I was shocked to learn this week that not only is the Brisbane Hilton closing, but it is doing so at the end of this month.
Actually, its last trading day will be April 1 — and I’m pretty sure that’s not a joke.
Such is the nature of things with hotels (because the operators rarely own the building in which their business is situated), it will reopen under a new brand. We lost the Brisbane Sheraton in similar circumstances, and it was reborn as the Sofitel, while the old Crest Hotel has had many incarnations.
At least the Hilton isn’t being demolished, which is a favourite pastime of property owners and developers in the CBD. Indeed, it was the demolition of Her Majesty’s Theatre that allowed it to be built in the first place.
Nevertheless, I have some fond memories of the hotel under its soon-to-be-former name, and those memories are basically split into two categories: work-related and other.
For work, I interviewed some famous people — including Vanilla Ice, who seconded an entire floor of the hotel with security guards and all the accoutrements of the superstar he ended up not becoming. He made a lot of spurious claims which, in the pre-internet age, were difficult to navigate through.
I had lunch with Rick Stein when (to my shame) I barely knew who he was, and with Peter Ustinov, who was an absolute joy, telling wonderful stories of old Hollywood. He also signed my father’s copy of his autobiography, Dear Me.
I went to a business breakfast where Phillip Adams was the very entertaining guest speaker (although I choked on my brekkie when he told an anecdote about television pioneer Bruce Gyngell).
And I sat with Joan Rivers for a chat after she performed in the ballroom and, like many big stars, she was a different person off stage than on — quite sweet and much smaller than her larger-than-life persona suggested.
As for my leisure time, I remember a date at the long-gone Victoria’s restaurant — a very expensive degustation dinner designed by a celebrity chef whose name I forget — and many hours spent at the nightclub and the America’s Cup bar (both also long gone).
At one of those drinking sessions with my good friend Top Level Ted (don’t Google him, you’ll come up with the wrong person), we ran into a young woman who claimed to be the member of a religious cult. She told some eyebrow-raising stories.
More recently, I’ve had quiet drinks with old friends in the atrium because it’s the place you go when you want to be fancy.
Building owner ISPT has announced that the hotel “will be closed for a brief period and will re-open under the new operator’s brand name. Excitingly, in 2026 the hotel will undergo a complete refurbishment. We look forward to announcing the name of the global luxury hotel brand that will be join this iconic site soon.”
I’m sure it will scrub up very well, but will it be the same? Probably not. Which is why I’ll try to raise a glass in the atrium bar for old time’s sake sometime in the next fortnight.
River of Gold?
Also this week, somebody from the world of radio phoned me to ask what I thought the future holds for River 949 in Ipswich.
Given my recent track record in the forecasting department, I don’t know why he asked. All I can report is what “they” are saying, bearing in mind that “they” can be wrong.
First up, congratulations to River for being named ARN Market of the Year for 2024. This is an award presented by the parent network — so it’s an in-house thing rather than an industry-wide accolade — but it’s still noteworthy, and testament to the great work of general manager David Wiltshire and his team.
But winning plaudits, having ratings successes and reaching financial targets doesn’t necessarily insulate River, or any other radio station, from decisions being made at a national level.
The River building was sold off a few weeks ago, and there are persistent rumours that the station will be rebranded Gold, just as WSFM in Sydney was last year. This may or may not come with job losses. It’s all about the bottom line and the “good” of the network.
I’m told that ARN will have a fight on its hands if it tries to convert it into a “Brisbane” station (as 4IP was many years ago), but I know that that outcome has been considered.
I hope that doesn’t happen because radio stations that run their own race to serve their own communities are few and far between these days.
Metro madness
If you want to hear from somebody who’s better informed than me to articulate some of the problems with the Brisbane Metro, and Brisbane’s public transport system in general, this video by “Streets and Scars of City Past” is worth watching. (Warning: some of the language is sweary and the opinions, including the character assessments, expressed are the video creator’s, not mine.)
Usual disclaimers apply.
Dennis Buchanan was the GM at the Bris Hilton in the very early 90s. My parents were friends with him. Sadly passed now, but he turned that place into a palace. Also, had the best celebrity anecdotes. I wrote a story on him when you were at The Brisbane News.
Very good! Perhaps it's time for you to write your own memoir Brett? It should make for interesting reading!