Brisvegas is home to some great things to see and do, places to shop and places to eat. If you really want to know where to go, pick yourself up a copy of The Good Guide, a homegrown Luxe competitor which is written by a group of enterprising young girls with their fingers right on the pulse of the city. Actually they are probably making it race a little.

One of them, the lovely Antonia Kelly, works front of house at the Limes. The staff at the Limes are fabulous – not just gorgeous, but friendly, helpful, available and knowledgable. Their youth, beauty and enthusiasm go a long way to making up for some shortcomings in the property.

It’s a very compact hotel in Fortitude Valley, just northeast of the city and home to some of Brisbane’s best bars, boutiques and definitely a scene. However it’s located on the outer edge of the Valley, amongst what seemed to be an inordinate number of office blocks and car dealerships by day. By night, queues of clubbers snaked around various industrial venues but the doof doof was emanating most loudly from the rooftop bar at the Limes.

If I had brought my dancing shoes, my hair straightener and some peeps, maybe it would have worked for me. But I had had a monumentally busy week and was planning on a long bath, an inhouse movie and a little venture into the minibar. However there was no bath – just a compact shower so dark that I thought that perhaps some night vision goggles should have been provided along with the L’Occitane toiletries. There were no inhouse movies – the best I could do was The Hills Have Eyes on one of the commercial channels.  And at 3am I was still listening to the shrieking and giggling upstairs and my room was shaking just a little bit – without me having ventured anywhere near the minibar.

However unless you want something beige and Sheraton, there is not much on offer in Brisbane. Perhaps an option would be the Emporium, a little further down the road – but it’s flashy red neon and flock wallpaper brothel vibe was a little offputting.

I had a great time in Brisbane thanks largely to the joy of seeing good friends, but as a getaway I think I can safely say that it’s yet to offer a truly luxurious hotel experience.