Continental hotel in Sorrento for sale for more than $150 million – realestate.com.au

One of the Mornington Peninsula’s most famous hotels and workers’ accommodation will hit the market early next year with a price expected to exceed $150 million.

A consortium including the wealthy Smorgan family’s Victor Smorgon Group, fashion distribution company Kanat Group and Trenerry Property Group plan to put Sorrento’s circa-1875 Continental hotel on the market after a $120 million renovation unveiled in 2021 and 2022.

The Ocean Beach Rd property, which features 108 rooms and suites, multiple dining options, a ballroom, a pool deck with a bar, event spaces and the Aurora Spa & Bathhouse, will be listed through an expressions of interest campaign in January.

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The nearby 76-bed Sorrento Lodge, which provides affordable accommodation for local workers, will also be put up for sale.

Commercial real estate brokers JLL and Cushman & Wakefield will market the IHG Hotels & Resorts-managed hotel under the InterContinental brand.

JLL’s Peter Harper said the campaign would be a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an iconic asset”.

Daniel Wolman of Cushman & Wakefield said the hotel and workers’ accommodations would be offered for sale as a package deal worth more than $150 million, and separately, with the accommodations expected to fetch between $10 and $11 million if sold separately.

They will go on sale on Australia Day, January 26, and the EOIs will close in March.

“I think this might be the best hotel outside of Melbourne’s CBD, it might be the best hotel in Victoria,” Mr Wolman said.

The Mediterranean-inspired pool terrace offers views of Sorrento’s waterfront.

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The hotel’s founder, George Coppin, in costume from his days as an actor.

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He expects that investors, including international companies, will inquire about the hotel after the Park Hyatt Melbourne changed hands in August for $205 million.

Thailand-based hospitality group KS Hotels became the new owner of the East Melbourne hotel, following a sales campaign managed by JLL.

Mr Wolman said the owners of the Sorrento hotel bought the 5,575-square-metre address about five years ago with the intention of redeveloping it and then selling it.

The hotel was founded in the 1870s by actor, politician, philanthropist and businessman George Coppin, who was also known as the ‘Father of Australian Theatre’, for building several theaters and music halls in Melbourne, most of which have been demolished or redeveloped.

This includes the former Theater Royal in Bourke St, which is now a Kmart store.

The hotel is located on a plot of 5575 m².

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According to the Victorian Heritage Register, Coppin was instrumental in the founding of the Victorian Humane Society, St John’s Ambulance Service and the Australasian Dramatic and Musical Association.

He became the first Grand Master of the Freemasons in Victoria.

The Continental Hotel is classified as historically important due to its association with Mr Coppin and Sorrento’s development.

The hotel is also believed to be haunted by the ghost of Mr Coppin, among others.

Inside the Continental as it underwent a major renovation. Photo: Penny Stephens.

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In an interview on the Weekend Notes website with Jenny Tomkin of Sorrento Ghost Tours, it was revealed that Mr. Coppin’s ghost is known for closing the kitchen’s pantry door, tapping people on the shoulder when no one else is in the room and constantly dropping a clock in Room 28.

The hotel and worker housing will be offered on a sale-and-leaseback basis through JLL’s agents Peter Harper, Cody Marx, Stuart Taylor and Will Connolly, along with Daniel Wolman, Oliver Hay, Nick Rathgeber, Leigh Melbourne and Leon Ma of Cushman & Wakefield.

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