The Johnson is crazy good value when you consider the size of the rooms. The base studio suite typically sits around the 40 square metre mark, but if guests pre-pay they can upgrade to a deluxe studio suite (higher floor, slightly more room) for a similar price. You suspect the good times are partly because the Johnson is still finding its feet as a hotel.
Set inside the hulking, heritage-listed Karl Langer-designed former Main Roads Department building, this Art Series property looms over Spring Hill, an inner-suburb still recovering from decades of phoned-in development. That’s part of the Johnson’s rationale: to activate the surrounding area. Still, the brand new property itself is a pleasant place to be, with many of the cheaper rooms and its fabulous pool deck looking over row upon row of quaint Queenslander workers’ cottages. Otherwise, if you need to get out, both Fortitude Valley and the CBD are both within walking distance.
Time Out tip: For dinner, head up to the Alliance Hotel, an award-winning gastropub, on the corners of Boundary and Leichhardt Streets.