Bedarra Island sells to Queensland's Charlton Hotel Group

Bedarra Island sells to Queensland's Charlton Hotel Group
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 8, 2020

The Bedarra Island Resort in Far North Queensland has been sold to the Charlton Hotel Group through CBRE Hotels agents Wayne Bunz and Paul Nyholt.

The family-owned hotel group will undertake repairs and refurbish the resort, which has been closed since February’s Cyclone Yasi.

Just three months after Bedarra was put on the market it was sold in November to the Queensland-based family company with links to former Australian Olympic gold medallist swimmer Andrew "Boy" Charlton. The price has not been disclosed. 

Bedarra Island Resort occupies 44.96 hectares of land on the island and prior to the cyclone the resort offered secluded accommodation for just 32 guests in 16 luxury villas, which enjoyed a strong trading history in recent years.

The resort, which was named as Australasia’s Leading Boutique Resort at the World Travel Awards in 2007, is accessible via Mission Beach or direct helicopter flight from Cairns.

Refurbishment works will commence early in the new year, with reservation enquiries being taken from late 2012.

And it’s likely to have fewer villas and a shortened opening season.

Charlton Hotel Group general manager Sam Charlton says a sustainability analysis of Bedarra Island Resort would be undertaken in conjunction with the repairs to assess the population density the island could support, particularly in relation to waste, water and energy requirements.

“We recognise that Bedarra is a unique resort in a unique location,” says Charlton, who is considering swapping the diesel generators for solar power.

“The surrounding reef and rainforest ecosystems are of the utmost importance and we want to ensure these attributes which make the island attractive to today's guests are maintained and enhanced for future generations to enjoy.”

Charlton’s hotels include the Metropolitan Motor Inn, Toowong Villas and Mt Ommaney Hotel Apartments and the Kingsford Smith Motel, all in Brisbane.

Sam Charlton is the grandson of Olympic swimming legend Andrew "Boy" Charlton.

Bedarra Island is renowned for its unspoilt rainforests and palm-fringe beaches. It is the second largest in the “Family Group of Islands” that form part of the Great Barrier Reef.

Acting under instructions from the Swiss-based Pamoja Capital group owners, negotiations are continuing on the sale of the remaining asset in the Hideaway Resorts portfolio, the Dunk Island Resort.

Prior to Cyclone Yasi Dunk was an established and profitable family friendly resort offering accommodation across 160 rooms.

The significant undamaged infrastructure at Dunk Island Resort includes a sealed airstrip that caters for flights from Cairns International Airport, staff quarters, a nine-hole golf course (which could be extended to 18 holes), mains power, a freshwater dam and a sewerage treatment plant.

Both islands attracted significant investor interest when they were put on the market.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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