Hostel refit a great sign for economy
IN further evidence of Cairns’ economic recovery, one of the biggest backpacker hostels in the city will reopen in March under new owners after a million dollar makeover.
Adrian and Nathan Somerville, who run Summer House Backpackers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne through their company Somerville Hospitality, have been eyeing the Cairns market for some time.
The pair will open the fourth Summer House Backpackers, complete with about 300 rooms, in the old Nomads Cairns Hostel site on Lake St in March.
“We own 13 hostels around the country and really wanted to get in the Cairns market,” Adrian said.
“It was always our plan from day one, the east coast is a popular backpacker trail and we wanted to continue our accommodation along there.
“We have been looking at Cairns as it has been picking up but we wanted to wait for the right property to come along. There is a lot of competition in Cairns and we wanted something which had a point of difference – to be a hostel you’d love to stay at again and again.
“It is an enormous property and it will have huge potential after a huge refurbishment.”
Since August, the landlords and the Somervilles have overseen a full internal gutting which has cost about a million dollars.
Old beds and furniture has been donated to charity, old flooring has been ripped up and replaced and the interior and exterior painted.
Adrian said aircon units have been updated and all the rooms have new bedding, storage lockers and linen.
He hoped to entice locals back to the bar once the establishment reopened.
“This has been a joint venture between the landlord and the tenants. The landlord has wanted to get it up to a high standard, they hadn’t done a lot of work on it for 15 years,” he said. The pair has also started advertising for a general manager.