South Australia’s Premier, Jay Weatherill, has just announced that a new Sofitel Luxury Hotel will be built in Adelaide’s CBD – the first internationally branded luxury hotel to be built in the city in nearly three decades.
Adelaide developer and investor, Palumbo will develop the new hotel in the heart of the city on Currie Street and has signed an agreement with Australia’s largest hotel operator, Accor, who will manage the hotel under its luxury Sofitel brand.
The AUD$140 million hotel development is scheduled to open in 2018. The hotel will be the sixth Sofitel in Australia and the first in South Australia.
Sofitel Adelaide will form part of Palumbo’s 106 Currie Street development, a 32-storey tower that will be the tallest residential development in South Australia. The tower will comprise 80 apartments over the top eight levels with the remaining floors comprising the hotel’s suites and facilities. Sofitel Adelaide will include 250 rooms and suites, with extensive leisure and business facilities, including a restaurant, four bars, ballroom, swimming pool, health and fitness centre, meeting and conference rooms and a signature Sofitel Club Lounge.
“The development of the Sofitel will play a major role in further elevating Adelaide’s international profile and is a positive step for the city’s economic growth,” said Accor’s Chief Operating Officer – Pacific, Simon McGrath.
“It has been nearly 30 years since a hotel development of this status and quality has been announced in Adelaide’s CBD and it will help attract significant increases in tourism, business travel and conferences to the city.
“The demand into Adelaide’s visitor economy is growing despite new hotel supply entering the market last year, occupancy for the total market finished just under 80% in occupancy while RevPAR grew by 5.5%. This growth is being fuelled by investment in infrastructure projects such as the Adelaide Oval and Convention Centre.
“The new-build Sofitel will open shortly after the stage two completion of the Convention Centre’s East Building and the proposed Adelaide Airport expansion which will drive additional demand into the city’s accommodation market – this a significant win for the economic development of Adelaide,” McGrath said.
Managing Director of Palumbo Pty Ltd, Daniel Palumbo, said that the process to identify a hotel partner for 106 Currie Street took over a year to conclude and involved the world’s leading hotel brands.
“Sofitel was chosen because, quite simply, it offers the best premier hotel experience,” Palumbo said.
“Sofitel Adelaide will be South Australia’s premier hotel destination and is a French luxury hotel brand associated with beauty, quality and excellence.
“Sofitel Adelaide will offer the best of both worlds,” he said. “It will combine the very best South Australian wine and produce with the finest French pastries, wines, cheeses and breads, all of which create a uniquely European experience for guests.”
The project is expected to create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and employ around 145 people once operational. Construction will begin in 2017.