Newcastle’s civic centre to become luxury hotel

One of Newcastle’s most distinctive commercial buildings in its civic centre is set to be transformed into a luxury hotel after the council sold the building.

The building was purchased by hospitality group Crystalbrook Collection, which will rechristen it the Kingsley, in keeping with the firm’s practice of giving its hotels gender-neutral names. The five-star hotel will feature 136 luxury rooms, lobby bar, café with outdoor terrace and a new roof top with restaurant, swimming pool and gymnasium.

Construction 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.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes hailed the landmark deal as a turning point in Newcastle’s history.

“Great cities around the world provide truly great accommodation, the mark of a great hotel is one done to a five-star standard. Crystalbrook’s 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.”