Double Bay InterContinental Hotel Sold for $210m

A Sydney hotel once an enclave of the rich and famous in one of the Harbour City’s most exclusive suburbs has sold for north of $210 million.

The Double Bay InterContinental at 33 Cross Street has been acquired by a consortium including United Cinemas chief executive Sam Mustaca, Rebel Property Group’s Allen Linz, and Capit.el Group’s Eduard Litver, according to reports.

The sale has been tipped as paving the way to convert the 140-key hotel into a luxury apartment block.

At its peak of fame in the 1980s and 1990s when it was branded the Ritz-Carlton, the hotel played host to the rich and famous, including David Bowie, Elton John, Madonna, and Princess Diana in 1996. A year later, INXS lead singer Hutchence was found dead in one of the hotel suites.

▲ David Bowie was a frequent visitor to the hotel bar in 1983 during the Australian leg of his Serious Moonlight tour.

The InterContinental Hotel was put to the market in January when the-then owners, Melbourne developer Paul Fridman and Piety Group’s Bilal El-Cheikh were tangled up in a legal dispute over stalled efforts to redevelop the hotel.

Among the issues was Fridman allegedly occupying the penthouse long term, preventing the $9000-a-night suite from being booked.

They paid $178m for the property in 2021 from Shanghai United and said at the time they planned to return the building to its former prestigious standards.

▲ The hotel was refurbished almost a decade ago.

In 2011 Woollahra Municipal Council granted a permit to demolish the existing hotel, and add an eight-storey residential building and retail offering, taking advantage of the harbour views.

The hotel was closed for a Bates Smart designed refurbishment, reopening in 2014 as the Double Bay InterContinental.

The refurbishment included function and conference facilities, two bars, rooftop pool bar and a 156-space underground carpark, equating to more than 19,545sq m of gross building area.

The building was then for $140 million in 2017 by Singapore’s Royal Group to the Chinese-backed Shanghai United, which at the time was believed to be a record for a non-CBD hotel.