The Cairns Post

EYEFUL TOWER

Flash Esplanade five-star hotel gives peek-a-view inside and out

- CHRIS CALCINO chris.calcino@news.com.au

THE city’s hottest new hotel is surely living up to its reputation – offering views inside and out of its iconic glass tower.

Residents are reporting being able to see naked hotel guests at Crystalbro­ok Collection­s’ 12-storey tower at Riley on The Esplanade.

Crystalbro­ok CEO Mark Davie said they didn’t want to inhibit views but were investigat­ing darker tinting.

Collection’s flash new hotel cuts a stark figure on the Esplanade with raw views of Cairns in its au naturale state … in both directions.

The hotel’s 12-storey glass tower held the city’s gaze for months on end as constructi­on crews worked around the clock to get it erected on schedule.

Now residents who look too hard are getting more than they bargained for – and management are looking into a tinting solution.

A man’s bare, white bottom was on full display as he dragged a razor across his face in a fifth floor bathroom earlier this week, with at least one resident snapping a photo.

Crystalbro­ok CEO Mark Davie suggested anyone taking pictures was exhibiting strange tendencies of their own.

Nonetheles­s, the company is investigat­ing whether it should darken the tinting on the hotel rooms’ bathroom windows. “It’s not because of public demand, it’s just our own observatio­n,” he said.

“We’ve been testing different levels of tinting.

“We just don’t want to take away the ability to go to the bathroom and enjoy the outside view.

“One of the benefits of our building is its magnificen­t view.”

Mr Davie rebuffed the suggestion there would be widespread instances of people wearing nothing but a smile in full view at one of the city’s most popular spots.

“It becomes a question of who do you criticise – the bloke standing in the window with the blinds up, or the peeping Tom looking in?” he said.

“It’s a fair distance – you’d have to look pretty hard.”

The bedrooms all have both semitransp­arent and blockout curtains, while the bathrooms have blinds.

“It’s the guests’ decision what level of visibility they want to disclose, isn’t it?” Mr Davie said.

 ?? Picture: STEWART McLEAN ?? GLASS TOWER: Cliff Kovacs, of Manunda, inspects the new Riley tower while walking along the Esplanade. Crystalbro­ok Collection is investigat­ing darker tinting.
Picture: STEWART McLEAN GLASS TOWER: Cliff Kovacs, of Manunda, inspects the new Riley tower while walking along the Esplanade. Crystalbro­ok Collection is investigat­ing darker tinting.
 ?? Picture: STEWART McLEAN ?? EYE-POPPING: Some people have reported seeing naked guests through the windows of the new Riley hotel tower on the Esplanade.
Picture: STEWART McLEAN EYE-POPPING: Some people have reported seeing naked guests through the windows of the new Riley hotel tower on the Esplanade.

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