Marriott Hotel to transform Hobart heritage
A clutch of heritage buildings in Hobart’s Parliament Square will be transformed into a new $50 million Marriott International-branded The Luxury Collection hotel under the stewardship of the wealthy Schwartz family.
The Melbourne-based Trawalla Group, controlled by Alan and Carol Schwartz, plans to redesign several Georgian and Art Deco-style heritage buildings including the 1847-built St Mary’s Hospital in Parliament Square into a luxury 128-room hotel, opening next year.
Marriott International area vice-president Sean Hunt says a long-term management agreement has been struck with Trawalla Group, flagging that more luxury Marriot hotels will be opened on the eastern seaboard.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
“There is room for all our major luxury brands, like JW Marriott,” he says.
“There is a complete lack of supply of hotels in Hobart, so this new supply is welcome.”
The hotel’s main competitor will be the well-established Henry Jones Hotel.
The hotel will be the first The Luxury Collection hotel in Australia and will be one of 23 Marriott-branded hotels here.
“It has always been our intention to partner with a brand that appreciates and embraces Tasmania’s natural beauty, history and heritage, which is why we chose to work with Marriott International to bring The Luxury Collection to Tasmania as part of this exciting new development,” says Alan Schwartz, managing director of Trawalla Group Parliament Square Hotel Operator Pty Ltd.
The hotel will be built within an assortment of heritage buildings directly behind Hobart’s historic Parliament House, near Salamanca Market and the Museum of Old and New Art.
Mitzi Gaskins, global brand leader, The Luxury Collection and JW Marriott, says bringing a The Luxury Collection hotel to Australia is a significant milestone for the brand.
The hotel will feature restored floor boards, fireplaces and original windows, as well as an upscale restaurant, lobby lounge and whisky bar.
Sydney-based hospitality interior design firm JPDC will do the interiors of the hotel.
Marriott International has also signed deals to run The Ritz-Carlton Perth, The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne, and W Brisbane.
Marriott will open hotels next month in Perth, Melbourne’s Docklands and Fiji.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
