Waterfront Hotel Makes $20m Splash

The Beachcomber Hotel on the NSW Central Coast has changed hands for the first time in 25 years.

Sydney-based hotelier and former Rothschild managing director David Kingston sold the “Beachie” in Toukley in an off-market sale for $20 million.

Given Australians are expected to holiday closer to home thanks to the global pandemic, new owners Oscars Hotel Group will relaunch the hotel as a “new beach club and resort venue”, marketing the property as a “hip weekend getaway, less than 90 minutes from Sydney”.

The sale follows the transaction of another waterfront asset, the Lennox Hotel, bought by Sydney’s Laundy family and Sydney Collective for $41 million.

This month, former Wallaby Bill Young paid around $40 million to buy the Royal Hotel at Ryde in north-west Sydney from hotelier Patrick Gallagher.

And billionaire hotelier Justin Hemmes confirmed he had bought his first venue outside Sydney, the Quarterdeck in Narooma, a popular NSW South Coast tiki bar.

Located between two Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, the Beachcomber has nearly 100m of lake frontage and its own private pier.

It will be relaunched as a 4-star, 80-room resort offering indoor and outdoor bars, restaurants, six function rooms, gaming and bottle-shop facilities.

The property will also have guest facilities including a pool, sauna, gym and wellness services on its 1ha site.

JLL’s managing director John Musca, who managed the deal, said the pandemic had generated trading challenges and opportunities.

“The weight and diversity of capital remains strong for the hotels nationally at present and, although not indiscriminate, suitors are evident across the board for investments within the highly protected and resilient asset class,” Musca said.