent towels and soft, comfortable bedding, though the upgrade didn’t add much. The view looked straight into a neighbouring apartment’s living room, with no city skyline. The air-conditioning kept resetting to 24 degrees, so we had to turn it back down to 18 over and over. Breakfast came with our rate and had a generous choice of hot and cold food. The scrambled eggs were a little dry, but the rest looked fresh and nicely presented. There was a slight sewage smell near the lifts. Parking was $40 on weekdays and $15 on weekends.

The buffet breakfast could use more variety, since we kept seeing the same dishes, and another one or two coffee machines would help. There was a queue for the single machine each morning. That was the main letdown, though, and the good outweighed it by a lot. My partner and I stayed three nights at the Amora Hotel for a special occasion and event in Brisbane. We got a free room upgrade, and check-in was quick and easy. The room was clean and spacious, the bed comfortable and the view good. It was quiet, with no road noise. Central Station is within a five-minute walk, and South Bank isn’t too far away. The staff were lovely, helpful and attentive. This still deserves five stars, and I’ll definitely return next time I’m in Brisbane.

The food was the part that let the hotel down. Breakfast at the cafe was slow even though it wasn’t busy: one meal only arrived after the other six of us had finished and asked about it. They said the kitchen was very busy because it’s shared with the hotel restaurant. Our room service cannelloni was dry, and the sweet potato fries were very burnt, though they kindly removed the fries from the bill. The bar drinks were good, but two menu drinks weren’t available because they’d run out of ingredients, and some bar snacks didn’t arrive as listed. The rest of the weekend was enjoyable. We had three rooms for three nights over the Edinburgh Tattoo weekend, and check-in was easy, with a lovely staff member. The wheelchair we’d booked was brought out promptly. Hotel and rooms had a calm, lovely decor, very comfortable beds, spacious rooms and bathrooms, plenty of storage, and were very clean and quiet, with no road or next-door room noise. The city was handy, about a 10-minute walk to the mall or down to the river ferry.

We had a great stay and would recommend this hotel for a short visit or a longer one. The restaurant food was great, and the whole place was clean and easy to get around. Our Queen room was an excellent size, with a great shower and a handy balcony for fresh air. The location also made it easy to explore the city.