This abandoned Queensland resort was once one of Australia's most luxurious hotels - Travel News

Jul 28, 2021

Inside Australia's forgotten luxury hotels.

With half of Australia in lockdown, you could be forgiven for wishing you were in Queensland, soaking up the sunshine and playing in the surf.

But images have recently emerged of two of Queensland’s favourite resorts, once tropical holiday favourites, that now lie neglected and abandoned.

This abandoned Queensland resort was once one of Australia's most luxurious hotels — Photo: manta systems / Youtube

The grand Laguna Quays, near Airlie Beach and Capricorn Resort in Yeppoon once boasted hundreds of guest suites, glittering swimming pools, world-class dining and facilities, but have been left empty and neglected.

Laguna Quays, which possessed a golf course designed by Greg Norman went bankrupt three years after opening in 1992. It was bought by a Hong Kong company eight years ago.

This abandoned Queensland resort was once one of Australia's most luxurious hotels

The once sparkling swimming pool is now empty and full of leaves and debris, and the accommodation wing and lodges have been seriously neglected, with greenery growing out of the gutters.

A Current Affair recently captured some of the abandoned resorts in Queensland — Photo: A Current Affair / 9 Network

“That asset has been sitting there for almost a decade with no investment,” said Whitsunday state MP Amanda Camm, speaking to A Current Affair.

Abandoned luxury hotels Australia — Photo: Stephen D Smith / Facebook

It’s a similar situation at the Capricorn Resort, where the Japanese-owned property is in significant disrepair. It’s gone from picture-perfect to forlorn and desolate.

But this is not the first time the massive resort has made headlines for being left in shambles since closing operations six years ago. The Iwasaki family, who owns the property have promised to overhaul the resort, but there is still no progress. It’s not clear what the plans are or how they intend to revitalise the existing facilities or build new ones.

Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon is just one of the eerily abandoned hotels in QLD — Photo: Lloyd Gardiner / Facebook

Camm is hoping that the Queensland state government will start to put pressure on foreign owners to bring the properties up to scratch. “If they [foreign owners] don’t want to use it, they should lose it,” she said.

This is definitely not the Queensland we’re imagining when we dream up our post-pandemic holidays. But luckily for us, there are still places in the sunshine state like this and this.