{"id":1006,"date":"2018-12-12T22:45:24","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T22:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2018-12-12T22:45:24","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T22:45:24","slug":"city-hails-first-five-star-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2018\/12\/12\/city-hails-first-five-star-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"City hails first five-star hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"

A landmark deal inked this morning will see the City\u2019s current administrative headquarters transformed into a stunning five-star hotel to be known as the Kingsley.
\nOverlooking Civic Park, the harbour and Merewether from its upper floors, the Kingsley marks a historic moment in the City\u2019s revitalisation, providing the heartbeat that has always been missing from the local tourism industry.
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\nPurchased by the hospitality group Crystalbrook Collection, the five-star hotel will feature 136 luxury rooms, lobby bar, caf\u00e9 with outdoor terrace and a new roof top with restaurant, swimming pool and gymnasium.
\nConstruction and fit out of the new hotel will begin as soon as City of Newcastle staff relocate to their new office on the corner of Hunter Street and Stewart Avenue in the new CBD that is Newcastle West. Crystalbrook Collection expect the Kingsley to be operating by November 2020, in time for the Newcastle 500 and the tens of thousands of visitors it will attract to the city.
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\nLord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes hailed the landmark deal as a turning point in Newcastle\u2019s history.
\n“Great cities around the world provide truly great accommodation. And the mark of a great hotel is one done to a five-star standard. Crystalbrook\u2019s decision to invest in Newcastle, when they could have invested anywhere in Australia, says so much about our city and how we are viewed by those living interstate and overseas.
\n\u201cThe location of the Kingsley will overnight reinvent the Civic Precinct. Guest staying in the luxury hotel will now be within just 100 metres walk of the Civic Theatre, The Newcastle Art Gallery, The Newcastle Museum and the Civic Playhouse. The existence of a five-star hotel complete with a light rail station immediately across from it, will finally create the thriving cultural precinct our city has longed for,” the Lord Mayor said.
\n“I applaud Crystalbrook’s vision in re-imagining the CAC’s brutalist architecture. Reviewing their plans and renders, their vision for the building is an ideal adaptive reuse. In the space of less than two years, Newcastle will have a building that is both iconic and luxurious.
\n“Today\u2019s sale is also a win for tourism, the University’s inner-city expansion plans, and the neighboring justice precinct and nearby Darby Street businesses,\u201d the Lord mayor said.
\nCity of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the sale would generate new investment momentum.
\n“Following the expression of interest process that involved two separate rounds, we have delivered for ratepayers an exceptional result. Indeed, we have delivered the best of both worlds, a financial sale well beyond our valuation of the building which will also generate a significant number of jobs,” Mr Bath said.
\n\u201cJust as the hotel will boost the Civic and Honeysuckle, the exodus of bureaucrats to the West End in August will lend impetus to plans to make it the new CBD, next to the Newcastle Interchange.
\n\u201cAs part of associated plans, Birdwood Park and Parry Street West will be overhauled as Newcastle’s new civic centre and Wickham will be overhauled as part of a detailed Masterplan by the City,\u201d he said.
\nCrystalbrook Collection CEO Mark Davie said he was thrilled to partner with the City on the historic project.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s really nothing like this building, it has a strong identity and connection to the city of Newcastle. I see a lot of potential,” Mr Davie said.
\n\u201cWe think the location, with the City Hall, the Civic Theatre, the Art Gallery and the War Memorial Cultural Centre right on the doorstep, makes it a perfect location for a five-star hotel.\u201d
\nMr Davie said he had been watching Newcastle\u2019s growth in recent years and felt strongly that Crystalbrook Collection should become a contributor to its future economic success.
\nThe name\u00a0Kingsley<\/em>\u00a0follows a naming convention by which Crystalbrook gives each of its hotels a gender-neutral name and its own unique personality.
\nKingsley is also an historical allusion to the City’s early name of ‘Kingstown’, which dates back to 1804.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A landmark deal inked this morning will see the City\u2019s current administrative headquarters transformed into a stunning five-star hotel to be known as the Kingsley. Overlooking Civic Park, the harbour and Merewether from its upper floors, the Kingsley marks a historic moment in the City\u2019s revitalisation, providing the heartbeat that has always been missing from … Continue reading “City hails first five-star hotel”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}