FINAL lease negotiations for Rottnest’s first luxury resort have been confirmed with the establishment set to open by Christmas 2018.
This will pave the way for redevelopment of the old Rottnest Lodge precinct into an 80-room, four-and-a-half-star Karma Resort.
The Karma Group has signed the final lease variation with the Rottnest Island Authority, effective from June 2018, for 50 years.
A local WA architect has been chosen for Karma Resort, but is yet to be announced, and construction is expected to begin in the next 12 months.
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READ NOWKarma Resort will feature a beach club, bar, restaurant, cafe, swimming pool, day spa, kids club, gym, retail outlet or gift shop, and conference and meeting rooms.
It will also feature an open-air cinema that will accommodate hundreds of visitors.
Karma Group founder and chairman John Spence told PerthNow he expected at least half of all visitators won’t be staying at the $20 million resort.
The former Swanbourne resident and Perth Glory co-owner, who lives in the UK, said he had “always been passionate about Rottnest” and the island is “underpromoted.”
“There are very few cities in the world that have a tourist attraction like Rottnest so close to them,” he said.
“We look forward to the global attention it will bring to a truly spectacular corner of the world that has so much significance to me.
“There’s a huge potential for a conference facility that international and interstate people would love to come to.
“In particular, in the low season, a lot of Asian tourists would love to come to Perth.”
The Karma Resort go-ahead comes four years after a failed attempt to build a $70 million luxury Pinctada Resort on the island
Marilynne Paspaley, managing director of Pinctada Hotels & Resorts, said commercial constraints imposed by outdated bureaucratic processes killed the project.
In November 2011, she told PerthNow that the “rigid processes” in place which govern how Rottnest is managed in terms of development, specifically the Rottnest Island Act, dashed any hopes of balancing a return on investment equation for her and her investors.
WA Tourism Minister Kim Hames said he was pleased negotiations had been completed and plans for the “environmentally sensitive” leisure and business concept on the island had been cemented.
“It has taken a few months to ensure all parties are satisfied with the way forward but it was important to get the detail right,” he said.
“The whole design promises to be an exciting and innovative addition to Rottnest Island.”
The agreement also includes the handover of “The Quod” to the Rottnest Island Authority as a cultural site.
“The Quod”, where Aboriginal people were jailed in cramped conditions for over a century and which was subsequently used as tourism accommodation, will be developed into a museum and entry point to the Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground.
The burial ground is believed to hold more than 370 graves, making it the nation’s largest unmarked indigenous burial site, a State Government spokesman said.
Rottnest Island Authority chief executive Paolo Amaranti said he hoped culturally appropriate acknowledgment of the site and its sad history could be the catalyst for genuine recognition and healing.
Rottnest Island Authority chairman John Driscoll said many visitors to Rottnest would welcome news the Karma Resort was proceeding.
“Our market research indicates potential visitors to Rottnest are looking for quality accommodation options,” he said.
“Rottnest is an iconic destination for a whole range of reasons and everyone has memories or expectations of a visit there.
“With its beaches, spectacular bays and fascinating history, the island appeals to a wide range of markets.”
