Crystalbrook Collection Hotels and Resorts has confirmed plans to open a luxury hotel in Newcastle, New South Wales in 2020.
Known for its upcoming portfolio of Cairns hotels, Crystalbrook Collection has won the tender to acquire Newcastle’s iconic ‘Roundhouse’ Council Administrative Centre (CAC) and intends to convert it into the city’s first 5-star hotel.
Crystalbrook Collection CEO Mark Davie said he sees a lot of potential in the building.
“There’s really nothing like this building, it has a strong identity and connection to the city of Newcastle,” he said.
“We think the location, with the City Hall, the Civic Theatre, the Art Gallery and the War Memorial Cultural Centre right on the doorstep, makes it a perfect location for a 5-star hotel.”
The hotel will be named Kingsley, a Crystalbrook Collection Hotel, following the brand’s tradition to give each hotel a gender-neutral name and its own unique personality.
The name Kingsley is a nod to Newcastle’s heritage and the city’s previous name Kingstown, dating back to 1804.
The hotel will potentially include 100 guestrooms, a rooftop restaurant and a recreational area complete with a swimming pool.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes described the deal as a turning point in Newcastle’s history.
“Crystalbrook’s decision to invest in Newcastle, when they could have invested anywhere in Australia, says so much about our city and how we are viewed by those living interstate and overseas,” she said.
“I applaud Crystalbrook’s vision in re-imagining the CAC’s brutalist architecture. Reviewing their plans and renders, their vision for the building is an ideal adaptive reuse.
“In the space of less than two years, Newcastle will have a building that is both iconic and luxurious.”
To date, Crystalbrook Collection has committed to investments in excess of $800 million in Australia. In the last quarter, the company has opened Riley, a Crystalbrook Collection Resort, the first of its three hotels in Cairns, and acquired Little Albion, a Crystalbrook Collection Boutique Hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney.
