Clive Palmer says dilapidated luxury resort will reopen after decade in mothballs

Billionaire Clive Palmer has begun revamping his luxury resort on the Sunshine Coast, with a new pledge to reopen the rundown site after a decade in mothballs.

The Queensland businessman purchased the five-star Hyatt Regency resort in Coolum in 2011 before shutting it four years later.

Mr Palmer announced a $100 million redevelopment in 2021 that would include replicas of famous landmarks, such as Rome's Trevi Fountain.

The work was due for completion in 2022 but has faced repeated delays.

Several job vacancies at the resort have been advertised recently, including skilled labourers, painters, security guards, electricians and plumbers.

A spokesman for Mr Palmer confirmed to the ABC the resort would reopen mid-next year.

Workers can be seen on site and renovations are underway.

In its prime, the precinct employed 700 people and featured more than 300 luxury rooms and villas, a day spa and a popular village green.

The site still features an active 18-hole golf course, which used to host the Australian PGA Championship for 11 years from 2002 until 2012.

Mr Palmer rebranded the resort in his own name following a legal dispute with Hyatt in 2012, before closing the facility in 2015.

In 2023, dozens of tradesmen were among 125 employees sacked amid accusations of theft and fraud, with the Fair Work Commission later finding some dismissals were unfair.

Residents hopeful but sceptical

Many Coolum residents have fond memories of the old resort and hope it can be restored to its former glory.

"It would be extraordinary … everyone would support it," Coolum Business and Tourism vice-president Casey O'Hare said.

"It was absolutely gorgeous in its day … it was such an amazing asset for the Sunshine Coast.

"If Clive Palmer could rebuild and get it back on the market as a hotel and resort, it would be such a boon for the coast."

But Ms O'Hare said locals were sceptical given the repeated broken promises to reopen the premises.

"I'll believe it when I see it, because of the fact that this has happened before where it's been mooted as reopening," she said.

Retired builder Mark Hatfull helped construct the original resort back in the 1980s and said the "world-class" facility transformed the region.

"It took it from a backwater to where we are today … It was an absolute godsend," he said.

"The gym and the spa was something to die for … It was like something out of a dream.

"Obviously, Clive has got his business and then he makes a decision and one day a place is open, the next day it's closed."

'Devil in the detail': councillor

Local councillor Taylor Bunnag said he grew up around the resort where his father was a greenkeeper.

He said it would be "a wonderful thing" if it reopened, but he understood the scepticism.

"If you actually look at the site … there's a lot of existing infrastructure that's quite run down," Cr Bunnag said.

"I think the devil is in the detail with all these sorts of proposals.

"We've been told that Palmer Resort was going to reopen at certain times and that hasn't eventuated."

Cr Bunnag said a renovated facility would be "extremely welcome" in fixing the region's accommodation shortage ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

"We need thousands of extra hotel rooms added to our region by 2032 to cater for the demand," he said.

"It's hard to speculate about what further approvals they'll need because I'm not sure what product they're delivering.

Cr Bunnag said he had not seen any formal proposals for Mr Palmer's original plan of building replicas of famous landmarks such as Rome's Trevi Fountain.

"I'd only be speculating but my assumption is that they'll be renovating certain parts of the resort and some might open, some might not," he said.