Intercontinental Group expands into Lilydale
The InterContinental Hotels Group has announced plans to expand into the outer Melbourne area of Lilydale.
It is planning to build a new luxury hotel there. But there is one area it needs: it still has to get a permit for the ambitious development.
Intercontinental wants to create the ‘voco Yarra Valley’. It will be the first globally-branded, upscale hotel in the Yarra Valley. It will be located at 483-485 and 487-489 Maroondah Highway and will include a 170-room hotel. It is scheduled to open in 2021.
The term “voco” is a distinctive strategy. It’s a word inspired by the meaning “to invite” or to “come together” in Latin, combining the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand.
The site will include an on-site gin distillery, a lavender farm, mirrored maze, an amphitheatre cut from natural ground. There will also be a provedore serving and selling Yarra Valley produce. It will also offer large conference and meeting facilities, a gym, bars, an onsite family restaurant and children’s entertainment facilities.
The building itself will rise to six storeys at one end and one storey at the opposite end. It will also feature 20 cabins.
Yarra Ranges Tourism chief executive Simon O’Callaghan said development could be a positive for the region.
.“I think the message is any hotel development that is seeking to reach that sort of standard will do extremely well,” Mr O’Callaghan told the Herald Sun.
“It’s been shown big signature hotel developments are a catalyst for accommodation, overnight stays and visitation for the whole region.”
Yarra Ranges Council social and economic development director Ali Wastie said council was still waiting for a formal planning application.
“Given the scale of the development, it will garner significant community and business interest,” she told the Herald Sun.
“Coupled with the development’s potential to increase visitation to the region and create jobs, council officers strongly encourage a pre-application meeting.”
Leon Gettler - 21 August 2018
