Former party hotspot Ambassador Hotel now drugs, crime den
It was once a luxury Melbourne wedding venue, but this Frankston hotel is now a cesspit where paramedics fear to tread and crims come when they’re released from jail.
South East
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A once-exclusive hotel and venue for the most lavish weddings in Melbourne’s southeast has turned into a cesspit for drug use and a hotspot for criminals fresh out of jail.
Frankston’s Ambassador Hotel, one of Melbourne’s most sought-after party venues in the ’80s and 90s, has degenerated into an isolated mini-society drug addicts and criminals call home.
The neglected Nepean Highway property’s wedding chapel has been abandoned, and luxurious hotel rooms turned into short-stay rentals — plagued with smashed windows, junk piles, graffiti and shattered beer bottles — unrecognisable to past guests.
In 2017, owners of the apartments dubbed the building as the most dangerous address in Australia.
Last year, one ice-fuelled resident was jailed for stabbing his neighbour in the back over a $27 drug money dispute.
The violence got so bad police started to escort paramedics to drug overdoses and assaults.
Recently, residents at the 110-unit apartment block — where a room can be rented for as little as $190 per week — told Leader they “wouldn’t sleep without the door locked” and had witnessed “dead people and stabbings”.
They said the cheap rooms were an easy choice for criminals looking for housing after serving a prison sentence.
One woman, who did not want to be named, said she saw a dead body at the bottom of a staircase near her unit when she moved in 12 months ago.
“It was a drug overdose,” she said.
“This place really is as bad as everyone says it is.
“People are unpredictable … it’s terrible, but I can’t afford to get out.”
Travis Peoples, 28, who moved in to the apartment block last month while he looks for permanent work, said “laying low” was the key to staying out of trouble.
“There’s a lot of drug users but if you just keep friendly and say ‘hi’ and ‘goodbye’, you’ll be fine,” Mr Peoples said.
“There’s dropkicks (here) but you get them everywhere. Obviously the reputation will never go away but I do feel pretty safe.”
Billie Rainsbury, who lived at the apartments for more than a year while trying to find work, said police were called to the property up to 15 times a month.
The 31-year-old said her next-door neighbour was an ice addict. She said she immediately started looking for a new place after the birth of son Chase.
“It was absolute chaos; there would be nightly arguments between neighbours where they’d yell at each other asking where their crack pipe or cigarettes had gone,” Ms Rainsbury said.
“There were break-ins all the time; it’s one of those places where it’s open for business for criminals to come in … it’s no place for a child.”
Ms Rainsbury said The Ambassador offered a “good opportunity” for people struggling to get back on their feet. But she said most people were not actively looking for work, instead taking advantage of the cheap stay.
“These people are just wrecking it … people used to get married here, now it’s just a drug den and horrible place,” she said.
“They could renovate it and turn it into a retirement village for lovely elderly people … because it can’t keep going on the way it is.”
In October 2018, Frankston City Council voted on plans to build a petrol station and car wash
at the site, but the draft did not include any changes to the chapel or units.
Cr Kris Bolam said the development would transform a “barren, post-apocalyptic wasteland”.
“We’re hoping that the petrol station development and beautification works due to commence next year will improve the feeling of the area,” Cr Bolam said.
“The public are calling for us to act … but we need the majority of titleholders to prove to us they can manage the site effectively.
“Hopefully market forces will produce some good outcomes.”
In March, the abandoned wedding chapel was passed in at auction at $600,000. One unit, number 107, is now for sale with a $175,000 price tag.
“Superb entry level buying … within spitting distance to the beach and walking distance to shops and cafes,” the listing reads.
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“This apartment offers two bedrooms with built in robes, a modern kitchen area with cooking facilities and a bathroom with spa bath and shower.”
Frankston Mayor Michael O’Reilly said the council had “no intention of acquiring the site at this stage” but were in regular contact with property owners to discuss improvements to its use and management.
“One element of these discussions is the minimisation of nuisance and anti-social behaviour,” Cr O’Reilly said.
Frankston Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Warren Francis-Pester said officers responded to incidents at the complex but could not confirm the number of visits.
“We would like to reassure members of the community that they receive a 24-hour police response. It is important that if you require police assistance you call triple-0,” he said.
“We also work closely with other agencies to ensure that those in need are linked into the available support services.”