IHG Joins Revamp of Adelaide’s Mayfair Hotel

Global hospitality giant IHG Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Ark Capital to revamp a landmark Adelaide hotel.

The 170-room art deco Mayfair Hotel would be restored to its former splendour and reborn as Kimpton Mayfair Adelaide in late 2026 under the plan.

It is the first deal between IHG and Ark Capital, which is 50 per cent owned by ASX-listed alternatives manager Regal Partners.

IHG would take over operations from mid-December. The property will continue to trade as the Mayfair Hotel before closing for the renovations that IHG Hotels & Resorts managing director for Australasia and Pacific Matt Tripolone said would “reimagine one of Adelaide’s most famous hotels”.

“The Mayfair Hotel will be transformed and elevated by the Kimpton brand to offer a boutique luxury lifestyle experience that celebrates Adelaide’s creativity, warmth and sophistication,” Tripolone said.

Ark Capital managing director Sarah Townson said the partners shared a commitment to design-led, experience-driven luxury “on this landmark Kimpton Mayfair Adelaide project”.

Kimpton launched in Australia in 2022 with Kimpton Margot Sydney. Kimpton Teneriffe in Brisbane is due to open in 2031.

Tripolone said the Kimpton Mayfair Adelaide would complement other South Australian IHG properties and its luxury and lifestyle portfolio expansion across Australia.

▲ Rendering of the planned InterContinental Barossa Resort and Spa.

The group signed a management deal with Adelaide-based Strategic Alliance in March for the $100-million InterContinental Barossa Resort & Spa, a 150-room property scheduled to open in 2028.

The resort would include a signature restaurant, function spaces, wellness spa and cellar door with working vines on a 21ha site near Lyndoch.

In May, IHG partnered with Luxora Hotels to return the Holiday Inn brand to Townsville with a 93-key property that is undergoing refurbishment before its early 2026 opening.

InterContinental Brisbane, rebranded from the former Hilton designed by modernist architect Harry Seidler, opened in July under a management agreement with developer ISPT.

And alongside Felix Capital, the group has revised plans to upgrade a Voco-branded hotel to an 180-room Crowne Plaza at Maroochydore with more than 770sq m of meeting and event space, meeting regional demand for conference facilities.

Construction on that project will begin in early 2026 for a 2028 opening.

IHG operates 76 hotels across Australia and New Zealand under nine brands, with another 26 properties in development.