A multi-storey, 160-room hotel is set to be built in the heart of a Sunshine Coast town.
IHG Hotels and Resorts, in partnership with venture firm Felix Capital, has announced that Holiday Inn and Suites Caloundra will open in 2028.
The hotel, which will overlook local beaches and the town, will form part of a mixed-use development.
It will consist of 160 rooms, including 33 suites, an open lobby, all-day dining restaurant and lobby cafe, meeting spaces, a fitness centre, outdoor pool and kids’ club, and a rooftop restaurant and sky bar.
The building will follow the opening of the 181-room Holiday Inn Maroochydore in 2022.
The hotel will be located at 51-55 Bulcock Street: a site currently occupied by a commercial hub that was sold for close to $10 million in 2022.
The hub hosts a mixture of tenants, include accounting, finance, solicitors, barbers, hairdressers, coffee shops and computer information technology.
Sunshine Coast News asked IHG Hotels and Resorts what could happen to the hub and its tenants and when construction of the hotel could start. They advised that no details are available at this stage.
The site is about 90 minutes’ drive from Brisbane and 35 minutes drive from Sunshine Coast Airport.
IHG Hotels and Resorts Australasia and Pacific director of development Cameron Burke said the company was “delighted” to bring the brand to Caloundra and “thrilled” to partner with Felix Capital.
“As part of the world’s largest hotel brand family, Holiday Inn’s inimitable hallmarks strongly align to the approachability and leisure-orientated nature of the Sunshine Coast market,” he said via a media release.
“Balancing a desired location and outstanding aspect, with convenient accessibility to a myriad of diverse recreational activities, we expect Holiday Inn and Suites Caloundra to be a popular destination for leisure and business travellers alike, particularly with families.”
Felix Capital CEO and founder Michael Maroun said the region and the firm were a good fit.
“Sunshine Coast boasts an abundance of opportunity for the community, and we are proud to be making our mark in Caloundra,” he said.
“Our vision aligns with the Holiday Inn brand as we bring to market the area’s first international hotel, offering an accommodation, dining, leisure and business precinct that is modern, affordable and convenient.
“Felix Capital is pleased to have partnered with IHG to see this revolutionary project come to life while creating hundreds of new jobs and showing Queensland, Australia and the world the beauty of the Sunshine Coast.
“We believe this is going to be the crown jewel of the region.”
With more than 70 years of history, Holiday Inn is one of the most recognised hotel brands in the world.
Holiday Inn and Suites Caloundra is the latest signing in IHG Hotels and Resorts’ Essentials portfolio and will be IHG’s 10th hotel in Queensland.
The new signing strengthens Holiday Inn’s growth in the region with eight Holiday Inn family-branded hotels opened in the last two years across Australasia, and three in the pipeline.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
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