La Pelago

Multi-billion-dollar developer GURNER™ has signed a landmark deal with Marriott International, that will see Australia’s very first St. Regis hotel open its doors within the first tower of Gurner’s $1.7 billion joint venture with investment house, Wingate, La Pelago.

The La Pelago project is set to deliver a premier lifestyle resort and destination within the prestigious Budds Beach precinct. La Pelago will feature 12,000 sqm of exceptional lifestyle amenities including luxury residential residences, The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort, and over 5,500 sqm of international hospitality and retail, encompassed in a lush and private landscaped setting.

The iconic St. Regis brand was selected by GURNER™ following an exhaustive expression of interest campaign that vetted some of the most well-known luxury hotel brands in the world. Once negotiations began with Marriott International, it took just 27 days for the two companies to reach an agreement.&nbsp;

<img alt="Render of the arrival at the luxury hotel St. Regis in La Pelago" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d284a89-e0b2-48c6-bbee-d8b9eb92be6b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/EA01%20-%20Hero%20Arrival.jpg?VersionId=n_GZGbT0KcFurnFZH6v3rtX5_G07A8LT" />Render of the arrival at the luxury hotel St. Regis in La Pelago

The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort is a major coup for the top end of the Gold Coast tourism market, which is now booming again after the lockdowns of 2020-2021. The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort will be “unlike anything on offer in Australia’s hotel market currently,” according to Gurner Group CEO Tim Gurner, and offer a “level of bespoke luxury that is not available on the Gold Coast now nor planned into the future”.

“We knew we had to have a hotel brand at La Pelago that would transform the Gold Coast and elevate it – and Australia’s 5-star hotel offering – to another level,” Gurner said.&nbsp;

“We are so incredibly excited and humbled to be able to announce the deal with Marriott International and secure the St. Regis brand for this landmark development - it’s a brand that has stood the test of time for elegance, bespoke service and exquisite experiences.”

St. Regis is Marriott International’s leading luxury hotel brand with over 56 hotels and resorts around the world, making it one of the most exclusive hotel offerings for guests. Vice President Hotel Development, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific for Marriott International, Richard Crawford said The St Regis brand has defined luxury hotels since the opening of the very first St Regis hotel in New York in 1904, and has since selected partners who can bring to life the rich tradition, heritage and legacy of the brand.&nbsp;

“Gurner’s well-earned reputation for excellence, and their vision for the Gold Coast, aligns exceptionally well with the very high standards we set for every St. Regis hotel around the world,” Crawford said.&nbsp;

“We look forward to bringing to life an iteration of the brand that is modern, aspirational, and befits the lifestyle and energy of the Gold Coast.”

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The circa 185 luxurious guest rooms at The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort have called for design plans with all the rooms and hotel amenities, including the bar and restaurant, to sit well above any of the other towers in the project, and 50 per cent taller than any other surrounding tower, providing unencumbered views across the skyline.&nbsp;

“We completely reconfigured the hotel offering for The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort after we secured the brand, so that the lowest hotel room still sits above any surrounding towers, enabling uninterrupted views of the beach, river and mountain ranges, going all the way up to level 43,” said Gurner.&nbsp;

The design narrative at The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort will celebrate the brand’s timeless legacy and rich heritage. Guests can look forward to entering via the porte cochère and experiencing the hotel’s signature spaces, which include a speciality restaurant, world-class sky bar, pool bar, luxurious lounge, as well as the signature St. Regis Bar.&nbsp;

“The arrival experience, amenity, service offering and rooms will be without equal in Australia, and will put the Gold Coast back on the map as an ultra-luxury destination."

Upon arrival, guests will be whisked away up to the second and main hotel lobby located on level 42, transporting hotel guests high into the sky where they will be greeted by an expansive bar and internationally acclaimed restaurant and function area.&nbsp;

“Above the hotel we have around 100 residences within the Crystal Club that will have their own private entrance and exclusive access to hotel-style services and amenity, to offer those buyers something truly irreplaceable that offers a new level of luxury atop the best hotel in the country,” Gurner added.&nbsp;

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“The Crystal Club will be the next evolution of what we created at Saint Moritz and then taken to another level again with more amenity that just adds a whole new level of glamour and sophistication.”

The world-famous hotel holds a special place in the luxury developer’s heart – the St. Regis New York has been Tim’s favourite hotel in the world since he and his wife Aimee stayed there on their very first holiday together, returning nearly every year.

“For me it was only ever St. Regis. La Pelago is something that will never be re-created again in Australia and St. Regis has always been my favourite hotel brand, so I just had to have them to complete the circle of ultra-luxury at the project," he said.

The St. Regis Gold Coast Resort expects to mark the third Marriott International property on the Gold Coast when it opens, adding to the company’s existing Queensland portfolio – JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa, Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort Gold Coast, W Brisbane, Brisbane Marriott Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane, The Westin Brisbane and Courtyard by Marriott South Bank Brisbane. Marriott International currently operates 39 hotels across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, with 26 hotels in Australia.

