Following its sale last year and a monumental $100 million renovation, Sorento’s exquisite Hotel Continental will return this year, with operations by publican Craig Shearer and team.
Opened in 1875, the Hotel Continental is a heritage-listed landmark of the Mornington Peninsula, created by doyen of Australian theatre, entrepreneur George Coppin.
After a series of stymied attempts to reinvent the Hotel, affectionately known as The Conti, it was bought in 2020 by a consortium of developers, being Trenerry Property, with Victor Smorgon Group and Kanat Group. The new owners subsequently put out an EOI for an f&b partner.
Shearer saw the project as deserving a name chef – someone who could elevate the dining experience to match what the building was going to offer. He enjoys mutual friends with acclaimed chef-restaurateur Scott Pickett (formerly Longrain) and the pair collaborated to negotiate a lease.
A massive makeover followed and is currently underway, ahead of hopes to reopen this year under the revised moniker of The Continental Sorrento.
The Hotel will offer a whopping 13 dining and drinking spaces, including signature restaurant Audrey’s, named in honour of Pickett’s grandmother, who inspired him to become a chef.
The new public bar will sustain the Conti nickname, alongside a beer garden, rooftop deck, and reinvigorated Ballroom.
Accommodation comes in the form of 108 hotel rooms, to be operated by IHG Hotels & Resorts, under its luxury InterContinental brand, with some featuring ocean views. Guests can enjoy 24-hour in-room dining, a wellness centre, an outdoor pool and a gym.
Shearer says they are working around the clock to try and ensure opening by Christmas, to meet the summer peak for the Peninsula and Sorrento. This has been threatened by COVID complications restricting the number of tradespeople permitted onsite, and delays in approvals, exacerbated by passionate locals and advocates.
“There are only a handful of sites across Australia that have The Conti’s kind of significance, and we’ve been lucky enough to work on it. It brings with it added challenges, but I certainly think it’s worth it to be involved in something so amazing.
“It’s been a challenging project overall, and the significance of the building and its prominence in the township has meant it’s been a lengthy process to get the approvals, but everyone’s extremely supportive of the reinvention of the icon and as excited to see it come to life as we are.”
