The Royal Albert Hotel is in an old building (1913) in central Brisbane, very handy for all the shops and the river. The reception is in a small arcade with a busy restaurant at the front so a little difficult to spot at first glance.

The reception staff were welcoming, and the desk is staffed for 24 hours a day although the main doors are locked from 8 pm. Your key card will give you access and also allows operation of the lifts.

My room was bigger than I expected, although I had not studied the pictures on the website closely. It was advertised as a queen room but was very big, with both a desk and a dining table with four chairs, as well as a sofa that turns into a sofa bed.

There was a well-stocked kitchenette and another surprise was the washer and dryer in the room which saved me having to find a local launderette. As well as a microwave, kettle and toaster, there was a small hob, iron, ironing board and hairdryer. No safe though. The bed was comfortable. The air-con / heater was set to 22 and there was a note on it asking that it not be changed. The temperature in the room was fine, although I could have done with a bit of boost to the temperature in the bathroom for my morning shower.

If I have any complaints it is about the water strength in the shower which was very very poor, I wash my hair most days and it was not strong enough to rinse the conditioner so I had to finish rinsing my hair over the sink. Not ideal.

My other complaint relates to the cleaning, the bed was made but some of the towels and face cloth had been taken and not replaced. This included the bath mat towel. And the cleaner had removed a small bag of rubbish from the bin but for some reason then abandoned it by the microwave.

I’ve seen reviews mentioning the noise, my room was adequately sound proofed, and faced onto an office block at the back of the building rather than onto Albert or Elizabeth Streets. I did hear some noise from the room next door late at night but it was very muffled, and not really an issue.

This is a well located hotel for anyone looking for somewhere to stay in central Brisbane, and the rooms are charming.

This was a different option from the norm. Most hotels in Brisbane are high rises and I've stayed in a few over the years when staying in the city to see shows etc. I thought I'd try the Royal Albert and I'm glad I did. As great as the views are in high rises I sleep better closer to the ground, lol. Also this is an older style hotel, with quaint decor and most importantly larger rooms. There is plenty of space to plonk your bags and still walk around. There was a queen bed in the room and my friend and i shared that but there is also the option of the pull out sofa - even not pulled out it would have been big enough for a small to average sized person to sleep on. There was some traffic noise but it's the middle of the city so that's any place you stay. They are doing roadworks around the building but the reception sent me easy to follow instructions for how to get into the carpark, so it didn't cause a problem. The staff were lovely and helpful. The parking is reasonably priced and valet, which felt a bit luxurious. Next morning we ate breakfast in the cafe downstairs and it was delicious. Location is also great as you can just walk over to the mall if you want to shop or catch a movie. I think I've found my new favourite overnight city stay.