Isle of Wight Hotel to open on The Esplanade in Cowes, Phillip Island

One of the state’s top tourist hotspots is set to get a $130m accommodation and entertainment complex that will be a mecca for tourist dollars and provide much-needed jobs.

The $130m Isle of Wight hotel, which will be the third one developed at the same site on The Esplanade in Cowes, is expected to open in 2027. Picture: Moda/

A $130m accommodation and entertainment complex is set to transform one of the state’s top tourist locations.

The Isle of Wight on The Esplanade at Phillip Island — the third hotel to bear the name after the previous two were destroyed by a fire — is tipped to open in 2027 and is expected to pour millions into the local economy and create 150 new jobs.

Exclusive images of the development in Cowes, designed by Melbourne firm Moda, show a 27.5m seven-storey building that will feature 163 hotel rooms, a retail laneway including a gym, wellness centre and yoga studio, four food and beverage outlets, an outdoor pool terrace with a bar, two function rooms and an outdoor beer garden.

The Isle of Wight will be a 27.m seven-storey building that will feature 163 hotel rooms. Picture: Moda/

Also included in the masterplan is a 14.5m three-storey tourist hostel with a manager’s apartment, 49 one bedroom units, a retail section and a rooftop tennis and basketball court.

Additionally, there will be 197 basement carparking bays underneath the building.

Construction at the site — that has been empty for more than a decade and went on the market in 2014 — will commence later in the year, with trees and existing structure being cleared on the land.

For years, Phillip Island residents have been pushing for the site to be redeveloped.

Moda managing director Ed Farquharson said the previous Isle of Wight had been a Phillip Island’ “icon”.

The historic Isle of Wight hotel in Cowes, Phillip Island was destroyed by a fire in 1925 and burnt down again (pictured) in 2010. Picture: David Gearing.

Mr Farquharson said the third iteration of the hotel provided an estimated $55 to $76m boost to the local economy annually and 150 new employment opportunities.

The first Isle of Wight opened in 1870 and was destroyed by fire in 1925.

The second Isle of Wight famously played host to Fred Astair, Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck during their filming of the movie On the Beach in 1958.

In 2005, a permit was granted to transform the hotel into a seven-storey building with 255 units, a bottle shop, restaurants, cocktail lounges, a nightclub, a sports bar, gambling lounge and a gymnasium.

Then, in 2010, changes were made to the permit, but the hotel was destroyed in a fire a month later.

Since then, there had been ongoing plans to redevelop the site, with the Bass Coast Shire Council approving the multimillion-dollar project by Moda/ in September 2023.

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The project was designed as part of council’s green lit $8m Streetscape Masterplan, where the Cowes Foreshore Precinct, including the streets of The Esplanade, Thompsons and Bass Ave, Chapel and Church St would be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly and “vibrant destination” with dining spaces extended onto the streets.