Prime Minister launches new Townsville hotel
Townsville’s booming property sector received the Prime Ministerial seal of approval last night when Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, launched the city’s first new international hotel in almost two decades, the Hotel Ibis Townsville, located in Palmer Street, the city’s premier restaurant and entertainment precinct.
The modern three-star hotel offers 118 rooms, meeting facilities for up to 100, and a street-front restaurant Sugatrain, with one of the city’s leading chefs, Craig Smith, leading the team.
Developer of the Ibis, prominent Townsville property developer Warren Thompson, of Thompson Property, also announced that a luxury all suite hotel will be developed alongside the Ibis.
Suites on Palmer is scheduled for opening in late 2007 and will be managed by Accor as part of its Grand Mercure collection of properties.
The total development cost of the two properties is $50 million.
Suites on Palmer will offer 104 studio and one bedroom apartments that can be connected to form two bedroom apartments.
The hotel will be fitted-out to deluxe 4½-star standards with suites having fully self-contained facilities, supported by hotel services such as all-day reception and business services.
The announcement of Suites on Palmer is a further boost for Townsville’s tourism infrastructure and comes at a time when local hotels are struggling to provide enough rooms to satisfy the demand from business and leisure travellers.
“Our aim with the new hotel and the adjacent Ibis is to create a new focal point for the Townsville CBD,” says Warren Thompson.
“Townsville has progressed dramatically in the past five years, but the city’s accommodation sector has had difficulty keeping pace with demand, especially for the corporate sector. Suites on Palmer will be a dynamic new addition to Townsville’s hotel scene and will cater in particular for longer-term stays.
“The development recognises that Townsville has become an increasingly sophisticated business and leisure destination, with the mineral boom and the city’s position as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef transforming the city into a major regional hub.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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