QWeekend Escape – 14 Feb 2015
At the northern end of the James Street shopping strip, just a few blocks away from the bass-thumping bustle of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley nightlife, new hotel Alpha Mosaic is in the sweet spot to cater to the cosmopolitan business set, holidaymakers on a city break, and upscale hipsters looking for a crash spot after a big night.
Occupying four floors adjacent to a new 18-storey development on the corner of Church and Ann Sts, and crucially with plenty of basement car parking, Mosaic opened last July. It’s the third in a small chain of boutique hotels – the others are in Sydney and Canberra – that already has the basics spot-on. The 51 rooms and two-bedroom apartments are sleek and spotless in shades of black, grey and crisp white, while copper bedside light fittings and capacious, comfy armchairs in rich blue and purple provide a splash of colour. The floor-to-ceiling windows in our first-floor room ( right) slid back to lead on to a balcony – every room has one – with a million-dollar view of the CBD’s towers.
Everything about the Mosaic screams “home away from home”, whether you’re looking for a chilled-out base for an urban holiday, an evening workspace if in town for a conference, or just a bolthole after a party bender. Boredom, overwork or a hangover can all be staved off with a couple of clicks to get one of dozens of movies streaming on your 42-inch LCD TV for under $5 a pop. In-room wi-fi is available for the same price, and it’s free in the chic lobby while you’re lounging on one of the big, vintage-style couches. The front desk is open 24 hours, and joins up with the bar, so there’s always someone on duty to pour you a cool drink.
Bigger and better things are planned for the hotel. At time of writing, they were working on a deal to let guests use the Valley Pool, just across Wickham St; and, as more restaurants move into the building’s street-level storefronts, joining first tenant Sol Wholefoods, it would be simplicity itself to arrange room service delivery from any one of them – they all back on to the same lift as the hotel.
Not that this place is any slouch when it comes to food. The hotel has its own bistro, which opens for dinner four nights a week, and a formidable room service menu. While it was closed the evening we stayed, it’s open seven days for hot or cold breakfasts, with a hot buffet on lazy Sunday mornings – the chef does a superb fry-up to set you up for the day.