OVOLO INCHCOLM
Fresh from a $4 million facelift, the renamed and updated Ovolo Inchcolm
(formerly The New Inchcolm Hotel) blends Art Deco and Pop Art in an
appealingly vibrant new look. The 50 rooms and lofts retain their smart,
eclectic décor but now come with Ovolo treats such as free minibars, lolly
bags and 21st-century technology. Regular visitors to this former doctor’s
residence, opened as a hotel in 1995, will notice big changes in public areas,
with a quirky reception desk styled as a curiosity cabinet and darkened
corridors hung with Warhol-esque prints of pop stars (a penchant of Ovolo
owner Girish Jhunjhnuwala). Room configurations vary but even the smallest
are well appointed with queen beds, smart TVs, cofee machines and iPad
minis.73 Wickham Tce, Brisbane, (07) 3226 8888, ovolohotels.com.auThe Inchcolm’s glass-walled
lift, a century-old Waygood-
Otis, spirits guests between floors
with electric eiciency.
Ask a staf member to guide
you through the hotel’s bold
contemporary art collection. Don’t
miss Enrique Rottenberg’s12 Chairs
and Rui Pinho’s celebrity pastiches.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
are taken at marble-topped
tables in the new in-house restaurant,
Salon de Co. Breakfast covers all
the main bases, from house-made
crumpets with salmon and cucumber
to chia pudding with banana and
toasted coconut. Lunch and dinner
are share plates teaming eggplant,
tofu and yuzu, for example, or lamb,
eel and potato.
An Ovolo innovation worth
catching is the nightly happy
hour, with cocktails, wines and beers
on the house (if you book online)
in the convivial bar. Ovolo minibars
are (a) free, and (b) stocked with
beer, wine and soft drinks, and a
bag of sweet and savoury snacks.WHERECBDfringe.
COSTFrom $249,
with breakfast.AT A
GLANCE50 rooms,
lofts and suites; bar,
restaurant, café, paid
valet parking, free bike
hire, guest laundry.
IN ROOMFree WiFi,
iPad, smart TV, some
baths, cofee machine,
pillow menu, free
minibar, Appelles
toiletries.BEST ROOM
The duplex loft on the
hotel’s top (fourth) floor
has living downstairs,
sleeping upstairs
and glass walls that
capture city views
from any angle.THE JOHNSON
There’s a sense of occasion on arrival
at The Johnson as guests pass under
a black proscenium arch and cross a
small square to enter a light-filled
and perfumed foyer. This hybrid tower
of designer flats and hotel includes
93 guestrooms on lower floors and
three penthouses. Bland grey corridors
lead to funky apartment-style rooms
with concrete ceilings, pale wood-
panelled kitchenettes and a palette
of neutral textiles with bursts of
colour that reference namesake artist
Michael Johnson’s bold paintings,
found in all rooms and public spaces.
A fantastic 50-metre pool fringed
by gay sunloungers and umbrellas
reinforces the sense that The Johnson
is not so much a city hotel as an urban
resort.477 Boundary St, Spring Hill,
(07) 3085 7200, thejohnson.com.auWHERECBD fringe.COSTFrom $149, without breakfast.AT A GLANCE96 rooms, suites and penthouses, adjoining
rooms; bar, restaurant, pool, gym, paid self-parking, art library.IN ROOMFree WiFi, smart TV, some baths and balconies,
kitchenette, cofee machine, Evo toiletries.BEST ROOMSAsk for a north-facing studio on the third floor, flush with
sunlight and with balcony views over the carpark to inner-suburban Spring Hill.The beds are a highlight
ofThe Johnson’s rooms.
Custom-made by AH Beard and
available to take home, these plump
king and queen afairs promise deep
relaxation at any time of night or day.
Hire a blue Lekker bicycle
from the hotel to explore the
neighbourhood and city riding tracks.
Tumbling Stone restaurant,
named for one of Michael
Johnson’s works, is an all-day afair
that serves à la carte breakfasts
of coconut chia pots and smoked
salmon soldiers with poached eggs.
At lunch and dinner the grill rules;
crowd-pleasers include chicken
suprêmes and Rangers Valley sirloins.
Call room service (until 10pm) for
the likes of chicken wings, wagyu or
chicken burgers, and warm carrot cake.
Tumbling Stone has an
appealing range of Australian
gins and craft beers, and adecent list
of Australian and New Zealand wines.
Cocktails twist the classics. Exhibit A:
a Salted Caramel Martini.PHOTOGRAPHY HAMILTON LUND (NEXT HOTEL BRISBANE)Poolside at
The Johnson.Thomson suite.BRISBANE
168 GOURMET TRAVELLER