LUXURY HOTEL LOCKED IN FOR $1.7BN BUDDS BEACH PROJECT
FOR Melbourne-based property developer Tim Gurner, one luxury hotel brand stood out in his mind to top out the $1.7bn La Pelago project at Budds Beach.
It is within the confines of the flagship St. Regis hotel on Fifth Ave in New York City – his favourite hotel – romance blossomed with wife Aimee.
The 40-year-old has returned to that institution, built in 1904, with his wife nearly every year since that first visit in 2006.
His affection for the heritage hotel brand spurred the multibillion-dollar developer to ink a landmark deal with Marriott International to bring Australia’s first St. Regis hotel to the Gold Coast.
The 185 guest room hotel will open its doors within the first tower of the project by its estimated completion in 2025. St. Regis Gold Coast Resort will feature a speciality restaurant, world-class sky bar, pool bar, lounge, as well as the signature St. Regis Bar. The first 68-floor tower will also include an array of bars and restaurants, a private resort and club, a health and wellness precinct and 350 residential apartments.
Gurner Group CEO Tim Gurner says the hotel will be “unlike anything on offer in Australia’s hotel market” and will be a “level of bespoke luxury not available on the Gold Coast”.
“We are so incredibly excited and humbled to be able to announce the deal with Marriott International and secure the St. Regis brand for this landmark development.” Mr Gurner said.
Mr Gurner said “for me it was only ever St. Regis. La Pelago is something that will never be recreated again in Australia and St. Regis has always been my favourite hotel brand.”
“We completely reconfigured the hotel offering for The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort after we secured the brand, so that the lowest hotel room still sits above any surrounding towers, enabling uninterrupted views of the beach, river and mountain ranges, going all the way up to level 43.”
Vice President Hotel Development, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific for Marriott International Richard Crawford said the signing for the St. Regis Gold Coast was “momentous for Marriott International” and a major “advancement” for the Coast.