Lady Pamela crew waste little time to leave Gold Coast quarantine hotel after millionaires fortnight slumming it
Melbourne millionaires’ party sails into a storm, forced to ‘slum’ it at a Gold Coast quarantine hotel for a fortnight.
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FROM sunbaking and bubbles on a yacht deck to packed lunches, constant construction and watching the world from a hotel, when Melbourne millionaires set sail to the Gold Coast they weren’t expecting to be forced to ‘slum’ it for a fortnight.
The Bulletin understands the crew of the controversial Lady Pamela yacht trip left quarantine at the QT Gold Coast a minute after their final day ticked over, heading out the doors in the shadows of the night on Tuesday.
Earlier, and just a week after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a stage four restriction for metropolitan Melbourne, millionaire Mark Simonds and his family left their Toorak mansion and boarded 30m Italian-built Lady Pamela for the Gold Coast.
With ex-celebrity manager Greg Numa driving the superyacht, along with two other crew members, Mr Simonds’ family of four enjoyed the August 9-24 journey, docking at Gold Coast City Marina in Coomera. The three levels of VIP lounge bars, barbecue areas and a swimming platform was home for the millionaire family for just over two weeks, but what was to become their humbled abode for the next fortnight was vastly different.
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The group were made to quarantine in the QT Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise, where meals would have differed from the extensive and varied menu of platters and gourmet seafood that they had on the superyacht.
It has been reported how people in quarantine in a Gold Coast hotel received either an omelette and hash browns, pastries or a bacon and egg toasty for breakfast, a sandwich or hot wrap for lunch and a hot meal for dinner. It’s a far cry from lobster and prawns.
In July people staying at QT Gold Coast complained about works and noise from a nearby construction site – including relentless jack hammering – and a Biggera Waters woman said she was also stressed because of the condition of the room and supplied food.
Initially granted a travel exemption for the journey, Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young revoked it after allegations the yacht had made stops along the way, forcing members of the yacht into hotel quarantine.
The trip has faced scrutiny from police in Queensland and New South Wales, with it reported the 15-day jaunt along the eastern coast of Australia included multiple stops in NSW, which led to six people fined by NSW Police for illegally disembarking.
Mr Numa, ex-manager of celebrities Rex Hunt and Sam Newman, will appear in a Queensland court on Friday, charged with making a false declaration.
Originally published as Lady Pamela crew waste little time to leave Gold Coast quarantine hotel after millionaires fortnight slumming it