Thank you Mr Rieu!

I mentioned back in October that Andre Rieu's planned tour for November had been postponed and the upside was that it would give us more time to prepare. Well his concerts in Brisbane were this week and as always Mr Rieu did not disappoint. No, I'm not talking about his actual on-stage performance, but for the 3rd consecutive trip to Brisbane he created havoc by filling every hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday night and almost tonight (Thursday).

We were prepared with a large allotment and although pick-up as usual for Brisbane was late, we judged things pretty well running out of rooms on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, our business is very much a juggling act between expected demand and how large an allotment we carry in to such an event. Thankfully tho, Andre Rieu continues to be automatic in Brisbane and can be relied upon to fill the city.

He started his tour in Adelaide which we did ok out of (not great tho, Adelaide has been a struggle this year) but it would have been great if his Sydney dates were midweek rather than on the weekend. I can't complain tho and hopefully Andre will grace us with his presence again in the near future.

Lunch at the Sofitel

With the Easter looooong weekend about to begin, business has been very slow for the last week or so. It happens every year, Easter, school holidays, long weekends ... it all adds up to very little corporate travel and events are scheduled at other times to avoid these dates.

We've done our best to take advantage of the down-time. Last Friday it was Sushi Station for lunch, yesterday it was the buffet/interactive dining experience at Sofitel Brisbane Central. They have an Italian theme this month so there is a Maserati and a Vesper in the lobby of the hotel.

The sales team from the Sofitel obviously had similar ideas to us as we saw Jago (recently switched over from the Brisbane Marriott) entertaining a client as well as Georgina who came over and chatted to us.

As always, the food was sensational and there was no need for dinner last night!

Adam drooling over the Maserati

Easter Chocolate Buffet

I stumbled across this today ... having missed it over the last 2 years, this time I cannot wait!

Easter Chocolate Buffet The Sebel & Citigate King George Square Brisbane

Easter Chocolate Buffet is back by popular demand this Easter....

Chocoholics unite at Bistro Allure to celebrate Easter, from Monday 18th April to Monday 2nd May 2011.

Get your tastebuds in training as you indulge in a chocolate sensation of cakes, gateaux’s, slices, tarts, cheesecakes, puddings, complementing, mouth-watering sauces and more!

Treat your family or get a group of friends or work colleagues together to join the Chocolate Parade, while lapping up the ambience of Brisbane's centrally-located hotel overlooking King George Square.

Bistro Allure Easter Chocolate Buffet from Monday 18th April to Monday 2nd May 2011.

Available for Lunch and Dinner - $20.00 per person

Lunch 11.30am to 3.00pm

Dinner 5.30pm to 9.30pm

Bookings essential.

Call Bistro Allure on (07) 3222 1128

So much chocolate, so little time...

Easter has never looked so good!

Royal on the Park breakfast

Last week Adam and I were lucky enough to be invited in to Royal on the Park for breakfast with their new GM, sales manager and the team in reservations.

We've had a close working relationship with the hotel for many years now but they've had some personnel changes over the last year and we hadn't seen their recently refurbished rooms. It was great to meet the new team as well as catch up with a few familiar faces. And well, food is the way to my heart, so the breakfast invite was always going to be well received.

I was impressed with the look of the new rooms (pictured below), they were always one of the larger rooms in the city, but the new colour scheme seems to brighten the room and the new desks and TV's certainly make them feel more modern.

February Travels - Part 2

My other trip in February was at the end of the month and I headed up to Townsville for the weekend.

I'm a member of Accor's Advantage Plus program so I stayed at the new(ish) Grand Mercure Townsville using a free night I had up my sleeve and a member's discounted rate on the other. I also decided to upgrade to a one bedroom apartment rather than a studio.

The hotel is in a great location in Townsville, right in the middle of Palmer Street which is a strip of restaurants and cafe's. The apartment itself was a good size, separate bedroom from the lounge room (pictured below) and perfect for a couple of nights stay.

For the foodies, the culinary highlight of the weekend was dinner on Saturday night at The Saltcellar. I can't remember the cut of beef (eye fillet or angus fillet) but it was quality!

February travels - part 1

Despite it being one of the busier months of the year for us, I managed to get away a couple of times during February. First off was a long weekend in the Hunter Valley with some friends. We flew down early Saturday morning and came back on Monday evening, thankfully Adam was able to look after things while I was away.

My friends had actually already organised the accommodation but with my experience I was able to find a slightly better deal, saving us $100 per apartment over the two nights. We stayed at Grand Mercure The Vintage which is part of the Greg Norman designed golf course. It was perfect for our group and we shared 2 two bedroom apartments.

Last time I went to the Hunter was about 6 years ago for a friend's wedding and the challenge then was finding something suitable for more than 2 people. The Grand Mercure certainly solves that problem. The townhouses (pictured below) are essentially a 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor and another 2 bedroom apartment above, perfect for the 7 of us. The bedrooms were a good size, the bathrooms were great (separate shower and large bath tub) and the living area was spacious.

From a wine tour perspective, the highlight of the weekend was tasting the Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz and from a food perspective lunch at Margan Restaurant. The triple-cooked pork cheek with scallops was one of the best meals I've had in a long time!

Capital Reservations' theme song!

If you've ever listened to the music playing in the background of our office, you'll know we listen to Triple J (Renee would be proud). In between the hundreds of phone calls this week, Adam brought to my attention the song below and after hearing it for myself, I'm now naming it our theme song!

Why "Jump in to the fog" by The Wombats? The opening line is:
"What a great achievement it was to get a hotel room this late"
Which is pretty much what we do all day every day!