Best Of Both Worlds

Queensland's capital ignites conference planners' interest in a destination
that mixes big city facilities with small town charm.

Follow this link to conference & meeting venues in >> Brisbane City or Brisbane Suburbs

The Conrad Treasury Brisbane extends across two heritage buildings in the centre of the CBD. One of the finest examples of Edwardian Baroque architecture in Australia, the 97-room Hotel Conrad is a superb setting for meetings and conferences.

The Surveyors Room can hold 100 people theatre-style or 80 for banquets. The Hotel Conrad's largest room, The Map Room, holds 130 theatre-style or 80 for banquets. The original Queensland maple board- table dominates The Cabinet Room which was for many years the meeting place for the State Cabinet. The 114 square metre room takes up to 18 people.

The Treasury Casino operates 24 hours a day and has 100 gaming tables and more than 1,100 gaming machines.

Meetings Large And Small

The Marco Polo Dining, Cellar and Martini Bar, on Level Two of the Treasury Casino, has recently reopened after a major refurbishment. The award-winning restaurant has a totally different look, with the room transformed into a contemporary five-star restaurant.

The Carlton Crest Hotel is Brisbane's largest convention hotel and has recently announced a $250,000 refurbishment to its banquet floor. The Grand Windsor Ballroom will receive most of the special treatment, with new carpets and drapes to frame the impressive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking City Hall and King George Square.

The Carlton Crest Brisbane's Presidential Ballroom can seat up to 1000 people theatre-style or 580 for banquets. The Presidential can be broken up into three sound-proof spaces. A range of smaller rooms include the Grand Windsor Ballroom for 500 people theatre-style or 360 for banquets. Breakout rooms, boardrooms and reception areas round out this magnificent property.

Convention Successes

Brisbane Marketing's Convention Bureau is celebrating the win of the Local Government Association of Queensland's State Conference for Brisbane in 2005. The four-day LGAQ state conference will attract a minimum of 750 delegates, resulting in more than 3000 delegate days or 2250 room nights for the city's hotels.

The Hotel George Williams, one of Brisbane's most prominent 3.5 star hotels, has recently expanded. On opening in 1997, it had 42 guestrooms and a bistro. The hotel has now almost doubled in size, bringing the total guestroom complement to 81 rooms. The YMCA fitness centre, which has also been upgraded, is located within the building. Two separate meetings and conference rooms are located on the lower ground floor of the hotel and can cater for up to 90 guests at any one time.

The Medina Executive Brisbane is the city's only luxury waterfront serviced apartment complex. It has 162 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, many with views across the Brisbane River to the Storey Bridge. There are five meetings and function rooms, the largest being the Grand Ballroom seating up to 200 people theatre-style or 180 for banquets.

Outside Brisbane, Peppers Retreats and Resorts now manages the Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge, Scenic Rim. Located in Main Range National Park, just 90 minutes' drive south-west of Brisbane, the 10-suite Lodge has stylish accommodation reminiscent of mountain lodges in New Zealand and Africa. It follows on from the success of Peppers Hidden Vale Lockyer Valley, a luxurious cattle station retreat just one hour south-west of Brisbane.