Mandala Hotels adds Brisbane hinterland resort to $250m portfolio
Privately owned hospitality group Mandala Hotels and Resorts has acquired a resort in Brisbane’s hinterland for its growing $250 million portfolio, with plans to renovate the site and double the rates it charges customers who are after shorter, more frequent luxurious stays.
Mandala Hotels and Resorts – which has more than 40 properties, 2000 rooms and a number of hotel funds – is targeting businesses planning corporate retreats and couples after a weekend away, tapping into the growing trend of travellers prepared to pay more for a shorter escape to avoid burning out.
The $7-million acquisition of Mercure Clear Mountain resort is the latest example of the rebound in hotel investment volumes in 2025 after one of the slowest years in more than a decade in 2024, according to JLL research. Hotel transaction volumes rose 56 per cent year-to-date in June compared to 2024.
It follows several big hotel transactions in Queensland so far this year, including KS Hotels and Resorts’ acquisition of Vibe Gold Coast, set to be rebranded as a Marriott International’s AC Hotel. Samdoo Corporation also purchased the former Quest South Brisbane for about $26 million and converted it to Hotel Diana South Brisbane.
Located about 35 minutes north-west of Brisbane’s CBD in Clear Mountain, the 51-room Mercure Clear Mountain resort spans about 20 hectares and has a pool, restaurant, day spa, conference facilities and a vineyard.
The acquisition will fall into Mandala’s Trinity Accommodation Regional Hospitality Fund (TARHF) Three, with another one or two more properties expected to be added before the company closes off new investments at the end of the year.
It joins other seeded hotels in the TARHF fund, including the Mantra Bunbury and Mandala Ace Albany in Western Australia, as well as another hotel in Rutherford and Rydges Armidale in NSW.
Currently, rooms range around $200-$300 a night, depending on the day of the week, but after the renovation, prices are expected to jump to as high as $600 a night for their higher-end suites. Mandala has yet to reveal what brand will be operating the resort.
With redevelopment already underway, the suites will be extensively updated as well as its corporate retreat facilities, wedding, and events spaces and its pool. There will also be a new dining experience for guests, with the entire renovation scheduled to be complete by Christmas.
John Zeckendorf, principal at Mandala Hotels and Resorts, said the resort was an under-loved asset, but there was a lot of potential and upside for their investors.
“We just saw the opportunity to do something quite amazing with this property, firstly physically, then as part of a rebrand,” Zeckendorf told The Australian Financial Review. “People have busy lives, and they want somewhere that just cocoons them and they just want to soak it up, read a book, chat, have a coffee.”
The renovation would upgrade both rooms and public spaces, he said.
“It’ll be quite an amazing place for conferences and weddings.”
Peter Harper, head of Australasia investment sales at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, said hotel transaction volumes rebounded strongly in the first six months of this year, sitting just above $1 billion, after a subdued 2024.
“From a domestic perspective, funds are still the most active investor type,” Harper said. “In a trend that’s continued for a couple of years now, we are still seeing older-style products or those assets that suit conversion being acquired for redevelopment or alternative use.
“In terms of office to hotel conversions, while the current state of that asset class has presented some compelling purchasing opportunities in strong locations, it still remains very difficult to make a conversion to hotel feasible.”
Separately, in Victoria, the Grollo family has offloaded the Kooroora Hotel in Victoria’s alpine resort, Mount Buller, for $3.8 million. The deal for the 811-square-metre property was sold through agency Burgess Rawson from CBRE’s Raoul Holderhead and Mark Foster with Castran Real Estate’s John Castran.
