Hilton has signed the Gold Coast hotel currently trading as The Imperial, and formerly known as Palazzo Versace, to become the first Australian property in its LXR Hotels & Resorts collection. The 200-room hotel on the Gold Coast Broadwater will undergo a renovation before opening under the LXR flag in early 2027, which gives anyone arranging private jet hire for South East Queensland a useful new fixture to plan around.
Why the signing matters
LXR is Hilton’s collection of independent luxury hotels, and the brand is built around bespoke service, destination-specific design and locally led experiences rather than a standardised global template. Hilton has partnered with owner Islander Hotel Trading on the deal, and the property will keep its grand neoclassical architecture and Italian-inspired interiors while gaining direct waterfront access and proximity to Marina Mirage. The full details of rooms, dining and spa will firm up closer to opening, so treat the current picture as a signing rather than a finished product.
The northern Gold Coast is quietly changing
Most luxury itineraries treat the Gold Coast as a beach stop bolted onto Brisbane. The Broadwater end of the coast makes a stronger case than that, because it puts you on the water with marina adjacency, easy hinterland access and a short hop south to Byron Bay. It also sits inside a genuine cluster, with Mondrian at Burleigh Heads and the wider Queensland luxury hotel pipeline reshaping what the region offers at the top end.
Building it into an itinerary
The practical shape is a two or three-night Broadwater stay following an international arrival into Brisbane, then a Scenic Rim lodge or a day on the water, with a Byron Bay extension if the timing suits. That sequence looks simple on paper and gets awkward on commercial schedules, since the connections rarely line up with lodge check-in times and the ground legs eat the parts of the day you actually wanted. A luxury charter flight removes that problem by letting each leg run to your timetable instead of an airline’s.
Early 2027 sounds distant, and for a property of this profile it isn’t. Opening periods at flagship hotels book out well ahead, particularly across the summer and school-holiday peaks, so advisors planning Queensland itineraries are worth briefing now rather than later.
If you’d like a Gold Coast and hinterland circuit built around the opening, speak with an Adagold charter specialist about dates and party size, or get in touch to start the conversation.
