Promised Queen’s Wharf hotels still years away as Star finances fade

The Star Entertainment Group is still seeking financial support for its casino operations and has told shareholders two promised luxury hotels at Queen’s Wharf will not open to guests for at least another two years.

The Dorsett and Rosewood hotels were originally due to open in 2022 but were delayed with the rest of Queen’s Wharf. By the start of this year, The Star was not willing to say when the first paying guests would check in.

Plans for a Ritz-Carlton to take the place of the Treasury Hotel had already been abandoned, and the lease on that heritage-listed building is still for sale.

The Star livery on the side of Destination Brisbane Consortium’s partially opened but still under construction Queen’s Wharf casino complex.Credit: Matt Dennien

While the Star Grand Hotel opened with the new casino in August, and other elements of Queen’s Wharf will open in the coming months, the $4 billion complex has yet to live up to its potential.

Brisbane lacks luxury hotel rooms, which has pushed up the price of lesser accommodation, particularly during major events and tourist periods.

At The Star’s annual general meeting, held at Queen’s Wharf on Thursday, company chief executive Steve McCann revealed the Dorsett and Rosewood hotel fitouts would be done at the end of 2026.

Fielding questions from shareholders about the company’s financial position, chair Anne Ward would not be drawn on whether The Star would seek tax relief from the Queensland LNP government, having been rebuffed by the former Labor government.

“We are in the process of developing a productive working relationship with the new Queensland government,” Ward said.

Queen’s Wharf is being delivered by the Destination Brisbane Consortium, a joint venture between The Star Entertainment Group and its offshore partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium.

The new Brisbane casino licence is subject to greater regulatory scrutiny and held by the consortium rather than The Star.

However, the Queensland government has yet to regulate cashless and mandatory carded play, which could potentially make the Brisbane and Gold Coast casinos more of a drawcard for gamblers, in the short-term at least.

The NSW government has demanded the responsible gambling measures be implemented at the Sydney casino by August next year. McCann told the AGM the early weeks of restrictions cut average revenue by 15.5 per cent.

In an effort to stabilise its balance sheet, The Star has sold the lease on its heritage-listed former casino building to Griffith University, which plans to turn it into a city campus, and is also trying to sell carpark assets.

Queen’s Wharf Residences, the first residential tower at the new complex, has also been delayed but buyers will finally be allowed to move in early next year.

Meanwhile, the legal dispute between global luxury retail giant DFS and the consortium was this week sent to mediation. The parties will attempt to negotiate a settlement by the end of March.

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