IHG Hotels and Resorts has announced its fifth hotel in Adelaide – its sixth with the Pelligra Group – with the signing of Holiday Inn and Suites Mawson Lakes.
The ground-breaking ceremony, held the day prior to the 2022 Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE), was attended by South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas, IHG’s CEO EMEAA, Kenneth Macpherson, and SVP Managing Director – Japan, Australasia and Pacific, Leanne Harwood as well as hotel owner Ross Pelligra.
Holiday Inn and Suites Mawson Lakes, which is owned by a joint venture between the Pelligra Group and Bruno Muscatello, is due to open in 2024. Located in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, just 20 mins from the CBD, the 150-room hotel will feature all the Holiday Inn brand hallmarks, including an open lobby, as well as all-day dining restaurant and lobby bar, conferencing facilities and gymnasium.
With six hotels now open or signed, the Pelligra Group is one of IHG’s largest partners in Australasia, and there are ambitions to grow the partnership significantly. Already the Group, along with its joint venture partners, has welcomed the brand-new Holiday Inn Werribee in 2021, boasting Australia’s first open lobby, and took on the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport lease in 2019, with plans to completely refurbish the property to bring it to world-class Holiday Inn standard. By the end of 2023, it will also open Holiday Inn Melbourne Richmond, Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton and Holiday Inn Dandenong.
Speaking at the launch, Ross Pelligra explained his passion for the potential in the north of Adelaide.
“When we first invested in South Australia at the Holden plant, we got excited about the north of Adelaide with the growth and the people and the growth of industry and we also noticed a lack of quality infrastructure,” Pelligra said.
“We looked around to see where we could have an iconic building for the next generation as we take a long term view with everything that we do. As I started doing my research, I could see there was opportunity here and my next call was to Leanne and it started to show that there was a big need for the hotel with research showing there was not demand for one but actually two hotels as there have been no new hotels built in the last 10 years.
“We see this as a long term multi-generational project that will unlock the north of Adelaide. For us as a business we see this as a shovel ready project that is needed today as the city is growing – it needs a hero to the area to drive the city.”
Macpherson was proud to celebrate the signing of Holiday Inn and Suites Mawson Lakes.
“I would like to congratulate Ross and the Pelligra team for investing in South Australia tourism and hospitality. Today’s announcement is more than words – today we are breaking ground and we confidently say that this great hotel is well and truly on track to be opened in under two short years,” Macpherson said.
“We can see an incredible future for South Australian tourism with drivers such as University of South Australia, hospitals and industry nearby, we are confident that this brand new Holiday Inn will be a highly sought after destination for both business and leisure travellers alike.
“Excitingly, this will be IHG’s fifth hotel in Adelaide which underlines our position as one of the leading hotel operators in this great city. It complements our existing hotels – iconic Intercontinental Hotel Adelaide and the recently opened Crowne Plaza Adelaide, the Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets and the Holiday Inn Express Adelaide City Centre.
IHG’s partnership with the Pelligra Group has grown over the past five years now marking six hotels opened and signed together in Australia.
“I know that the Holiday Inn and Suites at Mawson Lakes will show off the best of the brand just as Pelligra has with the previous Holiday Inn properties particularly the new Holiday Inn Werribee which is a brilliant example of the brand and it is the first in Australia with Holiday Inn’s signature open lobby,” Macpherson said.
“I am thrilled that we can continue that growth together with the signing of this great hotel as well as the upcoming opens at the Holiday Inn Richmond, the Crown Plaza Melbourne Carlton and the Holiday Inn Dandenong and I think it is fair to say Ross that we have ambitious plans to grow that portfolio together. Ross and Pelligra team, thank you for your great partnership with IHG and to your shared commitment to opening amazing hotels together. We can’t wait to see this great property come to life.”
IHG Hotels & Resorts SVP Managing Director Japan, Australasia and Pacific, Leanne Harwood said: “Being here today, announcing a state-of-the-art, new-build hotel with one of our great partners, Ross Pelligra, is incredible and a true testament to the trust and strength of our relationship. We have a shared vision of creating world-class, cutting-edge hotels and the Pelligra Group clearly has an affinity for our brands, and we would love to grow that together. It is an honour to be here today alongside Ross and his team and to be building on these foundations that we have built, together.”
The hotel will be located adjacent to the University of South Australia Mawson Lakes campus, Mawson Central Shopping Centre and the Parafield Airport and within close proximity to the Edinburgh RAAF Base, Lyell McEwin Hospital, several major manufacturing and logistics centres, making it a perfect base for those in town for business or leisure.
IHG has enjoyed one of its biggest years of hotel signings and openings on record over the past few years and with almost 150 open or signed hotels in Australasia alone, it is considered one of the region’s leading hotel operators.
Reporting by HM’s James Wells