Historic Royal Hotel Harrisville listed for $1.8m-plus in Scenic Rim
A Queensland country pub with a loyal clientele – including a ghost or three – has been listed for sale after one of its owners was forced to retire due to illness.
The Royal Hotel sits on a prime riverfront parcel of almost 7000 square metres in the Scenic Rim town of Harrisville, about an hour’s drive south-west of Brisbane.
It occupies the site of the former Harrisville Inn, which burned down in 1916. The replacement building, which was completed in 1920, boasts a handsome wraparound verandah with intricate detailing and an ochre-coloured corrugated-iron roof.
According to selling agent Scott Williams, the pub attracts repeat patrons who appreciate its sense of history, upscale bistro menu and mellow atmosphere.
“This is not a venue that fills up with tradies at the end of the day,” Williams says; instead, you’ll find couples and families enjoying meals together and wandering across the open field behind the hotel to admire the river.
Historic character and amenities
The centrepiece of the dining room is a 10-metre mural depicting the owners’ travel experiences in the Top End. Come summer, the dining room’s French doors are flung open so patrons can appreciate the pub’s rose garden, while in winter, visitors gather around the hearth.
The venue collects additional revenue by accommodating caravans and campers on its grounds. Two refurbished train carriages are also rented out to visitors.
Williams says the Royal is well-known to savvy travellers – “I was there last weekend and counted 14 groups camping.”
It’s also on ghost hunters’ radar. According to legend, the spirits of several staff members who died in the fire about 110 years ago inhabit the new hotel, making their presence known but not causing any trouble.
Williams can not be drawn on the subject of ghosts, but the Royal’s website provides details, revealing the tale that paranormal activity experts visited the hotel with hi-tech equipment and identified a female entity and two males.
Scenic Rim growth potential
If a poltergeist enthusiast doesn’t snap up the venue, Williams believes it will attract interest from canny operators who appreciate Harrisville’s potential.
“Location-wise, it’s highly convenient: an hour from Brisbane and the Sunny Coast,” he says. “The local area and the broader Scenic Rim are really coming into their own, too. I’d say Harrisville is growing by about 10 per cent every year.”
The current owners, a couple, have decided to sell after one of them, who oversaw the hotel kitchen, became ill and was forced to stop work.
“They have poured their hearts into the venue, and it really shows,” Williams says.
The vendors are fielding expressions of interest above $1.8 million, which Williams says compares favourably to other local offerings.
“Houses along the river are selling for $1.5 million or more, so from that perspective, it is a bargain,” he says.
He is confident the Royal will find a new owner who is keen to capitalise on its existing customer base and picture-perfect location.
“The property has great fundamentals,” Williams says, “and it’s not often that a pub by a river comes up for sale.”
