Inside the Sunshine Coast’s first new hotel in almost 40 years

The “loo with a view” is dead. Long live the Avani Mooloolaba Beach.

Since 1997, Mooloolaba’s most iconic beachfront structure was not a luxury resort or designer apartment tower, but a glorified public toilet block positioned above the sand, where locals climbed the stairs to check the swell or simply stare out at the Pacific. Though architecturally pleasant, the “Loo With a View” – as the nameplate called it – was kitsch in concept, badly located and unmistakably Sunshine Coast.

Now it’s gone, demolished in July last year. But next door to the site (which will be redeveloped into new facilities), the Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel represents the next chapter of this evolving South East Queensland beach town; one that feels more polished, more confident and finally more aligned with the extraordinary natural asset right outside its doors.

Staying at the hotel, which opened last week, it’s impossible not to notice the transformation happening across Mooloolaba. Parts of the foreshore remain under reconstruction as an ambitious revitalisation project reshapes the beachfront and replaces ageing infrastructure.

Below the hotel, fencelines section off the esplanade where the controversial “loo” once stood. Beyond it, the beach remains as dazzling as ever: wide sand, rolling surf and stunning ocean views stretching north toward Point Cartwright.

What strikes you immediately about the Avani is how restrained it feels.

Despite much debate surrounding development in Mooloolaba, the hotel sits discreetly back from the shoreline rather than dominating it. This is not Surfers Paradise-style excess. Instead, it introduces a kind of barefoot glamour the Sunshine Coast has long lacked: sophisticated while still feeling relaxed, sun-bleached and coastal.

Developed by Queensland-based KPAT Hotels and operated under Minor Hotels’ Avani brand, the $250 million property is the Sunshine Coast’s first new full-service hotel in almost 40 years.

Avani Mooloolaba’s rooftop pool and terrace anchor the experience, while the spa and facilities are key to the property’s wellness offering. An Avani “experience host” is also on hand to tailor stays around the Sunshine Coast, from ocean adventures and coastal trails to dining experiences.

And the Avani’s own dining is to become a regional highlight. Sully’s Rooftop, the hotel’s signature restaurant, is helmed by executive chef Marky Godbeer, whose fine dining background and experience at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, Longitude 131° at Uluru and Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree has been reworked through a relaxed coastal lens. The menu leans into local producers, while the Lobby Bar at street level rounds out the offering.

Later this year, First Avenue Cellar & Bar will also open, led by acclaimed chef Hamish Pink, who takes charge at the Lobby Bar, in-room dining and events catering.

The elegant rooms with coastal tones never feel over-designed; some feature huge round bathtubs and water views, while the rooftop pool and bar, Sully’s, already feels destined to become one of the Coast’s great sunset spots with an ocean-facing panorama.

There is luxury here, certainly, but not stiffness. This is a town built around sand, surf, sailing, seafood and sunshine, and the hotel plays into that.

That broader evolution is continuing elsewhere too. Nearby, the ARIA Mooloolaba development signals the next wave of premium coastal living and hospitality ambition, while Queensland-based hotel developer and operator KPAT Hotels has already flagged ambitions for another hotel in the area.

Together, they point toward a more sophisticated vision for this part of the Sunshine Coast – one built less around dated holiday apartments and more around elevated coastal experiences.

Naturally, not everyone is comfortable with the shift. The emotional response to the demolition of the “loo with a view” showed just how deeply locals value the town’s identity and nostalgia.

But Mooloolaba has always possessed extraordinary untapped potential as a visitor destination. The climate is exceptional, the beach genuinely world-class, the Mooloolah River the epicentre of an enviable lifestyle.

Tourism infrastructure lags behind the natural beauty of the place, but standing on the rooftop at sunset, looking across the infinity pool and evolving foreshore toward the Pacific, it becomes clear that this hotel heralds a new era – not by abandoning what made Mooloolaba special, but by finally recognising its value.