Daydream renovation cost a nightmare

The Shanghai-based owners of Queensland’s Daydream Island Resort and Spa have been forced to double the renovation costs.

Daydream Island in the Whitsundays will cost $100m to fix.

The Shanghai-based owners of Queensland’s Daydream Island Resort and Spa have been forced to double the renovation costs of their beleaguered resort to $100 million, following substantial damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Debbie last year.

The construction time frame has also blown out from an expected completion in the middle of this year to a soft opening not expected until the end of September.

Most of Queensland’s resort islands remain shut. Hayman Island was up for sale following the loss of its operator One&Only, while Dunk, Double, Brampton, Long and South Molle remain closed. Great Keppel Island is now up for sale while the Chinese owners of Lindeman Island, the White Horse Group, recently announced their intention to proceed with a $583m renovation of the resort.

Daydream Island was devastated by Cyclone Debbie. Picture: Bree Bryde.

The China Capital Investment Group bought Daydream Island in the Whitsundays in 2015 for $30m and by May 2017 were pledging to spend $50m redeveloping it.

It had planned to redevelop the reception, Lagoons Bar, and rooms as well as adding an Asian-inspired restaurant overlooking Mermaids Beach.

But following cost blowouts by June last year, China Capital Investment Group said it would need to spend an extra $15m refurbishing the island, taking the total investment to more than $65m.

The increased investment commitment by the island’s owners included funding for a new marina.

The damage caused by Cyclone Debbie. Picture: Bree Bryde.

By November last year the owners had again increased their proposed renovation outlay across the island to $86m.

The latest $14m increase in investment announced last week will provide for new pool landscaping and an absolute beachfront pool adjacent to the infinity pool and central lagoon style pool. The resort’s owners will also construct an adults-only area and series of cabanas. All up, Daydream will have three restaurants and five bars on completion.

Daydream will be rated 4.5 stars and have 290 refurbished rooms and suites on completion.

China Capital Investment Group added to its purchase of Daydream Island in 2016 when it bought the nearby South Molle Island, which has more than 12ha of developable absolute beachfront land including a 600m beach frontage.

A washed away jetty at Daydream Island after Cyclone Debbie hit the Whitsunday Islands. Picture: Jessica Swann.

The original developer of Daydream Island, vitamin tycoon Vaughan Bullivant, had initially asked $65m for the resort but dropped his asking price to $30m in March, 2015. Mr Bullivant spent years trying to sell it.