Brisbane pre cruise hotel recommendations

[Dinosuitgirl]

We're arriving a day early from New Zealand and want something where we can wander about (not set on CBD) to grab a dinner and some last min supplies. Ideally we want somewhere we can easily get to the port terminal in the morning.

 

Also am I crazy or is there very limited transport options to the terminal from anywhere? 

Is Uber/Didi really our best option? 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Portside in Hamilton, where the old cruise terminal used to be, has some accommodation (apartment hotel?). There is a small supermarket there plus plenty of restaurants and cafes. Also a ferry terminal if you do want to go into the city. 

 

Portside is essentially between the airport and the cruise terminal so easy to get to and from. 

 

There are also some motels nearby I think. 

[Dinosuitgirl]

Fab thanks! Will keep looking in portside... I saw reports from a year ago taxis are reluctant to go to the terminal and/or will charge for the state of disrepair of the road? 

[Jean C]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Wharf Street, Brisbane Central - it was just lovely - clean, comfortable, modern, stunning view. It was within reasonable walking distance to the South Bank and Roma Street Gardens, and had a Woolies store just around the corner. I'd stay there again just for the location, especially if you prefer to be out and about rather than stuck in a room.

 

PS, for our dinner, we bought a prepared salad from Woolies, supplemented with some extra shredded chicken from the deli. To follow, we bought a couple of slices of a Belgian chocolate gateaux, absolutely delicious - I only wish they sold it in NZ, although it would be addictive 😋

Edited February 3 by Jean C

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, Dinosuitgirl said:

Fab thanks! Will keep looking in portside... I saw reports from a year ago taxis are reluctant to go to the terminal and/or will charge for the state of disrepair of the road? 

In mid 2022 when the new terminal came into use, taxi drivers weren't familiar with it, but that has obviously has changed in the last 20 months. Taxi drivers aren't reluctant to go to there and they can't charge extra for the unattractive road. BTW, the road isn't in a state of disrepair, it is simply a narrow winding road through an unattractive industrial area. We have been on seven or eight cruises leaving from the new terminal and had no problems getting a taxi to go there. On one recent cruise when we left the ship there were probably two dozen cabs lined up waiting for passengers so the drivers obviously weren't reluctant to go to the terminal.

[Dinosuitgirl]

2 hours ago, Jean C said:

. To follow, we bought a couple of slices of a Belgian chocolate gateaux, absolutely delicious - I only wish they sold it in NZ, although it would be addictive 

 

Well I saw this morning Coles in Aus is selling Pizza Shape flavoured Hot cross buns 😧 

We live in Northland too! And this is our first cruise since the world shut down... We use to do one every year... Infact pre pandemic we lived in a down town apartment looking out over the Wharf in Auckland. 

[Dinosuitgirl]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

 there were probably two dozen cabs lined up waiting for passengers so the drivers obviously weren't reluctant to go to the terminal.

 

Glad to hear that as we have a same day flight home 😬 hopefully a 6pm take off is late enough not to be a drama no matter how late we disembark 

[Jean C]

1 hour ago, Dinosuitgirl said:

 

Glad to hear that as we have a same day flight home 😬 hopefully a 6pm take off is late enough not to be a drama no matter how late we disembark 

You won't have any problems with the 6pm flight - that's the one we book, especially during NZ's daylight saving when the previous flight is 11am, too close for comfort for me. Only downside is that you arrive back in Auckland so late 😴 PS, I too used to live in an apartment in Auckland, in Grafton. I'm now in Whangarei, close to family. Auckland was soooo convenient, sob 😪 If we have an early morning flight from Auckland, we stay the night before at the Ibis Budget at the Airport, although the rooms are very compact, it's clean, in good condition, comfortable and a fantastic location, with shops, fast food outlets and supermarket on the doorstep - in case you need somewhere 😊

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, Dinosuitgirl said:

 

Glad to hear that as we have a same day flight home 😬 hopefully a 6pm take off is late enough not to be a drama no matter how late we disembark 

A taxi from the BICT to the International Airport is about 20 mins drive time, the ship would be totally disembarked I would think no later than 11am, you will have a long wait between if your flights at 6pm.

May need to drop bags of at the airport, and use the Air train to and from the city to kill time.

