Demanali: Boutique Hotel Rooms and Rooftop Events in South Brisbane
Demanali is a boutique hotel on Grey Street in South Brisbane, with 48 rooms, a rooftop event space and a walk of nine minutes to South Bank.
A small hotel that runs on being useful
We took over this building in 2016 and spent the next two years fixing what guests actually complain about: noise, thin pillows, slow lifts and confusing bills. What's left is a hotel that's easy to stay in, whether you're here for two nights of work or a week with the family.
You check in at the Grey Street desk and you're in your room five minutes later. Breakfast is included in every rate and runs until eleven, which matters if your flight got in late. The rooftop is a separate business upstairs, so please don't wander up mid-event; ring the desk and we'll arrange a look.
More about usDesk staffed all night
Someone is at the front desk around the clock. Late arrivals get an entry code and a note about where the key is.
Breakfast to eleven
Hot and cold buffet downstairs, included with every rate. No voucher, no separate line on the bill at checkout.
Wi-Fi that holds a call
Fibre to every floor and a desk wide enough for a laptop and a coffee. Video calls run clean in all 48 rooms.
Undercover parking
Secure parking under the building at $28 a night. River View and Penthouse bookings get one space included.
Pick the room that fits the trip
Three room types, all with the same bed, the same bathroom fittings and the same breakfast. The difference is the view, the size and whether you get a balcony.
City King
Street-facing room on the western side. King bed, blackout drapes and a bathroom with a walk-in shower. No balcony, but the quietest part of the building.
River View Suite
Private balcony with two chairs, a river aspect and a sitting area inside. Bathroom has both a shower and a tub. The room most guests come back for.
Corner Penthouse
Two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a wraparound balcony on level eight. A separate living area with a dining table for six. Works for a family or two couples.
What a normal day looks like here
Three things most guests end up doing, in roughly the order they do them.
The rooftop takes 180 standing
Launches, weddings, milestone birthdays and the occasional product night. The whole level is yours, reached by its own lift so guests never walk through the lobby. Indoor room for 70 seated, covered terrace for another 40, and an open deck that takes the rest.
- Built-in bar with eight taps and a spirit rail
- In-house catering, or bring your own licensed team
- Music until midnight weeknights, 1am weekends
- Retractable roof over the terrace when it rains
Two things we do properly
Suites for people staying the night, and a rooftop for people throwing something with a guest list.
River-View Suite Stays
Suites with a private balcony, king bed and a river aspect. Breakfast, pool and gym access included. Rates from $249 a night depending on the room.
Rooftop Event Venue Hire
Private hire of level nine for up to 180 guests. Built-in bar, commercial kitchen, dedicated lift and a manager on the floor all night. Packages from $1,850.
Included, not upsold
Everyone gets the same breakfast, whether you booked the City King or the penthouse. Hot dishes, cold cuts, fruit, decent bread and a proper coffee machine. Served 6:30 to 11:00 every day.
Room service breakfast is available for $22 if you would rather eat on the balcony, and the dining room doubles as a quiet spot for a working lunch between eleven and two. There is a licensed bar on the ground floor, open from 4pm until late.
More about the hotelWhat people wrote afterwards
Unedited, and we didn't pick the flattering ones. The average score across all booking sites sits at 4.8.
Booked the River View Suite for a long weekend and spent most of it on the balcony. The bed was firm enough that my back stopped complaining, and breakfast being included saved us about forty dollars a day.
We ran a product launch for 140 people on the roof. The lift going straight up meant nobody ended up in the hotel lobby, and the bar coped fine at the rush after the speeches. We'll book it again.
Arrived at 1am off a delayed flight. The desk had left a code, my key was where they said it was, and the breakfast room was still open when I finally surfaced. Small thing, but it mattered.
Suppliers and partners
Fifteen years as a hotel on Grey Street
The building opened as offices in the nineties, turned into a hotel in 2009 and came under our management in 2016.
We take over the building
Twenty-six former offices on the east side became river-view suites with real balconies. It took eleven months and the first guests arrived the week before Christmas.
Double glazing on the street side
New windows and sliding doors throughout. Noise complaints went from a monthly headache to something we hear about twice a year.
New beds and blackout drapes
We tested eleven mattress brands with real guests before picking one. Drapes now block the 5am Brisbane sun in every room.
Looking for the full story, the team and the numbers behind the hotel? It's on the about page.
Read about DemanaliThe hotel, as it actually looks
No wide-angle trickery. Shot on a normal week, from the doorway.
Questions we get most weeks
If yours isn't here, ring the desk. Someone picks up at any hour.
Ask us directly275 Grey Street, South Brisbane
Between the river and the arts precinct. Nine minutes on foot to South Bank, six to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Send us your dates
Tell us when you're coming and what you need, and the desk will come back with availability, the total and a payment link. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
Bookings for the rooftop go to the events team instead, and they usually reply within one business day. Walkthroughs of level nine run Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.
See all packagesOccasional offers, no more than once a month
Sunday nights and quiet weeks come cheaper, and we'd rather tell you when they do than keep it to ourselves. One email a month at most, unsubscribe whenever you like.