LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
In the Betoota CBD you will find The Royal North Colony Hotel est 1891, a timeless venue renowned for its thimble sized heritage rooms that remind you most people used to be about four foot tall.
From the koi fish pond to the backpackers lugging dirty sheets for less than the price the koi fish cost to keep them alive each day, everything in the famed hotel has a precise purpose.
Everything that is, except for the grand piano in the lobby.
“Occasionally we get kids from families that must have gotten a Red Balloon or something who just bash at it keys,” stated lobby reception worker Alicia Tran.
“After downgrading them to a garden view room we usually ask them to stop.”
“So apart from that and the odd grandpa playing Chopsticks as a joke, the piano just sits there, waiting for the Bubes…”
Celebrated Canadian singer and record producer Michael Bublé (aka. The Bubes) is for now the primary reason the grand piano sits in the hotel lobby, waiting for the concert vocalist to swing by one night for a night cap and impromptu intimate show.
“During our weekly meetings we discuss whether he would play the piano himself or lean against the side while someone else plays. Both are wonderful options.”
Known for being the sexiest singer alive, as judged by women who regularly went to drive-in cinemas as youths, an offhand evening performance by The Bubes would not only finally put the piano to good use but make a great black and white picture to hang in the lobby forever.
“We’ve also got a snow machine outside on standby in case he wants to do some Christmas tunes.”
