WITH A DASH OF LIME.

Another Boutique hotel has opened in Brisbane and this one, unlike THE EMPORIUM HOTEL, exudes class. With contemporary furnishings and accessories, THE LIMES HOTEL, (which is nestled away from the noise and grime of the Valley in a back street), is the perfect place to bed down.

With a rooftop bar and cinema, this is the perfect place to cool down on summer days, or get up- close and personal on winter nights.

With the NO VACANCY sign already lit up, book in advance to secure one of the very few rooms.

Shame it does'nt have a modern diner or lap pool, ahhhh well, beggars can't be choosers!!

LIMES HOTEL

142 Constance Street

Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

4006

(07) 3852 9000

http://www.limeshotel.com.au/

BLISS.

In recent years, Brisbane has been ambushed by day spa's. And as we all know, choosing one can be a daunting task.

The experience must start at the welcome and finish at the goodbye. It must be sincere, comforting and positive.

A visit to BODY ESSENCE is one of those rare experiences that commits you to a marriage of sorts, that marriage being with the service, and the product.

BODY ESSENCE has recently opened it's second spa in New Farm, and no expense has been spared. With quiet, exquisitly designed rooms, body treatments for both men and women are out-of-this-world surreal, and because of this, the BODY ESSENCE sanctuary may become your second home.

Yoga and Pilates Classes are taken here, and the spa is available for private hire. I am honest when I say, there is nothing like it in Brisbane. BODY ESSENCE owner Miriam Van Doorn is'nt called 'A Living Icon of Wellness' for nothing.

http://www.bodyessencedayspa.com.au/

(07) 3358 3100

THE NAME GAME.

What's in a name?

I have said for many years that Brisbane is way behind Sydney and Melbourne in the name game. What name game you ask? The very important game of..................naming a business.

As we know, Brisbane is behind our southern sisters when it comes to abundant, top quality venue's, and although little stars shine brightly out there, supernova's have'nt been spotted for a long time.

Now appearance is everything, and by the looks of some, not much thought or money goes into the creative side, and because of this they usually crash and burn. I'm not saying this does'nt happen in Sydney or Melbourne, but alot more venues survive there due to constant revamp and promotion. Hospitality venue's that exude charisma with it's interior, staff and product usually stick around alot longer. Trends exist, not only in fashion, but in social destinations.

Here in Brisbane we seem to excell on being mediocre. Half baked idea's done on the cheap to look expensive, and although popular, will sooner or later lose their lustre. For fickle reason's, I've always thought a good venue should be given a good name. Something original, cutting edge and not try-hard. There are some which are good, and there are some that are bad, and then there are some that are downright ugly. A name is something people are going to associate you with. A name is everything.

There are cafe's and restaurants, bars and clubs with names that although may mean something heartfelt to their owner, are nothing more then forgettable embarrasments. Where's the creativity in this town? I know it's out there.

I hope as time progresses, proprietors knuckle down and realise that concocting the perfect name for their business is just as important as the wine they sell or clothes they stock. I also hope they hire a good graphic designer to do all the harder work for them, because even a good name requires good embellishment.

Another thing done exceedingly well here is the 'Buy Up'. People buying exsisting businesses, keeping the name, but slowly morphing it into something completely different, therefore destroying the reason why it was popular in the first place, eg: Burgerurge. Note: The appearance of a business reflects the product.

Petty, I know, but I've always felt this way, the name of a business is huge in my books, just like the cover of a book or a magazine......I have to be drawn in. It's hilarious when people give their outlet a name in french (thinking it's cool), but have no idea the english translation is so much better!

In saying all this, not only does a name go along way, but so does an interior, so look out for the incredibly tacky ZURI opening in October, as well as the over-exposed and over-ugly CLOUDLAND coming in 2009.

For good graphic design, go to http://www.entica.com.au/
For good names, go anywhere else in the world.