Stamford Plaza Brisbane

The reception and initial welcoming was exceptional. The valet was great but gave us no option to park ourselves etc. The lady at the front desk was welcoming and genuine during the check in process and gave us all the information we required. Our Superior Suite was tidy and clean, the bathroom toiletries (soap/body wash) were used and open (security seals broken and half product missing) from the previous occupiers of the hotel room - this was disappointing. The first night I found myself locked in the bathroom of our suite, my husband and I needed to call reception to help me get out. Luckily my husband knew what to do when the front desk person came up because he unfortunately had no idea and just bought up a tool kit. We found it odd that there wasn’t a maintenance man on shift to assist especially in this serious situation. The second day our room was serviced and we were provided fresh towels however the toiletries mentioned above were not replenished, we found this annoying once again the attention to detail was missed. The hotel has a wonderful foyer, nice views, comfy pillows and is overall a nice place to stay.

The personnel of this establishment convey that they expect you to rip them off at every interaction. Avoid the place. If you like me travel for work and are sick of the residual hold on money on your credit card for weeks and the tardy billing which sometimes occurs weeks in arrears you may consider paying the "incidentals" prepayment in advance so you can receive the refund immediately on departure and no one has access to your credit card details. This organisation does not let the guest who has prepaid incidentals charge anything to that prepayment and some of the room service personnel think the guest should leave their room and go to reception to pay for room service. I found this "policy" to be unacceptable. When the room was already paid in full and the guest is staying only one night, the risk is minimal. There is no need to behave as if there is a risk the guest will leave without paying when they have prepaid more than the value of what they have ordered. Having stayed at dozens of hotels in Brisbane this organisation is unique in charging for incidentals and then not letting the guest use that prepayment for incidentals and refunding the difference. Consequently the views and presentation are all outweighed by a consistent behaviour that communicates that the customer is trying to rip them off when the reverse is the case. At checkout the staff made a song and dance about having to check the room. Don't bother.

Our stay at Stamford Plaza was lovely. The room was great, the bed was comfortable and the views were wonderful. The food we ordered through room service and the buffet breakfast were both fantastic. Only complaint during our stay was the temperature of the room. Although there was a air conditioner controller in the room, it didn't seem to be working. During the night it was fine, but in the morning, it was quite warm and we could not adjust it. However, the communication by front desk staff was not great. We had paid for a package which included breakfast as part of our stay, but check in staff did not tell us when and where we could get said breakfast. Most annoying, though, was that on check in they put on hold on my credit card the whole cost of the stay + $100, but no one informed us that, if we paid with the same credit card upon check out, that amount would have been released immediately. They could even have offered the option to pay for the stay upon check in so that they only had to put $100 on hold on my credit card. Instead, I paid with a different card on check out (to avoid the unreasonable surcharge they charge when you pay with a credit card) and now I am waiting for my bank to release quite a large sum of money. Apparently the hotel also has the ability to contact your bank to get them to release the funds on hold, but no one informed me of this option either. Check in and check out staff need to inform all guests of this information.

Evening Virgin Friday flight out of Sydney we arrive Brisbane around the same time (daylight saving) so we are already onto a good thing. We caught the Aerotrain into the city as it’s a good way to travel into town, and then a 15-minute walk down Edwards street from Central we arrive @ the Brisbane Stamford. Finding our way into the hotel foyer we find a nice feel to the classy style of the marble foyer. Our check was painless as we used Expedia to grab a discounted room for the weekend, so our room was ready to go... 911 (I was thinking Porsche with its unrivalled aesthetics and performance). As we found our way around the corridor and walked through to the bedroom with a king-sized bed and noted separate bathroom with both shower and bath, we drew back the curtains to unveil a spectacular evening view of the Brisbane river. Our experience continued with a bit of Rock and Roll, some in dining and few home movies before a great sleep. Our view in the morning was just as spectacular with the beaming sunrise shooting through the window, followed by a great breakfast. The rest of the weekend was just as good and came back to Sydney refreshed and looking forward to our next short trip.

It’s a very classic old charm Hotel. It just doesn’t have some of the modern touches which would be nice like a Nespresso machine in your room. Also, at breakfast, they don’t come around with coffee, it’s help yourself. If your after a flat white or other coffee, you have to pay extra.