Mirvac Hotels & Resorts recently unveiled a $2.8 million refurbishment of The Sebel Suites Brisbane. This stylish apartment-style hotel has long been a mainstay of Brisbane’s vibrant central business district – playing host to corporate travellers, media personalities and leisure guests – and general manager Tom Bloomfield said, “This exciting upgrade of our accommodation facilities will further enhance The Sebel Suites Brisbane’s reputation as the first choice for travellers looking for outstanding value combined with stylish surroundings in the heart of the city.”

Commencing in December 2008 and completed in March 2009, the multi-million dollar refurbishment project saw an extensive overhaul of the property’s guest room design and function. Each of the property’s 164 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments received a major makeover with new carpet, beds and bedding, upgraded appliances, leading edge entertainment and business technology, dark wood tones complemented by chrome, faux leather and burnt orange textiles and striking artwork photography of Brisbane’s cityscape.






Hotel fit-out and refurbishment specialists, Resort Interiors International was the company selected to complete the refurbishment of The Sebel Suites Brisbane and general manager, Tom Bloomfield, was responsible for overseeing the transformation.

Resort Interiors International director, Ian Farrell said the design brief included the use of paint and carpet colour selections determined by Mirvac Hotels & Resorts with the express instruction to eliminate the existing beech coloured timber furnishes throughout the rooms.

“The scope of the work carried out by Resort Interiors International included initial FF&E deign, overall project management (including writing and implementation of the day-to-day refurbishment schedule), manufacturing, procurement and replacement of furnishings including bed heads; bedside tables and lamps; arm chairs; side tables; floor lamps; sofa beds; coffee tables; cushions; desks and desk chairs; desk lamps; entertainment units; ottomans; luggage racks; dining tables and dining chairs, removal and replacement of the carpet and existing drawer and door fronts, preparation and repaint of apartment walls and replacement of existing kitchen servery capping, dishwasher and bar fridge.

“Whilst the carpet and paint colours were pre-selected by Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, the carpet is Feltex Soprano, an innovative level loop pile carpet that combines the warmth and luxury of 90% pure New Zealand wool in Melba, which is a charcoal type colour and the paint colours are Dulux Lexicon an off white with a subtle shade of grey (on the walls and ceilings) and Dulux Bogart a mild grey for the feature walls.






“Arm chairs, dining chairs, desk chairs, ottomans and bed heads are upholstered in black faux leather which was selected due to it’s hard wearing properties and ease of maintenance. The sofa beds have been constructed using individual Dacron and foam wrapped pocked springs in each seat cushion to improve comfort and are upholstered in a close weave orange and black commercial fabric. The sofa bed is also one hand square tube action that includes innerspring mattresses to improve sleeping comfort. An open grain timber veneer was selected with all top surfaces treated with additional coats of lacquer to improve scratch resistance. Commercially constructed glued and screwed hard furniture items are used throughout the accommodation rooms and luggage racks and bedside tables include the use of commercial telescopic drawer runners.

“The refurbishment project was conducted as 11 stages with two floors completed per stage. Preliminary installation of the television arms and kitchen server pieces were performed between checkout and check in times on a daily basis prior to the commencement of the major works with little to no effect on room availability. The stages were: day one – housekeeping removed linen and curtains etc.; day two – existing furniture was removed; day three – take up and dispose of existing carpet; day four to day nine – paint walls and ceilings; day 10 – new carpet installed; day 11 – installation of door and drawer fronts; day 12 – installation of furniture and electrical and floor hand over; day 13 – housekeeping refit room and day 14 – room re-occupied.”

Engaged by Resort Interiors International to assist with the project was Grace Business Services, a specialist FF&E and commercial projects division of Grace Removals Group.

Grace Removals Group project manager, Hamish Dahya said, “We assisted with onsite project management, pre and post installation defect inspections, installation of building protection, receipt of product to site in shipping/ storage containers, coordination and placement of furniture packages into respective rooms, unpacking and removal of all debris from site, installation of headboards, electrical and lighting products and cleaning of all product and vacuuming throughout. Grace also assisted with a programmed decant of existing furniture from all levels, transportation and facilitation of an auction and disposal service to provide The Sebel Suites Brisbane with a 'cost neutral' and cost efficient solution.”






The comprehensive refurbishment project has successfully given The Sebel Suites Brisbane a new design that can only be described as visually stunning.

Mr Bloomfield said, “I believe we have managed to successfully incorporate clean, uninterrupted lines without giving an austere feel. In the lounge room of our one-bedroom suites, chrome and dark wood is off-set by colourful and plush fabrics that inject a certain warm Queensland glow to the ambience. These highlights could also be changed very simply in the future to give quite a different feel to our guest rooms if the need arose.

“The original prototype design of the refurbishment project primarily met the standards of the well-established Sebel brand and also aimed to reflect the needs of our clientele staying in Brisbane CBD. A modern, sleek and uncluttered design was part of the brief. All prototypes need to be tested and are a ‘work in progress’. Ours was exactly that. We consulted our guests, stakeholders and staff before deciding on the finished product that incorporates more warmth, more function and more local flavour.”

So, what was the original decision for the refurbishment project and has it successfully fulfilled this reason?

“A key component of a hotel’s attraction for customers is to keep pace with changing expectations in guest room design and function. In the 10 years since The Sebel Suites Brisbane opened, there have been many exciting developments in hotel fit-out. This upgrade was designed to tap into the look and feel that today’s guest expects. It has absolutely fulfilled the reason for the upgrades. We continue to actively seek input from customers and owners as well as our own team and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. The process is ongoing and there are always adjustments that can be made to improve the product in between refurbishments – it is something of a continuum.”

Located on Charlotte St in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD, The Sebel Suites Brisbane offers these 164 newly refurbished apartments each complete with a comprehensive kitchenette, separate lounge, private balcony and a choice between self-catered convenience and luxurious room service dining. All year round, the hotel’s recreation deck – adjacent to its conference centre – offers a heated swimming pool overlooking Brisbane’s busy Albert Street, a sauna and fully equipped gymnasium.

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