Starwood’s $100 million Sunshine Coast hotel
Starwood is expanding on to the Sunshine Coast with plans to open a new five star $100 million Westin hotel at Coolum.
The hotel will be part of Japanese real estate giant Sekisui House’s $1 billion plan for a mixed used development on the site.
It’s Starwood’s second development announced in the space of a week, putting it well on its way to achieving goal of opening nine hotels in Australia. Last week, it announced a $150 million Four Poihnts by Sheraton Hotel at the Central Park development in Sydney as part of its partnership with Sekisui House and Frasers Property.
The Starwood pipeline includes two new Westins due to open in Perth and Brisbane in 2018.
The 220 room Westin Coolum Resort & Spa will be the big drawcard of the mixed use development which will feature apartments, shops, four dining venues, a spa with six treatment rooms along with 850 square metres of conference and event space on a 20-hectare site overlooking Yaroomba Beach. Work is already underway developing The Coolum Residences which will offer beachside lots and luxury houses.
It will also be a five minute drive from the Sunshine Coast airport which is getting a new international runway by 2020.
As the first new five-star hotel built on the Sunshine Coast in 27 years, it will be located right opposite Palmer Coolum Resort, owned by mining magnate and politician Clive Palmer. That resort is now closed as Palmer has a few other things on his plate.
"Our vision is to provide visitors to this popular family holiday destination with a relaxing, five-star wellness retreat and the Westin brand is an ideal fit for both the location and the development," Toru Abe, CEO & managing director of Sekisui House Australia told the Australian Financial Review.
Sekisui House had originally a bigger development, including a 450-room luxury hotel. But that didn’t get up because it was opposed by the local community.
by Leon Gettler, June 21st 2016
