2024-07-12
Celebrating 40 Years
Forty years ago, the iconic building where Sofitel Brisbane Central has proudly resided for almost half that time first opened its doors as Sheraton Brisbane Hotel & Towers, the city’s first internationally-branded hotel.
Pre-Opening
What marked the first key milestone for the hotel, on 17 June 1983 the hotel celebrated with a traditional ‘topping off’ ceremony which saw a pine tree hoisted by crane onto the hotel’s rooftop. The ceremony was watched by 300 guests who gathered in the hotel's lobby below via a videotape replay, with the Civil and Civic State Manager, Rick Parris, throwing the switch. This was followed by a silver service buffet lunch (amid concrete and scaffolding), with music from students of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music who played Mozart and Brahms wearing formal black and white along with hard hats decorated with the Sheraton Brisbane logo. The day was concluded with tours of the building.
One week before the hotel's opening, 360 Brisbane taxi drivers were invited for coffee, fruit, and pastries on the hotel’s driveway aimed to familiarise drivers with the hotel's entrance and pick-up points.
“If you could not find a cab in Brisbane yesterday morning, it was because they were parked at the new Sheraton Hotel." - Courier Mail / 6 July, 1984
The Making of an Icon
Construction of the hotel began in December 1981, costing $63.3 million - $41 million for the building and $23.2 million for the fit-out - and employed 450 workers. The making of the hotel consisted of 50,000 tonnes of concrete, 3,000 tonnes of steel reinforcing, 1,200 pre-cast concrete cladding panels, 400,000 metres of electric cable, and 1,000 square metres of white-flecked beige marble imported from Italy.
The hotel was completed by Civil & Civic Pty Ltd on 21 June 1984, two months ahead of schedule, with its interiors completed by international interior architect, Frank Solano from Graham-Solano Ltd based in Boston. The hotel marked the 463rd Sheraton hotel in the world and third in Australia at the time. The hotel employed 400 people with an annual payroll of $7 million, with a further $7.5 million injected into the Queensland economy through purchases of food, beverage, and services.
When the hotel opened it possessed the only air-conditioned laundry and dry cleaning area in Australia, with 6,000 items laundered daily, was the only hotel in Brisbane with a concierge who was a member of the Union of International Concierges for Grand Hotels, and proudly wore Clefs D’Or, and became the first hotel in Brisbane to offer guests incorporated service and retail outlets.
The hotel's 1,000 staff uniforms were designed by Barbara Bataglini, and the hotel's computer system was hailed as one of the most advanced systems in Australia, with no day-to-day manual systems. Particularly, the hotel had two IBM systems, 36 computers with 25 screens, and 7 printers which ran everything from reservations to catering.
The hotel's occupancy for the first month was 40.4%, climbing to 66.7% by November 1984.
Opening Day
On Thursday, 12 July 1984 Sheraton Brisbane Hotel & Towers officially opened its doors. The hotel welcomed 200 excited guests, the first of which checked in at 6.05am. The atmosphere on opening day was electric - it was hard-pressed to find anyone in Brisbane who hadn’t heard about Sheraton’s arrival.
“There can be no more tangible proof of the progressive course Brisbane is taking than the magnificent Sheraton Hotel overlooking our central business district. The heart of our city will continue to beat stronger and louder with the opening of the Sheraton Hotel.” - Roy Harvey, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (Daily Sun - 12 July 1984)
ABC’s popular radio station 4QR broadcasted directly from the lobby throughout the hotel's opening day. With a small mobile recording studio set up with chairs, the station’s breakfast program commencing at 5am, mid-morning magazine and talk-back program, afternoon music, and evening drive-time program all went to air live from the hotel. The broadcast included interviews from General Managers and Executive Chefs of Sheraton’s in Europe and the Far East as well as executives at the hotel. Courtesy of Trans Australia Airlines and Sheraton hotels in Perth and Sydney, prizes for holidays in these cities were awarded throughout the day.
Beyond this, the top public affairs program Today Tonight gave away a prize of a week's holiday for two to Hong Kong in collab with Sheraton Hong Kong and Qantas. Radio station 4BC held a write-in competition with the prize of accommodation in one of the hotel's suites on its first night. Channel 7's State Affair spent a day filming at the hotel with a 5-minute feature on the hotel, including an extended interview with the General Manager. Channel 9's Today Tonight ran a humorous piece where a well-known reporter made a mock application for the position of hotel Butler.
Leading Brisbane brewer and a major supplier of the hotel, Castlemaine helped promote the hotel's arrival in Brisbane. Under contract to the brewer, at-the-time Australian cricket captain, Allan Border poured the first beer at the hotel's Whistlestop Bar at 10am, which had a line out the door upon opening. The hotel's General Manager even enjoyed his first beer in 20 years on the day. Border then headed to the hotel’s saloon bar Sessions, where he handed out autographed posters of the Queensland cricket team to first drinkers.
Meanwhile, Australia’s and Queensland's second largest brewer, Fosters Lager, arranged for glamorous young ladies to move around Brisbane's CBD handing out free Fosters vouchers to the public, only redeemable at the hotel on opening day.
In the hotel, the Fosters Lager Koala character moved through the hotel with a goodwill petition for Australia’s Olympic team heading to Los Angeles. The day concluded with the Australian Army’s prestigious military band playing in the lobby.
Grand Opening
With the hotel fully operational from day one there was no soft opening of the hotel. Instead, opening celebrations were scheduled exactly three months after opening day and were spread over three days. Particularly, guests from the travel industry and media were hosted the first night, and corporate clients the succeeding evening in the Grand Ballroom. The hotel was officially opened by the Premier of Queensland on the third and final night at a black-tie dinner attended by 1500 guests.
Titled 'An Evening in the World of Sheraton', the grand opening featured international food prepared by 44 chefs and a world-class cabaret show, featuring Miss Jackie Love, the Clarissa Hill Dancers, The Brian Cogman Band, and the Tony Bonetti Quintet. The conference floor and ballroom were dressed to resemble restaurants and food styles of all the nations in the Pacific Basin and Europe where Sheraton had properties. Senior Sheraton Executives were guests of honour, along with local dignitaries, Knights of the Realm, senior travel industry, and corporate executives and wives.
Coverage of the gala opening was featured in colour – only happening once before, when covering the British Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane two years prior.
Rebranding
After 20 years, Thakral Holdings appointed Accor to manage the Sheraton in December 2004, with the hotel rebranding to Sofitel Brisbane Central on 1 February 2005, becoming the fifth Sofitel in Australia. To celebrate Sofitel’s arrival to Brisbane, a Pacific-themed poolside soirée was held.
“Our Sofitel hotels in Australia have won the highest awards for excellence in service and product, and we will bring this proven record to the operation of Sofitel Brisbane.” - David Baffsky, Accor Asia Pacific Chairman
To celebrate Sofitel’s opening, the hotel’s pool deck was transformed into a tropical wonderland. Guests were surrounded by 5,000 orchids and lilies, with fairy lights and palm trees. With a flick of a switch, the Sofitel sign turned on for the first time.
“Our intention is to bring about a gentle revolution in the city’s five-star hotel offerings. The changes that we’ll bring will be subtle but significant and I believe will reinforce this property’s position as Brisbane’s premier landmark hotel.” - Neil Scanlan, General Manager
Since opening day on 12 July 1984, from the Sheraton to now Sofitel Brisbane Central, the hotel has continually evolved and remains one of the city’s premier luxury hotels. On our 40th anniversary, we thank all our loyal guests and incredible Ambassadors who have made this iconic building the special place it is.