Dankav unveils Lennons, a new hotel and dining precinct coming to Mermaid Beach

Gold Coast developer Dankav has unveiled Lennons, a new mixed-use hospitality and residential precinct in Mermaid Beach that will bring a 104-room boutique hotel, restaurants, bars, retail and wellness facilities to the suburb.

The development, which is already under construction and expected to open in early 2028, will also be home to The Alfred Residences, a collection of 62 private apartments above the new hospitality precinct.

Occupying a 4,095 sqm site with frontages to Gold Coast Highway, Alfred Street and Tamborine Street, Lennons will feature approximately 3,800 sqm of retail and hospitality space, creating a new dining and lifestyle destination in the heart of Mermaid Beach.

The project draws inspiration from the Gold Coast's holiday culture of the 1960s, when beachfront hotels and motels helped establish the region as one of Australia's most recognisable holiday destinations.

The name itself is a nod to the original Lennons Hotel, which formed part of Queensland's hospitality history.

Rather than recreating the past, the development takes elements of that era, including open-air spaces, subtropical landscaping and a more relaxed approach to hospitality, and incorporates them into a contemporary mixed-use precinct.

The architectural design has been guided by four principles: enduring design, coastal informality, creating a destination for locals and establishing a landscaped haven.

At ground level, a series of landscaped laneways will connect restaurants, cafés, bars and retail tenancies, with the intention of creating a precinct used as much by Mermaid Beach locals as hotel guests and visitors.

The hotel component will comprise 104 rooms and suites, complemented by resort-style amenities and wellness facilities.

The development's position within the Gold Coast light rail corridor, close to a planned station, will also provide future connectivity as the southern extension of the network progresses.

The site sits within a Neighbourhood Centre Zone, surrounded by a mix of established low-rise residential properties and larger apartment developments, in an area expected to accommodate further residential growth.

Above the hospitality and retail precinct will sit The Alfred Residences, a collection of 62 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

The residences will have access to their own private amenities while benefiting from the dining, retail and hospitality offerings below, creating a residential proposition that combines private apartment living with the convenience of a mixed-use precinct.

The design of the residential component is being led by BDA Architecture, while J.AR Office is responsible for the podium and laneway design. Urbis has been appointed as landscape architect.

The architecture incorporates curved forms, a warm material palette and extensive subtropical planting, drawing on both the surrounding coastal neighbourhood and the Gold Coast's earlier hotel and motel architecture.

Lennons has been designed to establish a stronger pedestrian connection through the site, with the laneways and ground-floor hospitality spaces intended to encourage activity throughout the day and into the evening.

The mix of uses will also provide a built-in customer base for the precinct's operators, combining hotel guests, apartment residents, surrounding homeowners and visitors to Mermaid Beach.

The project forms part of a broader period of change for Mermaid Beach, where new apartment developments, hospitality venues and investment in transport infrastructure are reshaping parts of the established coastal suburb.

For Dankav, Lennons represents an expansion beyond a traditional standalone apartment development, bringing together residential, accommodation, hospitality and retail uses within a single precinct.

Construction is underway, with the first hotel guests and visitors expected to be welcomed in early 2028.