Proposed $130m Crystalbrook Sam hotel on Halifax St in Adelaide CBD higher under revised plans
A $130m hotel for Halifax St in the CBD has been approved – but new plans would see it get even taller, with other changes.
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A $130m luxury hotel approved for Halifax St would be a storey taller under newly submitted plans that now include an extra swimming pool.
The 14-storey hotel, restaurant and bar owned by the Samaras Group and managed by Crystalbrook Collection, is set to open in 2026 with more than 200 rooms.
It received planning consent in March 2024 from the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP).
Now the developers of the Crystalbrook Sam hotel – backed by Syrian billionaire Ghassan Aboud – have submitted new plans that add a level, remove the carpark and make internal changes.
The revised plans include an extra swimming pool on the second level, and 25 additional hotel rooms, bringing the total to 227.
It will now be 14 storeys, with the top level housing the unique rooftop Eleme Spa and Bath House, including an east-facing terrace.
It increases the building height by nearly 4m to 53m.
Outdoor dining would be removed to the restaurant on level 12 and enclosed to form part of the public indoor restaurant.
Other changes include larger voids increasing natural light, pedestrian entry on the ground-level bar, dropping the level-one carpark from the designs and other internal changes.
“The approved ground level ‘hotel-style’ bar remains at the front of the site and includes a pedestrian entry, providing amenity and positively activates the street,” a report from URPS states.
The hotel would be built on a Wilson carpark site just east of King William St.
Samaras had previously planned to develop a 17-storey tower with a hotel and luxury apartments, but this was scaled back.
Announcing the new plans in February, Samaras Group managing director Chris Samaras said his group’s first hotel development would be a “world-class, luxury destination offering locals and visitors unique experiences that celebrate the best of what Adelaide and South Australia has to offer”.
“We are excited to be working with Crystalbrook Collection in delivering a flagship property for Adelaide and an asset that the Samaras Group will proudly foster for generations to come,” he said.
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