The team behind the first five-star resort proposed for the region in 33 years says the new boutique hotel in Noosa would overcome a “chronic shortage of luxury accommodation”.
The $50 million project is earmarked for the grounds of Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort and would include five low-rise buildings “nestled” into the hillside around a central two-level pool.
It would be the first luxury hotel in the Sunshine Coast and Noosa region since the Sofitel was built in Hastings Street in 1989.
The project, to be considered by Noosa Council, is the initiative of the GH Properties group, which has owned Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort since 2014.
Project manager Phil Starkey’s family built and developed Noosa Springs from the outset into one of Australia’s most successful master-planned golf course residential resorts.
Mr Starkey said the development would create 360 jobs and address a “significant shortage of short-stay accommodation in the region”.
It would comprise 98 standard rooms, six luxury suites and two presidential suites and would be designed not to protrude above the treeline.
“Although parts of the buildings are three-storey, from most external vantage points the hotel complex will look like a two-storey development,” he said.
“The boutique hotel will include an outdoor fire pit seating area, a bar, café, lobby area and
covered parking.
“The hotel complex would complement and integrate with the existing Noosa Springs facilities, which include a championship golf course, golf shop, Relish restaurant, conference and function rooms, a world-class day spa, fitness centre and tennis centre.
“Services within the resort — including kitchen, dining, conference and bar facilities – would be expanded and improved, to the benefit of resort members and the general public, as well as hotel guests.
“Guests would access the boutique hotel along a walkway which connects to a widened porte cochere at the existing entry to the Noosa Springs resort from Links Drive.”
Mr Starkey said the proposal represented “a significant tourist accommodation opportunity” that would help grow local tourism.
At present, overnight guests at Noosa Springs stay in a letting pool of 15 self-contained apartments that form part of The Fairways precinct, stretching along the first hole of the resort’s golf course.
“The number is grossly inadequate for the accommodation needed,” Mr Starkey said.
“Many out-of-town groups do not consider Noosa Springs because there just isn’t enough on-site accommodation for them, so they go to other destinations rather than Noosa.”
The proposed boutique hotel would be situated on 3.8ha of land on the eastern side of the
resort, bordered by Resort Drive and close to the clubhouse and spa complex.
When Noosa Springs was first developed in the 1990s, the owners were given council approval to build 544 dwellings and a 200-room hotel.
At present, and including the Parkridge Noosa complex, which is built on land that formed part of the original Noosa Springs property, there are 526 dwellings.
And the proposed hotel would contain 106 rooms, which is 94 less than the initial approval.
“Infrastructure capacity is therefore not an issue and the hotel will complete what was master planned for Noosa Springs at the outset,” Mr Starkey said.
The site is partly located within a Tourist Accommodation Zone, while the remainder lies within a zoning of Recreation and Open Space.
Mr Starkey said the proposed development was consistent with that planning intent.
“It has been designed to be compatible with the Noosa Springs architecture and will be
constructed and operated in an environmentally sustainable manner.”
He said a “small, isolated pocket of vegetation”, including some koala food trees, to the north of the site would need to be removed to allow for the new tennis centre to be built.
A proposed environmental offset, and a plan to plant koala habitat trees within the Noosa Springs golf course, would result in a significant net gain of koala habitat in a more desirable and safe location.
“The proposed development will attract high spending visitors and represents one of the most significant tourism investments in the Noosa area for many years,” Mr Starkey said.
“It will provide a world-class accommodation experience and further support Noosa’s brand of luxury and high-end experiences,” he said.
