Our verdict: The Star Grand for a two-night weekend

In one paragraph

If you want a Brisbane weekend where the river, the Sky Deck and South Bank are all a short walk from your room, The Star Grand does that better than anything else in the city centre right now, simply because it sits on top of them. The rooms are generous by city standards — about 40 square metres in the standard categories — and the pools on Level 7 are reserved for hotel guests. The trade-offs are the ones of any large resort: weekend surcharges in the restaurants, a car park that fills on Friday and Saturday nights, and a casino at the centre of the building that you will pass whether or not it interests you.

Who it suits

• Couples on a city weekend who want dinner, a view and a swim without moving the car.
• Friends in town for a concert, a festival week or a game, who will use the Sky Deck as their meeting point.
• Families who plan around the casino areas: the pools, the Leisure Deck, the Sky Deck and the bridge to Streets Beach all work with children.
• People who like to walk. Everything in our plan is on foot, including South Bank.

Who may want somewhere else

• Anyone who needs guaranteed parking for a tall vehicle — the car park has no room for vehicles over 2.1 metres.
• Travellers who want a quiet boutique feel. This is a large integrated resort with a ballroom for more than 1,800 guests downstairs.
• People who would rather not be near gambling at all. The hotel is separate, but the restaurants and bars wrap around the casino levels.

What it does well

Position

The Neville Bonner Bridge lands at The Terrace, so South Bank is a walk rather than a trip. Central, Roma Street and South Brisbane stations are all within walking distance, and the North Quay ferry stop is a short stroll along the river.

Room sizes

The hotel publishes average sizes: 40 square metres for the City King, City Twin and River King rooms, 71 and 75 for the City and River Suites, 113 for the Skyline City Suite and 217 for the Skyline Penthouse Suite. For a CBD hotel those are useful numbers to compare against.

Pools reserved for guests

Isoletto Pool Club has three heated pools, a sauna, a steam room and an indoor gym, and access is limited to hotel guests and the people with them (the page also mentions day-pass holders). On a hot Saturday that limit is the whole point.

What people find frustrating

The weekend surcharge

Several venues add 10 per cent on Saturdays and Sundays and 15 per cent on public holidays. It is printed on their pages, but it still surprises people at the end of a meal.

Parking is not part of the room

The flat nightly rate for hotel guests is fair for the city, but the operator says plainly that a booking does not guarantee a space. Plan for public transport if you can.

Two owners' websites

The resort runs under The Star brand, while the precinct's owner, Destination Brisbane Consortium, publishes its own pages. They do not always match — for example on the Treasury Hotel. We point out those differences instead of picking one.

What to ask for in your request

1. The room side you want — river or city — rather than a floor number.
2. Whether your rate includes breakfast on Level 2.
3. A cot or a rollaway bed, if you need one; cots are free, rollaways are charged and limited to one per room.
4. Parking, if you are driving, so the hotel at least knows to expect your car.
5. An accessible room by name — City Accessible or River Accessible — if you need handrails in the bathroom.

How we reached this verdict

We read every page the operator publishes about the hotel, its venues and its policies, the precinct owner's pages, and government statements, on 31 October and 1 November 2026. We looked at the public rating on Google Maps. We have not been paid by the hotel to write this, and our commission does not depend on what we write; it depends only on whether a request becomes a stay. If something here is out of date, tell us at hello@queenswharfweekend.com.