Owner of the new Bannisters Pavilion Peter Cosgrove has welcomed as many immediate neighbours who wanted to come, to a rooftop poolside party.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The $10 million hotel on Tallwood Avenue in Mollymook opens its doors to guests tonight, December 1, with occupancy rates for the month at 80 per cent.
The Pavilion offers 33 four-star guest rooms, two luxurious penthouse suites and a Mediterranean style rooftop pool and bar.
Peter Cosgrove saluted talented young local staff who will manage the hotel and thanked all the local trades who contributed to the 14-month construction.
Late in the project, a phone call he made when he struck a problem landed half a dozen local carpenters at the Pavilion’s doorstep at 7.30 next morning.
“That’s another thing you don’t get in the city,” Mr Cosgrove told his audience of around 100 people, a large proportion of them immediate neighbours invited especially to attend.
As well as a new tourist facility, the hotel intends to be a place locals can have a beer and something to eat.
The roof-top pool is partially suspended off the edge of the building with a glass wall facing Tallwood Avenue.
The bar area has sun lounges, private lounge spaces, a bar-and-grill, and glimpses of the ocean through trees to the east.
Mr Cosgrove sees the Pavilion joining the spirit of the Unspoilt theme which has just won the destination marketing gold medal at the NSW Tourism Awards.
He wants Bannisters to continue embracing the friendliness of the region and the local food, produce and fishing scene.
“We should all be playing to our strengths,” he said.
Mr Cosgrove said chef Rick Stein loved the result at the Pavilion.
Mayor Joanna Gash officially opened the hotel, which compliments Bannisters by the Sea a stone’s throw away.
Bannisters group general manager Peter Bacon says “the response we’ve had so far has been great and shows that people have the confidence to invest in the area”.
Last minute heart palpitations on Saturday morning were extinguished by two local fire units just after eight o’clock.
They put out a fire in the electrical kiosk that supplies the building and managed the situation until the electricity suppliers arrived make repairs.
Increased traffic expected in Tallwood Avenue – a summer gridlock hotspot – is expected to be another itch under the saddle, until Shoalhaven City Council resolves the need for a safe new pedestrian crossing between the old and new Mollymook shops.
Nine hundred local residents have signed a petition seeking urgent action.
Related story:
