Echo breaks ground on Jupiters Casino revamp

Echo Entertainment Chairman John O’Neil and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk led the proceedings to mark the start of Queensland becoming a new tourism and gaming hub.

Work begins on a $345m project to build a six-star hotel at Jupiters Casino catered to luxury guests, as well as a dramatic refurbishment of the existing facility. The new 17-storey casino tower will house 80 suites targeted at the top-end of the market. Each suite has its own private balcony with views of the Pacific Ocean and a range of luxury amenities.

“We are also creating spaces that cater to the specific needs of individual travellers,” commented Geoff Hogg, Echo Entertainment Managing Director, “with some suites to include private karaoke parlours, in-room theatres, extra family rooms and home offices for business travellers.”

The Gold Coast is fast becoming a luxury resort destination and the new Jupiters development will add to the influx of six-star accommodation. Echo is positioning the facility as a world-class integrated resort that assists the transformation of the Gold Coast ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with an expected opening date of early 2018.

Hogg said the suites would be far larger than the average hotel suite, from an 80 sqm “standard” room up to 300 sqm penthouse suites, adding, “We are providing six-star room service to allow guests to order for any restaurant across the property, or one of the new restaurants, and enjoy dining or their balcony overlooking the Gold Coast skyline.”

A unique six-star service, the theme running through forthcoming casino resorts in Australia, will include a private butler service, new VIP gaming suites and new top-rate dining facilities. The existing hotel is being upgraded with a revamp of the majority of its 600 rooms, a resort pool, two new restaurants and bar, which is expected to complete by the end of the year.

The highly sought-after construction contract was awarded to Australian developer Probuild and the new tower will create 500 immediate construction jobs, which will be sourced locally. Peter Ward, Managing Director of Probuild, said he was excited at an inspirational project for the city that will feature “suites unlike anything seen before in Australia.”

“These are exciting times for the Gold Coast and we’re delighted to be playing a key role in advancing the growth of tourism and jobs in the region,” commented O’Neil. “The tower will offer new levels of luxury and only the best in finishes and amenities, not to mention six-star service. This is a development of which the Gold Coast and Queensland can be proud.”

Brisbane-based Echo Entertainment also won the bid to build a casino resort at Queen’s Wharf and is planning a hospitality school along the coast.