The Star Grand, a star is born
The Star Grand, Brisbane, Australia
LOCATION
Brisbane, Australia
VENUE
Hotel
TREND
Gaming
MAPPING
Food & Beverage
Brisbane's new baby
Proud parents welcomed this colossus new baby to their Brisbane family in August 2024. And what an addition to the family it was. Brisbane had been watching this baby grow for six years, before it finally opened; bringing a new levels of service and a promoted six star luxury hotel to the city. Sadly; the construction phase of this project was plagued by delays and cost blow outs due to the covid pandemic. While operators have continued to manage the issues, the hotel and casino has continued to operate, and has given the city a new landmark to be proud of. Come with me as I wander around and introduce you to some of the Star Grand's features, facilities and highlights.
THE MANY FACES OF THE STAR GRAND HOTEL
Like a chameleon this hotel changed its face everyday. Whether it was Christmas, Melbourne Cup, Grand Final week or just a regular day, it did not matter what the reason, the hotel changed its face to suit the times, and created atmosphere, wonder, and joy as it brought a new level of entertainment to the city and surrounding precinct.
Floor to ceiling glass, and a lobby with class
This was arguably Brisbane's best luxury hotel lobby. It was not hard to recognise that I had walked into something special and something to be proud of in our home town of Brisbane. High ceilings breathed a sense of grandeur, while expansive floor to ceiling windows allowed natural light to filter through. That natural light along with warm ceiling light and soft music created an ambient vibe. A range of tasteful but comfortable lounges and carpets were strategically laid around the lobby, that gave an air of, exclusive lounge. I immediately wanted to go around and sit in every one to give them a try, but I held myself back thinking I'd gradually try them out over further visits. One end of the lobby was a relaxed seating area, ideal for guests waiting for their friends, Uber's or limos, while in the opposite end the main reception desk was situated.
Sassy Sokyo bar and restaurant
Central to any hotel lobby, the Sokyo Bar was no exception. Located at the one end of the lobby, it offered a relaxed vibe with a variety of lounges and couches to while away the afternoon. It afforded views through sound proof glass across to Southbank Parklands as well as to an eerily silent expressway, strangely it was quite mesmerising to watch the constant stream of traffic flow by.
The bar offered a range of beers on tap, cocktails along with Australian and international wines. The Japanese influence was not forgotten with a range of Japanese sakes, whiskies, and beers also on offer. During the morning, the bar masquerades as a coffee shop offering espresso coffee, cakes and pastries. So hard to say no to.
While The Sokyo was a Japanese restaurant, in the morning it transformed into the breakfast venue. Unlike other hotels there was no buffet breakfast here, rather an a la carte menu featured as an up market offering more aligned with the hotel's standard.
For lunch and dinner Sokyo offered a menu that blended Japanese culinary methods and techniques with quality Australian produce. The restaurant was well known for grilling over Japanese charcoal and one popular dish was the truffle-infused lobster. Sounds beautiful, but I'm not sure if the lobster was happy about it.
Sokyo had a variety of seating to accommodate different guest needs and requests. It also provided zones that were more generally used at breakfast while others were more suited for lunch and dinner. That being said, when it was busy everything was used. The casual seating in the image above was used for breakfast and lunch. However venturing further into Sokyo, it also had a beautiful private dining space, common in Asian hotels and restaurants, the private space was perfect for special events and celebrations.
As expected traditional style seating for groups of four or more can be arranged for any booking.
The chefs counter where guests can feel part of the experience watching the chefs prepare their meal.
As with any international hotel the Star Grand featured an extensive event space. The hotel boasted a 1,440-seat ballroom along with an expansive, pre-function bar area, and an outdoor terrace known as the leisure deck that had views to the Story Bridge. It also had break out rooms and meeting rooms that could be repurposed for any event. The large floor space was suited to conferences, exhibitions and award nights.
The event centre was located on level 6
Multiple zones and room are available to tailor for any event
All spaces were expansive and obviously catered for volume. The scale of operations was obvious when it was clear to see the thousands of pre polished glassware ready to go in the pre-function bar zone.
One big entertainment precinct
The leisure deck was located on level 7 of the hotel and was promoted as a laid back venue that offered a variety of entertainment options. A key feature was the outdoor cinema that regularly live streamed sporting events such as the cricket and all the football codes, soccer, league and Aussie rules. This space truly was a multifunctional space; on the number of visits I have made to the venue, it appeared to change constantly. I have seen games, pizza tents, wine bars, coffee vans, ice cream carts, it all changed according to time of year, weather and demand.
Anyone for table tennis or a DJ to rock your socks
The hotel swimming pool and bar
Diversity in food and beverage options
THE FOOD QUARTER
In addition to Sokyo, The Star offered a number of food and beverage outlets to choose from, notably Fat Noodle was a popular go to that offered asian cuisine. It was situated in the original casino and returned with the opening of the new development. Situated on skyjack Babblers was coffee shop during the day casual dining at night, it came with great sunset views. Within the casino itself the food quarter was another option for diners who wanted a quick bite between bets! The canteen style option was designed for diners to dine on the run. Food was ordered from the main menu board and food collected from various pick up points.
Vietnamese Spring rolls with a lettuce herb wrap and nuoc cham sauce.
Chicken korma curry with steamed rice accompanied by naan bread and papadum.
Stephen's Take
The Star Grand hotel makes up the great Queens Wharf precinct on the Brisbane River. It has added a much needed 340 rooms to Brisbane's hotel room inventory. It's an upmarket hotel with finer touches that give the impression of something special. The Star Casino has been thoughtfully located close by but with enough separation so as not to impact the property. The Star Grand is worthy of a visit to see the opulence for yourself. Although I'm not a gambler I joined the casino's Star Club loyalty program. Through this membership I was able to take advantage of a $159 rate that gave the opportunity to research and evaluate this hotel.
Stephen
Unit of Competency Mapping
Serve food and beverage
Source and use information on the hospitality industry
Please note; the purpose of this article is to introduce current hospitality trends. The content broadly applies to the units of competency listed. It is not intended that all content in this article maps directly to all performance evidence and knowledge evidence in the unit of competency.
Article and photos original by Stephen Duncan