HOTEL TRIO: Plans for Port of Airlie are unveiled

Over the past three weeks, Whitsunday Regional Council put two development applications for new hotels up for public notification.

A third application has been submitted to the council but is yet to be open for public comment as officers seek more information.

The three applications form part of one large development earmarked for Port of Airlie.

The plan is split into two precincts on either side of the Mantra Boathouse Apartments.

The northern precinct, closer to the site of the Airlie Beach markets, includes 10 lots.

It is in this precinct that plans for a four to five-star hotel with 180 suites, a spa and fitness centre, yoga deck, pool terrace and amenities has been flagged.

The hotel would also include an all-day dining restaurant and lobby bar, a specialty retail area and a roof terrace and bar as well as meeting and conference facilities.

In the southern precinct near the Cruise Whitsundays ferry terminal sits the other two proposed hotels.

Plans for the hotel closest to Mantra Boathouse Apartments show a mix of long and short-term accommodation that would be spread across three connected buildings, one with five storeys and two made up of three storeys.

The accommodation includes 52 luxury apartments that could be used for either permanent residents or as holidays stays.

As part of the development, a small community facility would also be built that includes a food and drink outlet, shop, office, health care service and potential for community use.

Less than 300 metres away would sit another hotel, this time aimed at families and groups travelling together.

The proposed four-storey hotel will have 102 accommodation units as well as a restaurant with waterfront terrace area, a dive school and training pool, bar, games room, communal kitchen and a gym.

All three applications have been submitted by the same developer and would be built above the current council height limit.

The hotel closest to the foreshore is set to stand 47.7m tall, which developers said would “enhance the visual amenity of the local area and constitute an identifiable and attractive landmark within the townscape”.

The luxury hotel in the southern precinct would stand at 14.98m tall while the group-oriented hotel has been planned to reach 18.8m.

Two of the applications are listed on public notification here.