From room rates to data limits, here are five hotels we found in Brisbane with free Wi-Fi, including one where you get 1GB free per day.
Heading to Brisbane for work? We have created a list below of accommodation at five Brisbane locations with free Wi-Fi.
While Wi-Fi is a necessity if you're a small businessperson travelling interstate for work, you'd be surprised at how many hotels don't have it, or charge an unreasonable amount for the privilege.
A number of hotels we contacted, for example, charged anywhere between $15 for just one hour to $30 for 24 hours of Wi-Fi.
So what did we find in Brisbane?
In our search of certain hotels in Brisbane, we came across the following themes:
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Big hotel chains such as Novotel, Hilton and Sofitel charge for Internet access, which is generally a time-limited connection that can cost anywhere from $15 to $30. Independent hotels and apartments are much more likely to offer complimentary Internet.
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Of the hotels and apartments we looked at, most (apart from the big hotel chains) were doing away with wired Ethernet connections in the guest rooms.
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In our experience, hotel staff weren't generally very knowledgeable about the Internet service offered in the hotel where they worked. Of course this is a general statement, and you might find people working in hotels that are very knowledgeable about this topic.
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Hotels that generally offer free Wi-Fi generally don’t offer additional data packs, so if you use up your quota than you will have to wait 24 hours for your data quota to refresh. With the exception of the Meriton Apartments, the other four hotels listed below do not offer additional data packs.
Just as when we looked at
Melbourne hotels, we haven't tested these services. The purpose of this list is not to publish a list of hotels we recommend - rather, our aim is let you know about hotels we have come across that offered free Wi-Fi with accommodation at a reasonable price.
Keep in mind this isn't an exhaustive list of all the accommodation in Brisbane with free Wi-Fi. We might look at following this up with another list including more hotels in the future, if more come to our attention.
Below are five Brisbane hotels we found that provide free Wi-Fi:
The Hotels
Traders Hotel
Located adjacent to the Brisbane Transit Centre and a short walk to the Brisbane CBD, Traders Hotel offers a generous 1GB of data per day. No additional data pack options available and speed will be slowed down to 256Kbps if the allocated quota is exceeded in less than 24 hours. Like all of the hotels listed here, Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel.
One thing you should know: Traders is the only hotel on this list that restricts Wi-Fi to only one device per room, which is inconvenient as it means you have to manually disconnect your device from the Wi-Fi when switching between devices. Traders also offers Ethernet cable in the rooms though the same single device restriction applies. Room rates start from $188.
Meriton Apartments
Located in the heart of the Brisbane CBD on Adelaide Street. As the name suggests, the accommodation is a self-service apartment as opposed to a traditional hotel so it will require a bond deposit of $100 for a one bedroom, $200 for a two bedroom and $400 for a three bedroom.
Meriton offers complimentary Wi-Fi with a generous 1GB per day for all the rooms and throughout the building, although the web site notes that there are excess usage fees. Meriton was the only accommodation we came across that actually offers additional data packs for purchase which is a handy option if you find yourself using up your daily quota early. Keep in mind though, that in-room Ethernet is not available, although there is no restriction on the number of devices that you can connect to the Wi-Fi. Room rates start at $180.
Brisbane Manor
Located just around the corner from Chinatown, this Heritage Manor building built in the 1800s has been a popular spot for business and leisure guests alike.
We were surprised when the staff at the manor told us that the complimentary Wi-Fi has no data limits, which is also the case for two other hotels on our list. While the staff couldn’t provide speed estimates of the connection, they did say that there were six Wi-Fi hotspots servicing 45 rooms, so hopefully network congestion shouldn’t be too much of a problem, especially if you are planning on staying during a weekday. Staff told us they hadn't received any complaints from guests about Wi-Fi speed.
Like most of the other hotels listed, there is no Ethernet available in the rooms. Guests can connect multiple devices to the free Wi-Fi. Rates start from $70
Soho Brisbane
Located opposite the Roma Street Transit Centre and a five-minute walk to the heart of the city, this hotel offers free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel without any data limits. Like most other hotels on this list, in-room Ethernet connection is not available. There is no restriction on the number of devices that you can connect to the Wi-Fi. Rates start from $115.
Diamant
This boutique hotel is located on leafy Astor Terrace, just a short walk to the city centre. Free Wi-Fi is available for guests throughout the hotel and while there are no data limits staff said that P2P file sharing and BitTorrent is strictly prohibited and that Wi-Fi will be disconnected for guests who are found to be using the free Wi-Fi for these purposes. The hotel offers in-room Ethernet and guests can connect as many devices as they wish to the Wi-Fi. Rates start from $115.
The Hotels and Wi-Fi terms
The table below is a summary of the Wi-Fi options and room rates for the five hotels above.
As we said last time, all the information in the table above was provided to us by each relevant hotel, so we can't warrant its accuracy. As with any purchase, make sure to check with the hotel beforehand, especially in case anything has changed.,
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Traders Hotel
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Meriton Apartments Brisbane (Adelaide Street)
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Brisbane Manor
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Soho Brisbane
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Diamant
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Summary of Wi-Fi terms
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Free Wi-Fi throughout hotel
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Free Wi-Fi in room and foyer
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Free Wi-Fi throughout hotel
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Free Wi-Fi throughout hotel
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Free Wi-Fi throughout hotel
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Data limit
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1GB every day. Speeds will be slowed down to 256Kbps if the 1GB data is used up in less then 24 hours
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1GB per day. Additional data packs available at a price
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None
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None
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None
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Speed limit
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None
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None
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None
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None
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None
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Time limit
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None
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None
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None
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None
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None
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Location limit?
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All guest rooms and public areas
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All guest rooms and public areas
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All guest rooms and public areas
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All guest rooms and public areas
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All guest rooms and public areas
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Must be loyalty program member for free access?
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No
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No
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No
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No
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No
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VPN access?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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Ethernet option?
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Cable supplied
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No
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No
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No
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Cable supplied
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Other restrictions/notes?
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Restricted to one device at a time.
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-Guest may use multiple devices.
- Requires bond deposit: 1x room$100, 2x room $200, 3xroom $400
- No complaints received from guests regarding speeds
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- Guest may use multiple devices
- 6 Wi-Fi hotspots servicing 45 rooms, no complaints from guests
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-Guest may use multiple devices. -Front desk not much clue about anything to do with computers
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-Guests may use multiple devices.
-P2P file sharing and Bittorrent prohibited
- Wi-Fi hotspot on every level, 7 floors, plus lobby has additional hotspot.
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Address
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159 Roma St, Brisbane QLD 4000
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485 Adelaide Street, Brisbane
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555 Gregory Terrace Fortitude Valley Brisbane
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333 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane
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52 Astor Terrace, Brisbane
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Phone
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(07) 3238 2222
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(07) 3171 5100
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1800800589
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(07) 3831 7722
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(07) 3009 3400
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Email
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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Website
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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Click here
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