INSIDE REOPENED QUEST
Fire-damaged CBD hotel re-opens after restoration
WELCOMING guests back to Quest Toowoomba has been a milestone eight months in the making for Cynthia Rice.
After the award-winning Margaret St hotel was left cosmetically damaged from the biggest fire the CBD had experienced last June, the 50 guests who booked into the popular hotel last night were a new beginning of sorts for Mrs Rice.
The inferno which razed Amigo’s Bar and Grill and Adrenalin Climbing Gym the night of June 13 caused about $5 million damage to the towering property two years after it opened.
A melted balloon on a window pane has been kept as a memento of the inferno, and has been put on display in the front foyer.
“We are so happy to welcome everyone back,” Mrs Rice said.
A brick wall kept the flames from reaching the hotel but radiating heat melted windows and buckled steel and the balconies as 52 firefighters fought to control the blaze into the early hours of June 14.
The 90 guests were safely evacuated within minutes of the internal alarm sounding.
Mrs Rice said resident manager Angela Fowler did an exceptional job helping guests evacuate and find alternative accommodation.
“There was significant external damage particularly as the fire came up and over the brick wall and impacted a lot of our rooms and balconies mostly.
“The curtains all melted, air-conditioning units and wiring all melted, some pipes and soft furnishings.”
She said the re-opening would give more short-term accommodation options in Toowoomba.
“During the restoration period, both Quest Toowoomba and the Burke and Wills Hotel were out of action, drastically limiting CBD accommodation options for visitors,” she said.
“The former Church of Christ building is of significant cultural value to the local community, representing part of Toowoomba’s history while having a wonderful aesthetic.”