A backpackers’ hostel in a prime Sunshine Coast location is getting a fresh look.
The Suncoast Backpackers Lodge in Parker Street, Maroochydore, is being revamped as a boutique backpackers’ hotel.
The lodge has a history of hosting international visitors on a budget but was also providing longer-term accommodation during Covid and the housing crisis.
The lodge had been operated by a leaseholder for several years but owner Chay Hutton said the property was vacated prior to the renovation work commencing this month.
“We’ve owned the building for a number of years and his lease was coming to an end so we’ve decided to do a full rebrand and renovation,” Ms Hutton said.
She said vacant possession had been necessary before work began due to the extent of the renovations, which include new bathroom fit-outs and possibly a pool.
The lodge has 13 rooms, four bathrooms and a manager’s unit, and can accommodate about 47 people.
It will remain closed while the work is carried out.
“It’s really going quickly. As it’s all block wall, it doesn’t need to be stripped. The bathrooms have been redone, they are finalising the fit-out for the bathrooms this week and the painters are about to start work this week as well,” Ms Hutton said.
She hoped the revamp would be completed in time for a December reopening but said approval for a pool was still pending with the council.
The revamp and rebrand will include a new name incorporating the street name, Palms on Parker.
“It’s exciting. It will be a fresh start. It will be great when it’s done,” she said.
Ms Hutton said the aim was to appeal to backpackers aged 18 to 35 who were after short-term accommodation, although there was a possibility of revisiting this before the Olympics.
“It’s in the right spot,” she said.
“It’s pretty close to the beach, Cotton Tree, the CBD and the river. I think’s it’s a great position for the market.”
Ms Hutton envisaged bookings would open shortly before opening, although a website and booking system were yet to be finalised.
She said it was likely live-in managers would run the property but this would depend on finding the “right people”, and there would likely be a training and handover period first.
The revamp of the backpackers’ accommodation comes at a time when Parker Street, one street back from busy Aerodrome Road, is undergoing something of a renewal.
“They’re building over the road from us and I think (developer) Mal Pratt’s getting ready to do something with his place (next door),” Ms Hutton said.
Ms Hutton is of the understanding that some of those who vacated the hostel before the renovations went into temporary accommodation through the Department of Housing and are on a pathway to longer-term solutions.
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