The Accor network has added to its upscale MGallery Collection of hotels with the addition of The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites, the brand’s first MGallery for Brisbane, and its tenth address across Australia and New Zealand.
Centrally located at 73 Wickham Terrace, in close distance to the CBD and Fortitude Valley, The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites is secluded yet connected to Brisbane’s commercial and cultural pulse.
The opening follows an extensive $8 million refurbishment and restoration program for the official AAA 5-star rated boutique hotel.
The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites features 50 elegant room options, including one and two-bedroom suites. It also presents Brisbane’s first loft-style hotel suites, lending a contemporary yet elegant edge to the vintage luxe hotel.
Two new-look ‘wine and dine’ options are available with the addition of Thomson’s Reserve Restaurant and the sophisticated Socialites Bar, both designed to recreate the ambiance and glamour reminiscent of the Charleston era and Brisbane’s original 1920s socialite scene.
For business and social events, the hotel has added fresh conference and occasion spaces – the Charleston Room catering for up to 100 guests, and the Foxtrot Room available for intimate dining and as a private board meeting venue.
With layered patterns and textured interiors by Robertson Design Studio International, the hotel’s rooms and public spaces make a modern statement with pieces from renowned designers such as Christopher Guy and Jonathan Adler. One-off furniture items have also been custom-made specifically for The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites.
The result is an eclectic blend of new and old elements, with Heritage-listed treasures to be found at every turn, not least of all a fantastic old cage lift which sits at the heart of the hotel, an original feature of the building now restored for future generations to enjoy.
Indeed, this heritage-listed hotel has been influenced in every way by its incredibly rich history, which dates back to the 1880s when immigrant Dr John Thomson chose the site to build his personal residence. The accomplished doctor, scientist, astronomer, psychologist and pioneering photographer (who in addition was also a founder of St. John’s Ambulance and QLD University), named his home Inchcolm after Scotland’s Inchcolm Island.
The hotel’s General Manager Daniel Meek explained, “The Inchcolm name, coming from Scotland’s Inchcolm Island, has always remained the same, as has the historical architecture and charming 20s and 30s socialite vibe.
“This era was the heyday of interior design. The current refurbishment has carefully protected the building’s neo-Georgian style yet combined it with modern touches. The end result is welcoming, quirky and surprising.”
The building that is The New Inchcolm Hotel and Suites today was built during the 1920s, replacing Dr Thomson’s home and private medical practice which was originally built to house the rooms of a number of medical specialists. In 1997, the building was purchased by its current owner, Brisbane developer Peter Flynn, who has a special connection to property having been born in the building during its medical practice days.
Flynn’s vision to create a New York style boutique hotel saw The Inchcolm Hotel open its doors in 1998. Rekindling this vision in 2014, The New Inchcolm Hotel and Suites underwent a major refurbishment and expansion and has relaunched in 2015 as a premier accommodation option in the reinvigorated Spring Hill precinct.
“By wearing the MGallery badge, The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites is now part of an esteemed worldwide collection of unique hotels that proudly invites travellers to enjoy stays full of discovery, history, design and character,” said Mr Meek.
“We hope guest past and new will come for an experience and indulge their curiosity, love of design detail and perhaps get lost for a moment in our history.”
The ten MGallery hotels in Australia and New Zealand are: Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains and Harbour Rocks Hotel in NSW; The Como Melbourne, Grand Hotel Melbourne and Hotel Lindrum in Victoria; Mount Lofty House and The Playford in South Australia; The Reef House and The New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites in Queensland as well as Hotel St Moritz in Queenstown NZ.
