5 CBD Apartments Under $750K

140 Alice Street Brisbane City QLD 4000

Located in the luxurious Abian building – which offers first-class amenities, 24/7 concierge, lounge, pool, spa, gym, steam room sauna and treatment rooms – this apartment captures extensive views of Brisbane City. The 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 2-car pad arrives with a clean contemporary interior with travertine flooring and neutral tones throughout and is fitted with mirrored built-in robes and full-length glass windows.

Contact agent; Raywhiteeastbrisbane.com.au

195 Pier Street, Perth WA 6000

Set in the historical heart of Perth City’s north-east precinct this 3-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 2-car apartment comes in at a whopping 221sqm of living space, boasting a huge 118sqm courtyard. Designed for easy living, residents can embrace unique amenities and modern technology with the ability to choose a colour scheme on purchase. Further, the building offers rooftop amenities including a gym, residents’ dining and kitchen, entertainment room, bbq facilities, theatre and private study.

$690.000; Peet.com.au

1902/141 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000

Melbourne La Trobe

This north-east facing 19th-floor apartment offers a garden view in the heart of Melbourne CBD. The 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment is situated in the Peak Apartment building which is a low-density offering with only five residences on each floor. Minutes from RMIT University, the State Library and Chinatown, it’s a chance to be in the midst of all Melbourne has to offer.

Contact agent; aus-pac.net/

211/130 Esplanade Darwin City NT 0800

This is expansive 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 2-car apartment gives stunning views over the harbour and Bicentennial Park of Darwin from its sixth-floor outlook. The apartment features a large galley style kitchen that overlooks the spacious lounge and dining room. The complex has two lifts, two resort-style pools, full-size tennis court, gym, a conference room and secure entry.

$702,000; ofndarwin.com.au/

1204/355 Kent Street Sydney NSW 2000

Located in the “Rex Apartment” is this light-filled 58sqm one-bedroom studio in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. Onsite facilities include an outdoor heated swimming pool and a well-equipped gym. Sleek contemporary interiors include an open plan bedroom, plus living and dining flowing to a balcony while the modern abode is within walking distance of Darling Harbour, Barangaroo, world-class shopping, dining and entertainment.

$675,000; cityquarter.century21.com.au/

Many luxury hotels only build on their gilded reputations with each passing decade. But others are less fortunate. Here are five long-gone grandes dames that fell from grace—and one that persists, but in a significantly diminished form.

The Proto-Marmont |

The Garden of Allah, Los Angeles

A magnet for celebrities, the Garden of Allah was once the scene-making equivalent of today’s Chateau Marmont. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner’s affair allegedly started there and Humphrey Bogart lived in one of its bungalows for a time.

Crimean expat Alla Nazimova leased a grand home in Hollywood after World War I, but soon turned it into a hotel, where she prioritised glamorous clientele. Others risked being ejected by guards and a fearsome dog dubbed the Hound of the Baskervilles. Demolished in the 1950s, the site’s now a parking lot.

The Failed Follow-Up |

Hotel Astor, New York City

The Astor family hoped to repeat their success when they opened this sequel to their megahit Waldorf Astoria hotel in 1904. It became an anchor of the nascent Theater District, buzzy (and naughty) enough to inspire Cole Porter to write in “High Society”: “Have you heard that Mimsie Starr…got pinched in the Astor Bar?”

That bar soon gained another reputation. “Gentlemen who preferred the company of other gentlemen would meet in a certain section of the bar,” said travel expert Henry Harteveldt of consulting firm Atmosphere Research. By the 1960s, the hotel had lost its lustre and was demolished; the 54-storey One Astor Plaza skyscraper was built in its place.

The Island Playground |

Santa Carolina Hotel, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique

In the 1950s, colonial officers around Africa treated Mozambique as an off-duty playground. They flocked, in particular, to the Santa Carolina, a five-star hotel on a gorgeous archipelago off the country’s southern coast.

Run by a Portuguese businessman and his wife, the resort included an airstrip that ferried visitors in and out. Ask locals why the place was eventually reduced to rubble, and some whisper that the couple were cursed—and that’s why no one wanted to take over when the business collapsed in the ’70s. Today, seeing the abandoned, crumbled ruins and murals bleached by the sun, it’s hard to dismiss their superstitions entirely.

The Tourism Gimmick |

Bali Hai Raiatea, French Polynesia

The overwater bungalow, a shorthand for barefoot luxury around the world, began in French Polynesia—but not with the locals. Instead, it was a marketing gimmick cooked up by a trio of rascally Americans. They moved to French Polynesia in the late 1950s, and soon tried to capitalise on the newly built international airport and a looming tourism boom.

That proved difficult because their five-room hotel on the island of Raiatea lacked a beach. They devised a fix: building rooms on pontoons above the water. They were an instant phenomenon, spreading around the islands and the world—per fan site OverwaterBungalows.net , there are now more than 9,000 worldwide, from the Maldives to Mexico. That first property, though, is no more.

The New England Holdout |

Poland Springs Resort, Poland, Maine

The Ricker family started out as innkeepers, running a stagecoach stop in Maine in the 1790s. When Hiram Ricker took over the operation, the family expanded into the business by which it would make its fortune: water. Thanks to savvy marketing, by the 1870s, doctors were prescribing Poland Spring mineral water and die-hards were making pilgrimages to the source.

The Rickers opened the Poland Spring House in 1876, and eventually expanded it to include one of the earliest resort-based golf courses in the country, a barber shop, dance studio and music hall. By the turn of the century, it was among the most glamorous resort complexes in New England.

Mismanagement eventually forced its sale in 1962, and both the water operation and hospitality holdings went through several owners and operators. While the water venture retains its prominence, the hotel has weathered less well, becoming a pleasant—but far from luxurious—mid-market resort. Former NYU hospitality professor Bjorn Hanson says attempts at upgrading over the decades have been futile. “I was a consultant to a developer in the 1970s to return the resort to its ‘former glory,’ but it never happened.”