03 Nov 2026
Words Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood & Angira Bharadwaj Australian Financial Review

Singaporean investment fund, Ovolo circle $75m Sunshine Coast hotel

Foreign investment funds and global hotel chains are lining up for a slice of “god’s country”, eyeing the proposed Maloja Hotel in the Sunshine Coast’s Caloundra.

The hotel’s builder RCQ has mandated boutique firm ResortBrokers for the sale, which is expected to fetch a price tag of at least $75 million.

Singapore investment fund Bay Street Capital and Arcadia Holdings, the private investment vehicle of the wealthy Filipino Lucero family, are already sniffing around the sale, according to sources with knowledge of the deal who were not authorised to speak on the record.

Hong Kong-headquartered hotel chain Ovolo has also been circling in what will be only the second premium hotel to open its doors on the Sunshine Coast in 30 years.

The hotel is projected to make $5.6 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by its third year, a sales flyer being circulated to investors said.

Separately six parties have made submissions to operate the hotel, including global hotels giant Accor and Radisson Blu, these people said. The latter has been making inroads in the region, cutting the ribbon on The Merchant Hotel in Brisbane CBD in July.

Accor has also been active in Australia, most recently striking a white-label agreement with property developer Freecity in October to operate properties in its $7 billion pipeline.

No official bids for the Maloja have been lobbed yet after the auction was launched on Friday.

Caloundra vies for the crown

The sell-side pitch points out that Caloundra, which is the closest coastal town to Brisbane, is on track to topple Noosa as the premier holiday destination of the Sunshine Coast.

“A one-off high-end opportunity to invest in reinvested Caloundra as an upscale destination,” the flyer said.

The hotel is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2029 after construction begins next year. That will make it ready to welcome crowds from the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games to its 140 rooms across 13 storeys.

The property industry has been lobbying the government to fast-track planning approvals for hotels and waive foreign land taxes after research showed Queensland is expected to be more than 11,000 hotel rooms short of what it needs for the Olympics.

The Maloja is looking beyond the region’s traditional family visitors to welcome those looking to drop more cash on nicer accommodation, longer stays and premium facilities. Currently only about 1 per cent of accommodation in the region is classified as luxury.

“The Maloja Hotel will be ideally positioned to benefit from the sustained visitation growth anticipated in the lead-up to the Olympics and beyond,” investors were told.

“Even without the added catalyst of the Olympics, the Sunshine Coast is experiencing sustained population growth, increasing tourism demand and significant infrastructure investment.”