Accommodation Gold Coast: Japanese-style capsule hotel plans unveiled

One of the Gold Coast’s oldest buildings will be scraped and replaced with an innovative ‘capsule’ hotel with room for hundreds of people.

ONE of the Gold Coast’s oldest buildings will be scraped and replaced with Queensland’s first Japanese-style capsule hotel.

Developer QJ Development Group Pty Ltd wants to build the unusual hotel on the site of Southport’s old Queen Street convenience store.

It will be sitting room only in this Gold Coast hotel

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According to documents filed with the Gold Coast City Council, the four-storey tower will feature 124 rooms spread across its four levels.

One of the city’s leading tourism bosses says it could proved to be a major drawcard for the city for travellers from Asia and backpackers looking for cheap accommodation.

“This will be pitched at a lower price point and obviously these things are quite trendy, especially to guests travelling from Asia,” Destination Gold Coast chairman Paul Donovan said.

How the hotel will look from the outside.

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“I am sure there will be a great take-up at this because there will be a novelty factor. It will be a disrupter, a bit like Uber or AirBnb.”

According to a planning report, the rooms will have plenty of amenities despite their small size.

“The development proposes a relatively new concept in the Gold Coast short-term accommodation market. The applicant is proposing a capsule hotel where rooms are no larger than a queen size bed, and tall enough for sitting space only,” the report said.

The rooms in this hotel will be no lager than Queen-size beds.

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“Each of the 124 capsule rooms is efficiently designed to provide the amenities of a typical hotel room - bed, power points, TV and limited storage and each room is provided with a locker for the storage of luggage and additional items.

“Communal spaces including bathrooms, kitchen, indoor and outdoor living spaces and laundry are provided throughout the building.”

The site is owned by QJ Development Group, which is linked to China-born investor Jian Lin.

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Capsule hotels are popular in Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The famous Queen Street shop which was vacated in February 2018, and has been a Southport icon for more than 120 years.

There were originally plans for student accommodation but these fell through.

Australia’s first capsule hotel opened in Sydney two years ago.

Plans were filed for a similar hotel in Cairns late last year but the project is yet to become a reality.

Welcome to the future.