Sydney’s Star casino has been given a $100 million lifeline to renovate hotel rooms and serviced apartments ahead of Packer unveiling his six-star Crown at Barangaroo.
The spend by the Star’s owner, Echo Entertainment, is said to have been granted to combat heated competition between the two properties when it opens in 2019, as well a revitalisation of the city’s major international hotels, per a report in The Australian.
Echo Entertainment is expected to also expand its accommodation pool within the Pyrmont precinct over the next five years, but according to the paper, plans for the full renovation of the Astral Tower hotel and Astral Residences serviced apartment is “far more advanced, with Echo Entertainment planning to turn up the luxury factor of its accommodation offerings, which opened almost 18 years ago”.
Under the staged refurbishment, Echo is reportedly expected to add more suites within its 350-room hotel, and include a range of themes to several levels including designs replicating 1970s glam. It will also overhaul the Star’s lobby area.
The paper also suggests that an upmarket executive club lounge as well as conference facilities and a business centre will be added to Astral Tower, which will mark a first for Pyrmont in a move to take on the city hotel’s lucrative corporate business.
The casino, hotels and restaurants will continue to operate until the refurbishments, which are slated to start in coming months, are completed in 2017.
The Star recently underwent an $870 million transformation, reopening in 2012.
