Business
5 October, 2023
Sleeping easy under the sea
A $250 million resort earmarked for Port Douglas will feature six underwater hotel suites that look into a lagoon pool and aquarium for a Great Barrier Reef-like experience.
Multi-billion-dollar developer Gurner has revealed the ultra-high-end wellness, tourism and hotel property on its second planned wellness-focused precinct on 26,000sqm of land at 91 – 113 Davidson Road.
The corporation has withdrawn plans for serviced apartments and private residence retreat, after consultation with Douglas Shire Council which had identified a lack of quality four and five star accommodation as part of the Port Douglas Daintree Destination Tourism Plan 2025.
The resort will be centred around a blue lagoon called ‘The Ocean’ and will include:
Six underwater hotel suites that look into the pool and an aquarium
118 resort rooms with 59 lagoon-facing rooms, 46 suites that front tropical gardens, and seven courtyards that provide private access to the pool
44 custom-designed wellness-luxury homes, ($2.5m-$10m) each with three to four bedrooms, open-plan kitchen, living and dining, a mineral pool, and private car parking, set within a gated community
World class hospitality, bars and restaurants
A luxury beach club
A private island that can be booked out for the day or events
Children’s play area and waterpark.
Gurner design general manager Alex Fin said with Port Douglas beach not useable for part of the year “we wanted to create our own private ocean where people can relax with family, kids can have fun in the kids club and guests can enjoy world class hospitality all year around”.
“We are passionate about protecting the character of Port Douglas and therefore have
envisaged this site as a low-rise eco retreat. a place that is respectful of its surroundings and at ne with nature,” he said.
Gurner boutique general manager Brooke Formosa said other Australian beachside locations, such as Byron Bay, Gold Coast and Noosa, had all seen a huge tourism resurgence in recent years as the introduction of luxury resort-style accommodation brought with it a much-needed boost to the local economy, “however Port Douglas has been left behind in many respects and doesn’t yet have that same destinational appeal”.
“We very much support the vision of the Port Douglas Daintree Destination Tourism Plan and the council’s plans to deliver much-needed accommodation to the area so we have been revising our proposal to align with this.
“We are confident this revised proposal, not only supports the tourism plan, but will enhance
the Port Douglas tourism experience to a new level.
“With our portfolio of hotels and wellness retreats we are hoping to help put Port Douglas back on the map and generate some real long-term economic benefit that the whole township can benefit from.”
