Home / The weekend plan
The plan · Saturday and Sunday
The Queen's Wharf weekend, hour by hour
We wrote this plan around the hotel's own times — check-in at 3 pm, check-out at 11 am — and the published hours of every venue in it. Move the blocks around; the hours will still hold.
Before you leave home
- Request a River King Room if the view matters to you; the City King Room is the same average size of about 40 square metres, facing the city.
- Book Saturday dinner on The Terrace. Aloria on the Sky Deck takes bookings too; Babblers and Cicada Blu are walk-in only.
- If you are driving, read our parking page: the hotel offers a flat nightly rate, but spaces are not guaranteed and Friday and Saturday evenings are the busy ones.
- Pack something neat for the evening. The casino's terms of entry ask for a neat and tidy appearance and turn away swimwear and backpacks — useful to know even if you only walk through.
- Check what's on for your dates. A Saturday in November has live music at LiveWire from 2 pm; the Leisure Deck shows live sport from 3 pm.
The two days, side by side
Saturday — arrive and look up
- Early arrivals: the public art tour
The MoB-guided Public Art Tour runs on Saturdays from 9:00 to 10:30 am, starts at Lindy Lee's bronze and ends on the Sky Deck. Fifteen people at most, so book.
- Or walk the precinct yourself
The precinct is open to everyone before check-in. Start on the George Street side and walk past the heritage buildings down to the river.
- Brunch on the Sky Deck
Aloria's weekend brunch has two seatings, 11:00 am and 1:30 pm. Babblers is the walk-in alternative.
- Check in
Check-in starts at 3 pm. The hotel lobby is where you will also find Sokyo and the Lobby Bar.
- Isoletto Pool Club
Three heated pools on Level 7, open until 8 pm on Saturdays for hotel guests. The swim spa is kept at 32°C in the cooler months.
- Up to the Sky Deck
The deck stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Go before sunset, walk the full length, then take a seat at Cicada Blu.
- Dinner on The Terrace
Level 4: Black Hide, Cucina Regina, Azteca, Dark Shepherd, Lúc Lắc and Pompette. Weekend surcharges apply at several venues.
- Music, or the river
LiveWire's November Saturdays have a band from 9:30 pm (18+, inside the casino area). Or walk the Riverline below the precinct.
Sunday — over the bridge
- Coffee at Babblers
Babblers opens at 7 am every day on the eastern end of the Sky Deck. No bookings, so early is easy.
- Or breakfast downstairs
The hotel's à la carte breakfast on Level 2 runs from 7:00 to 10:30 am, last orders at 10:00.
- Neville Bonner Bridge
From The Terrace the bridge takes you over the Riverside Expressway and the river to the South Bank cultural forecourt.
- Streets Beach
A city lagoon with sand, patrolled by lifeguards every day. Bring swimmers in the day bag, not in the casino.
- The Wheel of Brisbane
About 12 minutes in an air-conditioned gondola, 60 metres up, with an audio tour. Or walk to QPAC and GOMA.
- Back across, pack
The walk back over the bridge is the slow part of the morning; leave room for it.
- Check out
Check-out is 11 am; express check-out is available. Bags can stay in the car if you parked.
- Last lunch
Cucina Regina or Pompette on The Terrace, or Black Hide if you want the steak you skipped last night.
How we chose the order
We put the pool before the Sky Deck because Isoletto closes at 8 pm on Saturdays and the deck stays open until midnight. We put the bridge on Sunday morning because a long open walk over water is more pleasant before the sun is high, and because Streets Beach is better before the families arrive. And we ended the weekend with lunch rather than another view, because by Sunday noon you will have seen the river from three heights already.
We also kept the casino out of the plan. It is open around the clock and sits in the middle of the building; you will walk past it. We describe what it is on its own page and leave it there.
Variations
Arriving on Friday night
Friday is the cheaper night to eat out because the weekend surcharges at the Sky Deck venues, Sokyo and Cucina Regina start on Saturday. The Leisure Deck shows live sport from 5 pm on Fridays. If you arrive late, in-room dining runs at any hour — you order through a QR code on the television.
A game at Suncorp Stadium or the Gabba
The Star's own FAQ puts Suncorp Stadium about 3 km away and the Gabba about 2 km. On a game Saturday we would skip the Terrace dinner booking, eat early at Babblers and come back to the Sky Deck afterwards — it is open until midnight on Saturdays. Leave the car where it is; on game nights the car park is the last place you want to queue.
With children
Children can use Isoletto with a parent or guardian and can go up to the Sky Deck, and Aloria and Sokyo both publish a kids' menu. They cannot enter the casino, which also rules out Food Quarter, Fat Noodle and LiveWire. Cots are free and rollaway beds cost extra, one per room — ask for them when you book, not on arrival.
If it rains
Sky Deck hours can change in bad weather, and the outdoor cinema on the Leisure Deck is cancelled by midday if the weather turns. Our rainy-day version keeps the same rhythm under a roof.