Brisbane Airpot Hotel advice
 

We will be staying one night in Brisbane at the end of March, then returning for another night a few days later after a stay on Lady Elliot Island. We will be arriving around midnight on a flight from Hong Kong and will be picked up by a shuttle service early the next morning and won’t have a cell phone activated for Australia. We would like to have accommodation that has 24 hour reception so we can confirm the shuttle arrangements and be notified of any changes. Luggage storage would be a bonus. This seems rather hard to find. Any suggestions? We hope to pay no more than about $150 AUD.

Have you looked at the Novotel Brisbane Airport? There's not a lot of hotels at the airport probably because the city is so close.
I've stayed at the Mercure in the city which was fine but then I didn't arrive so late.

I should have mentioned that the price I mentioned is in CDN$ or AUD4. The Novotel looks great but is 268 CDN--a lot to pay for a stay of about 6 hours. Still looking. Maybe something in the CBD?

There's a Comfort Inn near the airport, but I haven't stayed there. I've stayed at the Hotel Urban, which is up on a hill overlooking the CBD in a residential area but isn't down in it, but it's also not cheap.

I've just been on wotif.com and there's quite a few options in your price range. Distance to airport is generally indicated - I'd choose anywhere listed in Hamilton or Ascot and Doug's choice above is also listed.

The motels will be typical but you should find them clean and comfortable with friendly hosts.

Thanks, Stormbird. I took a look at wotif.com and found a couple of places I hadn’t seen on other sites, but none that had a reception desk open 24 hours which was my primary concern. I’m a little anxious about not having a real person to talk to during our short stay in case there are problems not only with the hotel but also with our onward connection. (We once arrived in Christchurch around midnight, first time in that country and no phone, and found we had been given the wrong code to access our room. Fortunately there was a phone by the door to contact the manager in the adjacent building. )

I’ve decided to stick with the reservation at Airport Motel which I made some time ago using Qantas points. They have sent clear instructions on how to access our key from a lock box as well as the wifi code. In addition there is a bell to call the night manager if need be. They also will store luggage for a small fee.

It’s useful to know which neighbourhoods are close to the airport. Not every booking site makes that clear.

Hi, this may or may not suit but we have stayed twice at this older motel in Ascot/Hamilton.
http://www.racewaysmotel.com.au/

It doesn't have 24 hour reception but we arrived at nearly midnight once and instructions were emailed to us with details of how to get our key, room number etc. We had no problems at all. At the end of the street (5 min walk) is a row of cafes and restaurants and two small supermarkets. The Eat Streets Market, an open air food night market, is walkable if you head the other way.

A random check of dates in March showed $149 per night for two people. We've found the managers friendly and helpful.

Hamilton is about a 10 minute drive from the airport. As mentioned, the motel is old but the rooms we've had have been comfortable and everything in working order.

Kay

Thanks, Kay. I’ll make a note of that one in case we are ever passing though Brisbane again. Good to be near some eateries, and decor doesn’t matter to me on a short stay.