Queenscliff Hotel reopens after major restoration

THE Queenscliff Hotel has reopened its doors, bringing one of the town’s most recognisable landmarks back into use after seven years.

Owners Rob and Tammy Charter, former avocado farmers who first met while working in the hospitality industry, purchased the building in late 2022 and have restored the hotel over the last three years.

The couple said they did not fully grasp the scale of the project at the outset, but their love for the building, which dates back to 1888, drove their commitment to restore it.

When they first inspected the property, its condition reflected years of neglect.

 

“It was a little bit like Miss Havisham’s when she had left her wedding,” Tammy said, comparing the building’s deteriorating state to the well-known Charles Dickens character.

“It had been left – it sent chills a little bit.”

The restoration works were carried out by Geelong builder Built by Wilson, in consultation with Heritage Victoria and the Borough of Queenscliffe.

Melbourne architecture firm Molecule Studio, which has been involved with the site since 2016, was re-engaged to carry the project through to completion.

The works focused on repairing and reinstating original features, including the turreted viewing tower, which has been returned to an open-air design, and the cast iron front fence, which was rebuilt.

 

Materials were sourced from across Australia and overseas, including heritage tiles from London and reclaimed timber from historic Melbourne homes.

“We’re firm believers in restoring and heritage,” Rob said. “We really buy into that philosophy.”

The hotel now operates as a 12-suite boutique accommodation offering, with individually designed rooms, some opening onto the property’s original verandah.

The interiors are designed to feel comfortable rather than overly formal and incorporate several personal artefacts collected by the Charters over the years.

 

Historic details sit alongside contemporary design, with locally made furnishings, original artworks and bespoke lighting helping shape the interiors.

Dining is also central to the offering. Miettas – a name closely associated with the hotel since the late 1970s – has made its return alongside more casual offerings including a conservatory dining space and cafe.

Rob said the aim was to reintroduce a higher standard of hospitality to the historic setting.

“We’re trying to bring the luxury back into the old hotel,” he said.

Plans have also been lodged for a bathhouse at the rear of the site, with the designs awaiting heritage approval.

“It fits with Queenscliff because it was once known for bathing out here by the sea,” Rob said. “That’s how it got so popular, from the Melbourne folk – they’d come down to go bathing in the bathhouses.”

 

The Charters said they hoped the hotel would help draw new visitors to Queenscliff.

“Queenscliff itself is stunning,” Tammy said.

“You can walk around the whole of Queenscliff and you see so many different landscapes. You see the beach landscape with the pier, then you’ve got the marina.

“Then you go through Swan Bay, which has got all the wildlife, and then you go through the Moonah trees. It’s just so special.”