Carolyn Turnbull to bring new hotel at Elizabeth Quay ‘to life’ ahead of opening planned within a year

A new luxury hotel at Elizabeth Quay is planned to open within 12 months and will elevate Perth’s position on the global tourism stage, chief executive Carolyn Turnbull says. Malaysian architect and developer Victor Goh’s CA & Associates is behind two towers on the western flank of the Quay — believed to have a market value of roughly $1 billion. The south site will be home to 220 apartments and a two-storey art gallery at the top. Next door is the 358-room hotel. External work on both is done and the buildings will be run by new company The Elizabeth Hotel and Residences, with former TourismWA managing director Ms Turnbull at the helm. Ms Turnbull says her focus is to bring the hotel and residences “to life” in the next six months. Work is under way on interior design and luring prominent culinary names to Perth for restaurants. “We’re at an exciting time of the development,” she says from the club lounge of The Ritz Carlton across the water. The long-time executive in tourism and hospitality said the project will be a significant asset for Perth. It builds on her work leading the State’s tourism strategy, which seeks to spark private sector investment. “(The project is) really leaning in to WA’s pursuit to diversify the economy here,” Ms Turnbull said. She said Western Australia’s brand had been elevated on the international stage since COVID-19. That follows TourismWA’s Walking On A Dream advertising campaign. “We changed the narrative . . . we really reshaped how WA was seen,” she said. Direct flights to a range of locations were locked in and a series of headline events were drawn to Perth including Coldplay. Just north at the Quay’s lot four, Mr Goh is planning a commercial skyscraper touted as Perth’s tallest building, towering to more than 50 floors. Construction on that site is tipped to start by year’s end. That adds to three skyscrapers he has built on the Emu Brewery site. The business pushed forward with the EQ1 residential tower before the apartments were sold, in what has been seen as a “build it and they will come” strategy. “He’s got an ambitious lens on Perth,” Ms Turnbull said of Mr Goh. “It’s a healthy economy. The appetite for development of this nature is (welcoming).”