Controversial new five-star Gold Coast hotel set to open

The much anticipated Mondrian Gold Coast is finally about to open – two years after its target date.

But anticipation can be a double-edged sword: there’s excitement at the arrival of a new five-star hotel that marks the entry of a prestige hospitality brand into not just the Queensland market, but Australia’s. And then there’s trepidation from locals, who have expressed their concern over the development that the hotel inhabits, a harbinger of the high-rise change happening in Burleigh Heads.

Suite views.

Mondrian Gold Coast is half of a two-tower development that rises to 25 storeys – the other half being a luxury residential apartment complex. It takes up 80 metres of Burleigh beachfront formerly occupied by three older-style unit blocks.

Prime position.Credit: Render

The “points of difference” Mondrian Gold Coast offers include 208 rooms claimed to be twice the size of the average hotel room in Australia, alongside 132 studios, 76 suites, private beach houses, and the “Sky House” presidential suite.

Outdoor dining area.Credit: Render

The hotel will feature an all-day Italian restaurant, a lobby bar, seafood restaurant, and pool club overlooking Burleigh Beach.

Of course, there’s also the Mondrian name. Now managed by Ennismore, a subsidiary of the giant Accor hotel and resort group, its legacy is pure rock ’n roll.

In 1985, a nine-storey 1950s apartment complex on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip was converted to a hotel, and the legend was born.

It was called Le Mondrian, a distinctive name for a commissioned work by famed artist Yaacov Agam covering its facade. An homage to Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, it featured black, white and primary colours in a non-repeating geometric design like Mondrian’s abstract works.

Poolside cool.Credit: Render

It became a rock star hangout, with the likes of Keith Richards and The Beastie Boys partying the night away.

In 1995, Ian Schrager, a co-founder of legendary 1970s nightclub Studio 54 and the man credited with creating the “boutique hotel” concept, bought Le Mondrian, dropped the “Le” from the name, partnered with French designer Philippe Starck to create a then-extraordinary minimalist-meets-whimsical decor (it was where most people saw the now ubiquitous Starck-designed, Kartell-made Louis Ghost Chair for the first time).

Soon, Mondrian and its glamorous poolside Skybar was the place to be seen in Tinsel Town. Interviews with the “it girl” of the time, Britney Spears, were shot there for her 2008 documentary.

A renovation and some refreshes later, Mondrian Los Angeles may no longer be the epicentre of Hollywood cool, but it remains a cultural hotspot. And as the flagship for a now worldwide brand, its rock ‘n’ roll legend lives on.

Bookings for Mondrian Gold Coast are now open; from $749 a night. See mondrianhotels.com/gold-coast