[Dinosuitgirl]

13 minutes ago, Jean C said:

 the previous flight is 11am, too close for comfort for me.

 

Yeah I had a domestic midday flight from Tainjin to Shanghai post cruise and I definitely was bricking it the whole time until we got through security.... I'm certainly dreading the 3.5hr drive home after landing 😕

[Dinosuitgirl]

17 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

A taxi from the BICT to the International Airport is about 20 mins drive time, the ship would be totally disembarked I would think no later than 11am, you will have a long wait between if your flights at 6pm.

May need to drop bags of at the airport, and use the Air train to and from the city to kill time.

 

I'll do a lap of the duty free and then relax in the lounge maybe try and grab a nap because we have a long drive home after the flight 😮‍💨

[mum and son]

The apartment-hotel at Portside is called Alcyone. There are other options around as well. At Portside there are plenty of restaurant options and a 24hr cafe downstairs from Alcyone. There's an IGA supermarket in the precinct and a Woolworths in the neighbouring complex.

[beatleman]

45 minutes ago, mum and son said:

The apartment-hotel at Portside is called Alcyone. There are other options around as well. At Portside there are plenty of restaurant options and a 24hr cafe downstairs from Alcyone. There's an IGA supermarket in the precinct and a Woolworths in the neighbouring complex.

The Kingsford Smith Motel is a very nice place to stay and very easy on the pocket. Hamilton ( Portside) is a good place to stay.

[Dinosuitgirl]

2 hours ago, mum and son said:

The apartment-hotel at Portside is called Alcyone. There are other options around as well. At Portside there are plenty of restaurant options and a 24hr cafe downstairs from Alcyone. There's an IGA supermarket in the precinct and a Woolworths in the neighbouring complex.

 

Whoa haha you've been reading my mind it's literally my top listed choice on wotif right now because it looks really close to the ferry to town and stuff 🤩 thanks! I'll book it now.... the only thing holding me back was it not being refundable I did want to find something better and regret it 😂

[arxcards]

9 hours ago, Dinosuitgirl said:

Fab thanks! Will keep looking in portside... I saw reports from a year ago taxis are reluctant to go to the terminal and/or will charge for the state of disrepair of the road? 

Taxis are OK. They are reluctant to go to the terminal because it is a 5km drive back for their next fare if there is nobody needing a cab at the terminal. Aussie taxis are used to driving on bad roads.

 

I will +1 for Alcyone. We stay at Alcyone Apartments in the Portside complex, pretty much exclusively now. They will arrange for a taxi when you are ready to depart to the terminal. Lots of easy food options, cafes, a small supermarket and just a nice casual vibe. Should you wish to head into the CBD for anything, a walk along the riverfront for a few hundred metres will find you at Brett's Wharf for a cat into the city.

 

We are booked there via booking.com for late February and it is refundable. Usually the non-refundable option is a bit cheaper, but I will take a refundable option, then switch to a non-refundable option a few days out if it is cheaper.

[Astro Flyer]

We’re 13 months away from arriving at BNE to stay a few days in Brisbane prior to a circumnavigation of Australia cruise…any reasonably priced hotel recommendations for the CBD area?

 

The cruise is scheduled to arrive at 0800…if there are no delays would a 1215 flight to AKL likely be doable? We’ll have 2 days there before sailing to LA…we decided that was better than another long flight.

 

[Dinosuitgirl]

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We’re 13 months away from arriving at BNE to stay a few days in Brisbane prior to a circumnavigation of Australia cruise…any reasonably priced hotel recommendations for the CBD area?

 

The cruise is scheduled to arrive at 0800…if there are no delays would a 1215 flight to AKL likely be doable? We’ll have 2 days there before sailing to LA…we decided that was better than another long flight.

 

I booked the Alcyone on the recommendations from above, it's not the cheapest for the area but the area is where we want to be... Someone local might be able to help with Hamilton vs CBD 

 

If you have priority disembarkation 8am should be okay for a midday flight provided nothing goes wrong and there isn't traffic or issues collecting/checking bags I personally don't like leaving it so fine only because I enjoy duty free shopping and a bite and drink in the business lounge. 

