Hotel X Brisbane Fortitude Vly

Fortitude Valley may sound like the name of a cowboy film or a remote western outpost; in fact it’s a hip and vibrant suburb of Brisbane, full of upscale shops and restaurants, and home to Hotel X Brisbane Fortitude Valley, an unmistakably modern concrete-and-glass structure that towers over its mid-rise surroundings. Aesthetically, it’s got all the panache of a one-off boutique hotel whose rakish style is its calling card. As it happens, it’s a member of IHG’s Vignette Collection, the edgier, more design-oriented arm of the InterContinental Hotels Group empire.

The rooms and suites are a heady cocktail of off-kilter angles, eye-catching artworks, and vivid violet and indigo accents. Some of them come with balconies or terraces, and the expansive Hotel X Suite is a proper penthouse, complete with a double-size bathtub. The immediate neighborhood has plenty to recommend it, including live music and Brisbane’s Chinatown; the city center is just a few minutes away. Not that you need to go out — Bisou Bisou, the French bistro, is open all day, and Iris, the rooftop bar and restaurant, serves drinks and Spanish-inspired bites with a panoramic city view.