“The precinct of La Pelago is a world to its own with incredible hospitality, wellness, a business centre, ballroom and event spaces, alongside over 10,000 sqm of amenity for residents, then to top it all off will be Australia’s number one hotel."

“To have the hotel at such an elevated level in the sky with uninterrupted views gives St. Regis a huge point of difference in the market,” he concluded.&nbsp;

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The iconic St. Regis brand was selected by GURNER™ following an exhaustive expression of interest campaign that vetted some of the most well-known luxury hotel brands in the world. Once negotiations began with Marriott International, it took just 27 days for the two companies to reach an agreement. 

alisonwarters@gmail.com

GURNER™ secures Australia’s first luxury St. Regis Hotel for its $1.7 billion Gold Coast La Pelago project 

One of the Gold Coast's most anticipated projects is set to launch in the coming months.

Tim Gurner's GURNERTM,&nbsp;in a joint venture with investment house Wingate, are soon to unveil the first tower in La Pelago, their $1.7 billion, four-tower masterplan at Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise.

Launching to the market later this year, the “Resort Residences” will be the first stage available in the project, located in the first 28 storeys of the project’s first tower, ‘Aquia’, which will soar 65 levels and have a total end value of $1 billion.

The Resort Residences will have a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments ranging from $525,000 up to $1.8 million, ranging in size from 60 sqm to 200 sqm.

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Aquia boasts an exclusive private wellness club, the three level resort-style podium deck with its ‘private island’ Archipelago of pools, lagoons and relaxation areas, and direct access to a signature restaurant, bars and cafes located throughout the tower and on ground level.

The Aquia tower also will house the yet-to-be-announced global hotel brand which is rumoured to be around 185 rooms across levels 29 - 42.

Tim Gurner said he's&nbsp;never been so excited to launch a project.

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"This concept is something truly different and iconic for Australia that we believe will really take the residential market by surprise.

“We have made the brave call to launch the project amid the current global uncertainty due to huge interest and demand from our sophisticated investor database and past clients who can see through the next few years and are very excited by the fundamentals of the Australian property market and especially the Gold Coast," Gurner said.

“With now almost no supply in the pipeline for Gold Coast due to construction pricing, but with demand still incredibly strong, our sophisticated investors know that in 2-3 years we will be in a rental crisis that will push rents and therefore pricing to a level not seen before.

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“We have been monitoring construction pricing to determine when it settles which we now believe it has; and with little to no larger projects on the horizon, we think trades will look at the next 12 – 24 months and realise most of the jobs they had planned to work on are now not progressing and they will need to price on new work at a competitive rate again."

La Pelago, inspired by some of the world’s most exclusive private Archipelago resorts, has been imagined as a series of island precincts among a vast expanse of lagoon pools, with private bookable lounges and private dining areas, cabanas, sundecks, swim-up bars, restaurants and soaring mature palm trees over a three-level resort podium.

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Architecturally designed by international architect firm, Warren &amp; Mahoney, with interiors imagined by GURNERTM’s own in-house interior design team led by Italian designer Simon Brugaletta. The globally renowned&nbsp;SWA – the landscape designers behind the Beverly Hills Hotel and Los Vantanas in Mexico, two of Tim Gurner’s favourite hotels – are designing the lush tropical landscapes that will bring the 12,000 sqm site to life.

Inspired by nature’s organic forms and everchanging sand dunes, Aquia is defined by its sweeping curves and natural symmetry. Its façade of shimmering glass reflects the hues of the Gold Coast sun, creating a form that appears to shift and morph as you approach from different angles.

The resort-style experience will start in the lobby, with cascading water features and a porte cochere entrance leading to a private concierge where residents can choose to have their car valet parked and shopping taken directly into their rooms.

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“Everything about La Pelago represents a relentless pursuit of perfection and point of difference," Gurner added.

"We have scoured the globe to uncover the world’s very best examples of private resort living, bringing everything together into one private sanctuary.

“We want our clients to own something that has never been done before in the world and cannot be done again. A truly irreplaceable investment and home.

Gurner said the&nbsp;Gold Coast is experiencing one of the most exciting periods in its history.

"Over 40,000 people moved here each year in 2020 and 2021, and with 70 kilometres of pristine sandy beaches and 300 days of sunshine per year, it’s not hard to see why.

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“The vision for La Pelago really came together in 2020 when I was in lockdown at home with my family in Melbourne, thinking there has to be a way to bring an unparalleled resort lifestyle into a residential setting in Australia that’s only 2 hours from Sydney and Melbourne as opposed to 6 hours to Bali or Fiji.

“While we are still finessing the details of the amenities and service that will be on offer, we have spent over 18 months ensuring that there is nothing else like it, not only on the Gold Coast but anywhere else in Australia.

“We want La Pelago to be the defining destination of the Gold Coast, not just known for its architecture and amenity, but the experience from the moment the valet first opens your car door, through to the designer retail precincts and sky-high restaurants that will be the name on everyone’s lips when they launch to the public,” he said.

"It’s a collection of my most out-there ideas and “what ifs” brought to life.”

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Tim Gurner said he's never been so excited to launch a project

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