 

I highly recommend staying downtown in Auckland... Depending on budget, the lylo on the low end nesuto in the mid and Sofitel/Hotel Britomart is if you're feeling fancy. The downtown mall (commerical bay) has loads of dining or walk to North Wharf for drinks and food. Big 24hr Countdown/Woolworths (in the middle of a rebrand) has all the grocery/wine/medication you'll want. And across the road is a 24hr self service laundromat 

 

[sweetp12]

We are booked into the Kingsford Brisbane Airport by Accor in March.  They offer a shuttle to the new cruise terminal and have given us a late check-out at our shuttle time.  That and the $15 breakfast + right across the road from Woolworths was the reason we decided to stay there. It seems to have good reviews, but I can let you know in a month! 

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, sweetp12 said:

We are booked into the Kingsford Brisbane Airport by Accor in March.  They offer a shuttle to the new cruise terminal and have given us a late check-out at our shuttle time.  That and the $15 breakfast + right across the road from Woolworths was the reason we decided to stay there. It seems to have good reviews, but I can let you know in a month! 

We used to stay at a few of the hotels along Kingsford Smith Drive. Yes, it does get consistently good reviews. They are very much 80's style, and the price reflects that. For a good feed nearby, I can recommend the Hamilton Hotel just under a block away. Woolies isn't as close as it would appear on the map - seven lanes of a busy main road with a skinny median strip and no access into the shopping complex from Kingsford Smith drive.

[cheznandy]

59 minutes ago, sweetp12 said:

We are booked into the Kingsford Brisbane Airport by Accor in March.  They offer a shuttle to the new cruise terminal and have given us a late check-out at our shuttle time.  That and the $15 breakfast + right across the road from Woolworths was the reason we decided to stay there. It seems to have good reviews, but I can let you know in a month! 

I think it is an Accent hotel not Accor.

We stayed at the Kingsford Smith Motel just up the road last year and were really happy with it, staying again at the end of the year, agree it's a great location for Woolies, IGA, liquor and pubs, bars and restaurants.

Be interested to hear how your stay is there!

[cheznandy]

17 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We used to stay at a few of the hotels along Kingsford Smith Drive. Yes, it does get consistently good reviews. They are very much 80's style, and the price reflects that. For a good feed nearby, I can recommend the Hamilton Hotel just under a block away. Woolies isn't as close as it would appear on the map - seven lanes of a busy main road with a skinny median strip and no access into the shopping complex from Kingsford Smith drive.

Have to disagree with the 80's bit Geoff, some maybe, but the Kingsford Smith Motel has been beautifully redone, is more modern and cleaner than some hotels we have stayed at recently.

We found it really easy to cross the road and walk to Woolies etc.

The area it a lot quieter than once was when we used to cruise from Portside.

We are  only staying at Novotel Airport in a couple of weeks time as I got it for $140 and we are flying in otherwise we would have booked Kingsford Smith again.

Edited February 4 by cheznandy

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Have to disagree with the 80's bit Geoff, some maybe, but the Kingsford Smith Motel has been beautifully redone, is more modern and cleaner than some hotels we have stayed at recently.

We found it really easy to cross the road and walk to Woolies etc.

The area it a lot quieter than once was when we used to cruise from Portside.

We are only only staying at Novotel Airport in a couple of weeks time as I got it for $140 and we are flying in otherwise we would have booked Kingsford Smith again.

By 80's, I mean on the main road, convenient for an overnight break from driving, basic rooms, resident owner/manager, 30 to 60 rooms, pool - a good old 80's Motor Inn. The Kingsford Smith and the Kingsford Brisbane (mentioned above) are two different hotels, but both have been reno'd since we last stayed on the strip. Some of the others look really tired in comparison.

[cheznandy]

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

 The Kingsford Smith and the Kingsford Brisbane (mentioned above) are two different hotels, but both have been reno'd s

I know,  but very confusing for some as they are all called Kingsford something.

Aerolodge looks the same as when we stayed there back in 2009/10

[cheznandy]

31 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

I think it is an Accent hotel not Accor.

 

My bad, it's Ascend not Accent😃

[Bizziecruzer]

22 hours ago, Dinosuitgirl said:

 

I'll do a lap of the duty free and then relax in the lounge maybe try and grab a nap because we have a long drive home after the flight 😮‍💨

A lot of flights don't open for checkin / baggage drop off until 3 hours before flight.