EXTRAVAGANT EMPORIUM
Extravagant Emporium - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Extravagant Emporium | |||||
| Issue 33 - Summer 2008 | |||||
| (Emporium Hotel – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) | |||||
| BRISBANE’S NEW BOUTIQUE HOTEL HAS COLOUR, STYLE AND JUST A HINT OF BLING. | |||||
| From its backlit scarlet glass walls to its polished marble flooring, the Emporium Hotel is all about flamboyant style. Brisbane’s latest boutique hotel certainly makes an impact; it does so by combining modern design with an eclectic mix of antiques and artworks. Work from Queensland artists, commissioned by Brisbane’s Urban Art Projects features around the hotel, the most striking being the big bronze boat, like something a Viking would have sailed in, which serves as the hotels reception desk. The building is part of a new shopping precinct, also called Emporium, which has risen from the ashes of an old bus depot in Fortitude Valley on the outskirts of the CBD. The 106 studio suites, including 80 King Suites, are decorated in lush chocolate browns and charcoal. The white line bed-sheets are a snowy oasis in rooms with such a rich décor. The top floor suites have their own balconies. You’ll find Molton Brown toiletries in the bathrooms (40 of which have spa baths). All the rooms have Bose sound systems, plasma TVs and iPod docks. There are also in-suite laundries and smart little kitchenettes for tired business people who want to eat in the quiet of their room. But why would you want to, when the Belle Époque restaurant just downstairs has such a good atmosphere. The Parisian style bistro serves up oysters au naturel and a host of other Frenchinspired fare. In the bar an antique chandelier hangs heavy over a grand onyx bar, lit from within. There are leather sofas for lounging and a magnificent gold-patterned lead light window. It’s a place to order only the most extravagant of wines and cocktails so it is a good job there’s a collection of premier and grand cru wines, not to mention a cocktail list that includes choices such as the irresistibly named Elixir of Love. To work off all that good food and drink there is a sauna and small gym next the lap pool. There are lots of little luxury touches at Emporium Hotel, for example the Exquisite Sleep menu that offers eight different pillow options. Choose between a sleek satin number which supposedly reduces pressure on facial bones or a Swedish memory pillow which presumably helps you dream of past pleasant times. The hotel’s Pure Pamper menu includes laying on everything from a celebratory cake for two to a day out with a Porsche and a picnic. | |||||
| Details: Emporium Hotel: www.emporiumhotel.com.au | |||||
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