Travel to Brisbane - Flood Considerations

[samh004]

I recall seeing what I thought was a Mercure (think that was the logo) with flood waters lapping at the front entrance, but dunno which hotel specifically it was.

 

[Mal]

I recall seeing what I thought was a Mercure (think that was the logo) with flood waters lapping at the front entrance, but dunno which hotel specifically it was.

I can't see the Mercure as having floodwaters lapping at it's entrance. It's too high off the ground for that IMHO. Are you instead thinking of either Royal on the Park, Stamford or Quay West? All of them would have had water lapping around their entrances. There were also other hotels affected too including (I believe) Sebel, and most of the serviced apartments in that general low-lying area.

The Royal on the Park is re-opening on Tuesday (From memory), Stamford will take considerable time - they're still trying to pump the mud out of their carpark...

 

[samh004]

I can't see the Mercure as having floodwaters lapping at it's entrance. It's too high off the ground for that IMHO. Are you instead thinking of either Royal on the Park, Stamford or Quay West? All of them would have had water lapping around their entrances. There were also other hotels affected too including (I believe) Sebel, and most of the serviced apartments in that general low-lying area.

The Royal on the Park is re-opening on Tuesday (From memory), Stamford will take considerable time - they're still trying to pump the mud out of their carpark...

It was a green sign with a logo that I saw on the news, that I assumed was Mercure. The windows were black glass and it appeared it had a small driveway in, possibly on a corner, but I’m not sure which one it was

 

[Mal]

It was a green sign with a logo that I saw on the news, that I assumed was Mercure. The windows were black glass and it appeared it had a small driveway in, possibly on a corner, but I’m not sure which one it was

Mercure sign is a bright red. The Stamford also has a red logo, but their restaurant on the corner does have a green logo & sign (from memory).

So I suspect it was the Stamford. Just checked their website - no ETA for re-opening, and as their current update says:

The water levels have started to recede, however our basement, containing the power and services for the hotel (refrigeration, phone lines, airconditioning) remain flooded. There is no power to the building. The management team is onsite ready to assess and move into repair and recovery once the building is safe, with the aim to have the hotel operational for our guests as soon as possible.

... it won't be soon.

 

[medhead]

The Royal on the Park is re-opening on Tuesday (From memory),

The 1974 flood level was at least 2m up the wall of the foyer of the Royal on the Park. I would have thought they would have been pretty badly affected this time as well.

 

[GladstoneTim]

Royal on the Park emailed their previous guests today (or maybe yesterday) advising the extent of the flood damage (external only) and that they would reopen tomorrow. Not impacted as badly as the 1974 floods. No water entered the bulding. Photos are on their website if people interested.

 

[ntaus]

IBIS is operating fine. Completely open, no sign of any flooding and AFAIK no issues were experienced. Mercure ditto. While the water did rise on the river, it did not rise over that part of the city. There seems to have been some flooding on George Street (near the IBIS) - but I think that was only minor drain backflow.

Here's some areas I would be concerned about in/around the CBD:
- South Bank, West End hotels/serviced Apartments.
- Hotels/serviced apartments located on Alice Street, parts of Margaret Street, parts of Albert Street, Eagle Street, Queen Street/Adelaide Street (on river end near the story bridge)
- New Farm, certain parts of the Valley.

Most other hotels and serviced apartments should be ok.

I'll hopefully get a booking at the Mercure from Tuesday to Thursday this week as this is an old haunt that has good car park access for traveling around the place.

I thought there may have been an issue between the Ibis and the Mercure where they connect and the tunnel between the two dips quite substantially but obviously that hasn't been the case.

I would stay at the Mantra or Rydges in South Brisbane as they are a lot closer to our Southbank office however that doesn't appear the best choice at this stage.

It's interesting to watch the pricing on Wotif at the moment as (IMHO) with current ultra low occupancy rates it gives a good snapshot of the cheapest price all hotels in the Brisbane area will give when under this sort of pressure.

ntaus

 

[Mal]

I thought there may have been an issue between the Ibis and the Mercure where they connect and the tunnel between the two dips quite substantially but obviously that hasn't been the case.

I would stay at the Mantra or Rydges in South Brisbane as they are a lot closer to our Southbank office however that doesn't appear the best choice at this stage.

I walked through that tunnel on Friday. There was no evidence of flooding - although they were doing extensive AV work in the Mercure (Seemed like preparing for a conference, not cleaning up). I know there were guests in the Mercure too.

Both Mantra and Rydges were affected by the flooding. Rydges had floodwaters enter their ground floor and lifts were (are?) out of commission. You had to enter via a set of fire stairs. Lack of power and usage of backup power didn't help. Perhaps all will be sorted by tomorrow (I assume they were on generator and lifts were switched off as a result). Mantra is just next door literally, and would have suffered a similar fate.I was walking past on Wed, and knew that if Rydges had issues, they would have them too.

Haven't looked at Wotif, but low occupancy and prices wouldn't surprise me at the moment.

Oh - and something else to note. Most hotels in Brisbane are currently running on skeleton staff, so some services are not available or restricted. But things should start returning to normal this week in most hotels.

 

[ntaus]

Both Mantra and Rydges were affected by the flooding. Rydges had floodwaters enter their ground floor and lifts were (are?) out of commission. You had to enter via a set of fire stairs. Lack of power and usage of backup power didn't help. Perhaps all will be sorted by tomorrow (I assume they were on generator and lifts were switched off as a result). Mantra is just next door literally, and would have suffered a similar fate.I was walking past on Wed, and knew that if Rydges had issues, they would have them too.

These two have become the new defacto standards in BNE since our office moved to Southbank so know them both fairly well.

Of the two I would expect that the Mantra would have fared the best given the lack of carpet in the foyer / dining area in comparison to the Rydges but can appreciate they've all got a long road ahead before things are 100% back to normal.

Oh - and something else to note. Most hotels in Brisbane are currently running on skeleton staff, so some services are not available or restricted. But things should start returning to normal this week in most hotels.

Yeah, this and the possible lack of available food (although I would think this would be fairly high on the list of things to be rectified) were concerns that I had regarding the best places to stay.

Given the chance that my own work in assisting in the reestablishment of services for my company in and around BNE will likely go into the evenings, there would be nothing worse than then having to come to work the next day having survived on the rations of whatever's in the mini bar

ntaus

 

[Mal]

there would be nothing worse than then having to come to work the next day having survived on the rations of whatever's in the mini bar

I saw Rydges carpet .. and it was in the back of a skip.

The other issue with Southbank hotels is that a lot of the Southbank area restaurants were affected, so not much choice food-wise in the area. Streets are also very dusty/muddy as well where the water was.

A lot of these things will be already sorted or about to be sorted.

Rudges weren't accepting reservations until Tue or Wed anyway. Not sure about the Mantra.

 

[rotator101]

Thanks for the info about the Stamford.

I stayed there for 7 weeks this past summer ... so sorry to see all the high water around the Eagle St Pier, etc. Fun part of town to walk around.