$20,000-a-night penthouses coming to Hotel Windsor
Indonesia’s billionaire Halim family is taking on another billionaire, James Packer, in the race to develop one of the nation’s first ultra luxury six-star hotels.
While Packer’s Crown Resorts plans a six-star property at Sydney’s Barangaroo aimed at high rollers, the $350 million restoration of the Hotel Windsor in Melbourne will see the development of two three-level presidential style penthouses renting out at $20,000 a night.
The Halims spent an acrimonious eight years fighting Victorian government planning officials over their plans to redevelop the Hotel Windsor.
The hotel was built in the 1880s and has been likened to other grand hotels such as New York’s Waldorf Astoria, The Ritz in Paris and The Savoy in London.
Windsor Hotel director Adi Halim estimates the family spent $15 million getting planning approval on top of the $43 million it paid for the hotel.
Halim says the six-star hotel he plans for Melbourne would be a different product to the Barangaroo hotel in Sydney, which is aimed at high rollers.
“We will target the luxury guests used to this sort of product in Asia or the United States,” he said.
Apart from the penthouses, the 279 suites slated for the Hotel Windsor will be priced about $700-$1000 a night.
Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the penthouses in the reinvigorated hotel will feature indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, private butlers, fireplaces and private lifts.
We will target the luxury guests used to this sort of product in Asia or the United States
The three-bedroom presidential penthouse will occupy 745sqm in the new tower with its own home cinema and cellar, while the two-bedroom 439sq m Royal Penthouse will occupy three levels in the heritage wing, with private lift access, private spa and outdoor terraces overlooking Victoria’s Parliament House.
Halim says growing inbound tourism to Australia, particularly to Melbourne and Sydney, had created significant demand for accommodation at the ultra-luxury level typically found in Europe and Asia.
Each of the Hotel Windsor’s suites in both the heritage and contemporary areas will be serviced by individual butlers.
The Hotel Windsor is expected to close around the first quarter of next year.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
