What's new in Australia in 2024

Queen’s Wharf Brisbane – Brisbane/Meeanjin, Queensland

Confirmed opening: August 2024 

The A$3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development is due to commence a staged opening from August 2024, bringing to life the world-class integrated resort development that will transform the city of Brisbane/Meeanjin in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. The precinct will, in due course, house four luxury hotels, including The Star Grand, a Dorsett hotel and Australia’s first six-star Rosewood hotel, collectively offering more than 1,000 premium hotel rooms. Once fully operational, among the hotels will be 50 new restaurants, cafés and bars including fine dining restaurants, ventures by celebrated Australian chefs, and pop-up culinary activations. A new pedestrian bridge to South Bank will allow for easy access to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

The Star Grand – Brisbane/Meeanjin, Queensland

Projected opening: August 2024 

Queensland’s capital of Brisbane/Meeanjin will be home to a brand new five-star riverfront hotel from 2024 as part of the A$3.6 million Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development. The Star Grand will comprise 340 luxury rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows across two crescent-shaped towers, with an extravagant entry featuring a breathtaking glass oculus ascending 35 metres (115 feet). Hotel guests will have exclusive access to three stunning pools on the resort’s Leisure Deck, an open-air oasis which delivers two football fields of public space, plus The Star Brisbane’s striking showpiece Sky Deck, a 250m (820 ft) rooftop runway of restaurants and bars floating above the Brisbane River. Business events can be held in Brisbane’s largest hotel ballroom – the Event Centre at The Star Brisbane – which has the capacity to host 2,000 guests. 

New theatre at Queensland Performing Arts Centre - Brisbane/Meeanjin, Queensland 

Projected opening: Mid 2024 

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane/Meeanjin will soon welcome a new A$175 million theatre at the Queensland Cultural Centre. The state-of-the-art 1500-seat theatre will make QPAC the largest performing arts centre in Australia. Key design features include a unique rippled glass façade, transparent foyer spaces, a single balcony auditorium delivering enhanced audience sight line and significant First Nations artwork in the external entry forecourt. QPAC has a range of spaces available for exclusive use for business events including a rooftop function room and terrace, several theatres, lounges, a fine dining restaurant and a concert hall. 

The Eve Hotel Sydney – Sydney/Warrane, New South Wales

Projected opening: September 2024

TFE Hotels will open The Eve Hotel Sydney in September 2024, located at the crossroads of Surry Hills and Redfern, near Sydney’s city centre. Set in the new lifestyle precinct, Wunderlich Lane, featuring vibrant al fresco dining and boutique shopping, the 102-room hotel will boast an impressive roof top deck, swimming pool, bar and restaurant with a fully operable glass roof and walls. 

Levantine Hill Estate – Yarra Valley, Victoria

Projected opening: September 2024

The Yarra Valley near Melbourne/Narrm will soon be home to a new 33-room boutique winery hotel. Levantine Hill Estate’s new accommodation will complement the existing cellar door and wine production facility, which opened in 2021 and doubles as an expansive function space for up to 500 guests. With rooms featuring expansive circular spa baths and private balconies with mountain and valley views, the hotel will be located a short walk from the existing buildings and connected by the Village Green, a helicopter landing area located within a landscaped network of pathways and sculptures. Plans for a second 47-room lodge are also in development, providing further multipurpose spaces and rounding out the masterplan for the award-winning winery estate which is 60 minutes from Melbourne’s city centre by road or 20 minutes via helicopter.

Sydney Fish Market expansion – Sydney/Warrane, New South Wales

Projected opening: late 2024

The iconic Sydney Fish Market is undergoing a major transformation by way of a A$750 million reimagination of the current site and surrounding bays precinct. The new Sydney Fish Market is set to open in late 2024 and claims to be Sydney/Warrane’s ‘most significant harbourside building since the Sydney Opera House’. The facility on Sydney’s Blackwattle Bay in Pyrmont will be a purpose-built, operational fish market as well as a major culinary attraction. Sydney Fish Market plans to activate the world-class site through an ongoing calendar of events, engaging and educational activations, and vibrant experiences, including the renowned Sydney Seafood School, where incentive groups can partake in cooking classes using fresh produce.

The Lodge Wadjemup on Rottnest Island – Perth/Boorloo, Western Australia

Projected opening: late 2024

A site on Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth/Boorloo in Western Australia is undergoing an A$40 million transformation and is set to reopen in 2024 as The Lodge Wadjemup. Located between the Thomson Bay settlement and the Island’s picturesque salt lakes, the hotel will offer 109 guest rooms, a relaxed restaurant to be named ‘Sunset Bar & Dining’, ‘The Kwoka Room’ event space and a swimming pool. A dedicated outdoor space known as ‘The Gathering Ground’ will acknowledge the important cultural history of the Island and will be available to accommodate both public and private events, including ceremonies and culture sharing with the Noongar community.

Published: 6 December 2023