Mornington Peninsula’s Continental Hotel For Sale
One of Victoria’s most recognisable coastal hospitality assets has been listed with a $150-million price guide in one of the year’s most significant hotel offerings.
The Continental Hotel at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula has been brought to market by the consortium behind its $120-million redevelopment that was completed nearly four years ago.
Victor Smorgon Group, Kanat Group and Trenerry Property Group picked up the 150-year-old property from receivers in May 2020 for $14.5 million after developer Steller collapsed in April 2019, leaving the $80-million renovation project half-complete and dormant for more than a year.
Prior to the halt, the joint-venture project with Julian Gerner was well under way to create a 100-room luxury hotel, dining and events centre.
The offering bundles the 108-room InterContinental Sorrento hotel with its dining venues, event spaces, underground car park and Aurora Spa & Bathhouse.
Sorrento Lodge, a nearby 76-bed workers’ accommodation facility, is also included.
“The Continental Sorrento is a trophy asset in the heart of Australia’s version of the Hamptons,” JLL’s Peter Harper said.
The sale is structured as a sale-and-leaseback arrangement with a long-term lease in place. Agents said the sale was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire an iconic asset on a passive investment basis”.
JLL and Cushman & Wakefield have been appointed to manage the expressions-of-interest campaign, which is due to close in March.
The property would be offered as a package deal or separately, with the workers’ lodge expected to fetch $10 million to $11 million if sold individually.
The consortium completed the landmark restoration in mid-2022, partnering with IHG to operate the hotel under the InterContinental brand.
The 5575sq m site features limestone construction dating to 1875 when it was built by actor, politician and businessman George Coppin.
The Victorian Heritage Register recognises the building’s historical significance for its association with Coppin and Sorrento’s development.
Kokoda adds to venue pipeline
Meanwhile, Kokoda Property Group has snapped up the Saint Hotel at St Kilda in a mortgagee sale.
According to industry sources, the 1150sq m Fitzroy Street property sold for $8.4 million in an auction that attracted eight bidders.
The acquisition follows Kokoda’s launch of a hospitality division in November to operate food and beverage venues across its residential developments.
Kokoda’s debut venue, The Angel of Malvern, is scheduled to open in early 2026 as part of Station Place, a retail precinct anchoring the developer’s $450-million Malvern Collective mixed-use development.
The group also plans to operate multiple venues at Teneriffe Banks, its $1.5-billion Brisbane project featuring Queensland’s first Kimpton Hotel in partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts.
Kokoda Property Group managing director Mark Stevens said the company’s acquisition of the Saint Hotel reflects a broader ambition to “activate iconic sites and contribute meaningfully to Melbourne’s lifestyle landscape”.
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