Gympie’s iconic the Royal Hotel opens to accommodation bookings

The much-loved Royal Hotel has bounced back after the 2022 floods, but managers are tight-lipped about the remaining venue spaces. See the photos.

The iconic Royal Hotel has reopened with accommodation on offer following the devastating 2022 floods.

The iconic Royal Hotel in Gympie, a much loved venue and frequent flood marker in Mary St, is moving on its next leg of transformations since being gutted by the 23m high floods in 2022.

The hotel has been in constant flux since it was first built in 1868.

It was not even a decade old before its first flood in 1875. after which it was turned into the two-storey structure it is now known for.

Colourful past for Royal Hotel

Inside the Royal Hotel in Mary Street, Gympie after the floods of 2022. Photo: Elizabeth Neil

The Royal Hotel in Gympie is still under refurbishment since being gutted by the 2022 floods. May 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

The corner room in the Royal Hotel which overlooks the intersection of Mary St and Monkland St in Gympie, May 2023. The hotel enters another transformation by new owner Brad Hall after it was gutted by the 2022 floods. Picture: Christine Schindler

New managers Ruth and Allan MacDonald have welcomed guests back into the Mary St venue with renovations now complete to the upstairs accommodation offerings.

The hotel is undergoing a $2m transformation led by Sydney-based investor and builder Brad Hall who wanted to provide useful accommodation for tradespeople, contract professionals and the occasional visitor.

Downstairs is still under construction, with the future of the venue, restaurant and function area still unknown.

Over the years the venue has weathered floods and cyclones and has housed a variety of uses such as a theatre to a cafe and live music venue.

Ruth and Allan MacDonald are the new managers of the accommodation in the Royal Hotel. Picture: Christine Schindler

“A flood doesn’t have to kill a building just because you can’t see a use for it. I’m looking for a way I can give back to the community and provide a service, ” Mr Hall said.

His venture into the Royal Hotel is a bit different, instead of long-term accommodation, he’s looking to market to visiting contract workers, and he’s confident about how it will turn out.

He estimates refurbishing will cost him up to $2m - a mammoth job that has involved changing the layout, rebuilding ceilings and floods and moving electrical wiring.

In the 2011 floods from The Royal Hotel looking south toward Reef St. Picture: Megan Slade

RIGHT ROYAL FLOOD: Rising waters provided water views for guests at Gympie's Royal Hotel.

Mr Hall has owned and developed properties in Forster, Kempsey, Taree, Gympie, and Maryborough, and is not afraid of buying in a flood zone.

He said this gives him a chance to beautify otherwise derelict buildings and watch them turn from old, forgotten buildings into accommodation at an affordable cost.

The Royal Hotel is open for bookings with a number of contractors from the Bruce Highway Bypass and hospital staff staying, Mrs MacDonald said.

As for the function and restaurant areas out the back and to the front, neither Mr Hall or Mrs MacDonald could say what they would be.

For now, the Royal Hotel has entered its post-2022 flood era, and is remaining versatile to its heritage no matter what the weather.