GURNER has submitted plans for a boutique luxury wellness, hotel and private residence retreat in Port Douglas to be called The Creation Hotel and Residences.

Situated on 2833sqm of beachfront land, the site will encompass one of the last developable blocks on the main strip, offering direct beach access to Four Mile Beach.

The site was acquired off-market earlier this year from the longtime venture capitalist Roger Allen, who'd own the site since 1985.

Allen, who launched the first email service in Australia in the early 1980s, ran the venture capital firm Allen & Buckeridge.

The proposed retreat will encompass a holistic wellness experience - complete with a residents/guest spa, sauna, pool and treatment rooms, high-end food and beverage offerings as well as 16-ultra-luxury private residences and a further 18 boutique hotel rooms.

It was designed in collaboration with architectural kingpins Powell and Glenn and Wolveridge Architects, with Myles Baldwin handling the tropical landscaping.

GURNERTM founder and director Tim Gurner confirmed the developer’s intentions to sell the ultra-luxury private residences but retain ownership of the boutique retreat, spa and public food and beverage offering as part of its multi-billion-dollar diversification strategy.

“Port Douglas has been an incredibly important part of our family’s life over the past 15 years and is without doubt our favourite destination to visit in Australia," Gurner says.

"We want to give back to this amazing town and create something that does not currently exist.

“It has been inspiring watching my wife Aimee, Ed Glenn, Jerry and Myles put together this incredible creation into something I know people will fall in love with."

“When you look at what Antony Catalano has been able to do with Rae’s in Byron Bay offering something truly special and unique, and what The Oatleys have done with Qualia on Hamilton island, they are without question a big inspiration for what we are doing.

“We want to ensure that Far North Queensland has a similar offering at that level for Australians and internationals visiting the reef and the wider region.

“We will not be doing any of this by halves; people can expect it to be something truly special when it is complete – private, luxurious, homely and welcoming at every point.

“We have been incredibly fortunate over the past seven years to have built a defining portfolio of luxury residential projects along the eastern seaboard of Australia and now we want to take this philosophy and evolve it into something that extends the lifestyle offering through boutique hotels,” Gurner said.

“Now, this project marks the beginning of a new chapter for the brand as we significantly expand our portfolio across a number of complementary sectors.

“We are exploring a number of new asset classes across tourism, wellness, accommodation and food and beverage – these next few years will be all about pushing the boundaries of our portfolio and recreating the luxury experience we provide to our apartment residents, at a much larger scale.

“We are very keen to work collaboratively with the Douglas Shire Council and deliver something that will become high-end showpiece for the area."

Since publication Gurner has advised the project will not be called The Creation.

Myles Baldwin

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