Elysium Noosa Resort is set to open with a new look following $30m revamp
Could this vibrant luxury resort be the ultimate Sunshine Coast getaway for both locals and international visitors?
An avatar of laid-back luxury, Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort presided over Hastings Street and the tony resort enclave for more than a decade. Prior to that it was a flamingo-pink Sheraton property hatched in 1989, with marine-inspired interiors. Tasked with remaking this landmark lodging in southern Queensland, designer Hayley Mitchell blended together a frothy mix of styles: Sunshine Coast tropicalism, French Riviera sybaritism and a dash of sunny artworks and breezy furnishings. There are coastal tropes – stripes, linens and rattan – as well as evocations of local flora, like bunya trees and kauri pines. The new-look Elysium Noosa Resort, reopening on Monday, is sleekly composed and studiously polished. But are wet cossies and sandy toes still acceptable?
“Yes, of course!” Mitchell says. “We have towel drop points in each room for guests coming in off the beach.” In adapting the 175-key hotel for modern sensibilities, the principal of Melbourne-based design studio Mitchell & Eades, also responsible for multifaceted Six Senses resorts in India and Dubai, ushered in sweeping changes. Among the standouts are shore-inspired headboards, cerulean-hued rugs and metallic minibars that evoke quicksilver sculptures. The accommodations are diverse, from ocean view rooms that gaze over the coastline to wellness suites equipped with infrared saunas and terrace spas, and the show-stopping Elysium Suite graced with a pair of bedrooms, plunge pool and killer outlook onto Main Beach.
Colourful, gestural and spirit-raising artworks from Sarana Haeata and Ember Fairbairn, as curated by Studio Ongarato, enliven the common areas and guest rooms. The hotel’s gardens have been replanted, the amoeba-shaped pool resurfaced and its deck enhanced with 120 sun loungers and nautical-striped parasols. Perhaps the most tantalising arrivals are two dining venues by Sydney-based Maestro Hospitality. Restaurateurs Alessandro and Anna Pavoni, known for excelling at sensual Italian fare, have migrated their Cibaria concept north and debuted a new casual spot, Bar Capri. At the former, expect peppy plates like spaghetti with tuna crudo and risotto with spanner crab. Bar Capri, meanwhile, offers Spritzes, Negronis and light bites like pizzettas and burgers.
“The Cibaria philosophy feels perfectly attuned to the spirit of Hastings Street,” says the hotel’s general manager Mark Wilkinson. Elysium, sister property to Manly Pacific in Sydney, is part of The Pacific Collection, the lifestyle brand steered by the Laundy and Karedis families. The year-long revamp cost a reported $30 million, but this is clearly Noosa’s moment. Also in the pipeline are a chapter of the Calile Hotel from Brisbane and a hotel addition to Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort. With its prime position steps from the beach, alongside a host of retail diversions, Elysium is sitting pretty.
Rooms from $700.
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