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With Brisbane quickly becoming the cool capital of Australia, with its amazing riverside and city entertainment and dining precincts, and so much to do, it also  appears to me, that Brisbane is also becoming the Aussie capital for cool hotels, with this being reinforced as I discovered recently with The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series Hotel, where a stunning hotel and amazing art come together with…WOW!

When I was arranging to say at The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series Hotel I think I kind of missed out the “Art Series” bit and when I loaded the name, The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series Hotel and location into my phone’s map app, I suppose I just expected another hotel but how wrong was I.  Why?  Well, there are two parts to my surprise, so let me deal with the first part!

Firstly, with most hotels set on a main street in the city, which sometimes quite frankly could be anywhere, my friendly map app seemed to be taking me to Brisbane’s city centre and that was fine, but just as I thought we were going in the right direction, she said to me, “turn left” and seemed to be sending me towards Brisbane’s famous Story Bridge.  Han on though, she was sending me, not over it but under it, and as we all talk to our friendly map app ladies, I said nicely and no I did not shout, “You are taking me to the wrong place!”

I was wrong again, with my map app spot on, because The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series hotel is not set alongside, above, or even overlooking the Story Bridge, but right under it – in a simply amazing location and when I drove up an impressively designed hotel indeed and very much a very pleasant surprise!

Secondly, I also soon discovered as I walked into the very contemporary lobby, which feels like entering an art gallery, and saw a fabulous collection of paintings, that this was most certainly not another standard hotel, but one that simply oozed design and architecture outside and inside, with its own artistic masterpieces on practically every wall – just stunning.

You see, The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series hotel is not only seemingly carved into the cliff under the Story Bridge, but quite amazingly, fully themed and named after the renowned contemporary Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo, with some of the impressive, contemporary and very well equipped 166 suites, liberally adorned with Fantauzzo’s amazing art, facing the impressive plant clad cliff face and others overlooking the Brisbane River with stunning views under the Story Bridge over the river and towards the city – superb!

The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series hotel’s location is also enhanced by its incredible location in the newly restored and redeveloped historic Howard Smith Wharves precinct, with a substantial range of quality bars and restaurants, offering a range of excellent cuisines all set in very well restored historic buildings and there is even a Brisbane River Ferry stop right outside!

This is without doubt a luxury hotel, with a difference, and the kind of difference I very much enjoy and I am sure you will also.

The suites are all equipped with custom contemporary furnishings, original artworks and prints of Fantauzzo’s most recognised works, even along all the corridors, creating a very unusual but very effective indeed and seamless combination of art, design and functionality with excellent service and facilities.

These include 24 hour hotel reception, free very high speed wireless internet, self-parking and valet parking under the hotel but a fee applies, , limousine service and they even have Fiat 500’s and electric bikes outside for guests to hire, a concierge team, its own restaurant Polpetta, offering an à la carte menu, but unfortunately that was closed due to COVID-19 for lunch and dinner, but was open for a scrumptious breakfast [also remember the Howard Smith Wharves restaurant are right outside,  a wonderful heated rooftop and terrace and bar with fabulous views, a fully equipped state-of-the-art gymnasium, the hotel has wheelchair access and they will even arrange complimentary art tours!  Oh and by the way this is non-smoking property!

So, before I finish my review a little about Vincent Fantauzzo!

If you are not familiar with Vincent Fantauzzo and his work, one of the first facts about him is that he is married to Australian actress Asher Keddie, who it appears has had a very significant influence on Vincent’s life.

Vincent was born in 1977 in Manchester, England, migrated with his parents to Australia when he was a child and is now based in Melbourne and is renowned for his many award winning photorealist portraits including, of Heath Ledger, Brandon Walters, Matt Moran, Emma Hack, Baz Luhrmann, his wife Asher Keddie and his son Luca and he has won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Archibald Packing Room Prize, and the Archibald People’s Choice Award four times. He was also chosen to paint the official portrait of former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2017, with the portrait unveiled in Parliament House Canberra on 24 October 2018.

His wife Asher Keddie is said to have curated the collection in the hotel  with the original very large and impressive original portrait of her in the lobby and 207 pieces hung throughout the hotel, with varying artworks in each of the 166 individually designed rooms.

If you would like to learn much more about Vincent Fantauzzo’s very interesting and extremely challenging life, as he was not diagnosed as severely dyslexic in all forms of dyslexia until he was in his 20’s having suffered until then, CLICK HERE to view the ABC Australian Story “Drawing a Life in Paintings” programme all about his life.

In the meantime if you want to experience and enjoy a top quality five star hotel experience in buzzing Brisbane, with incredible architecture and interiors and design and amazing Australian art , in a stunning local, then where better than The Fantauzzo Brisbane – Art Series and for more information CLICK HERE.