The Rialto Joint Venture owns the hotel adjoining the Rialto Towers. The Hotel is leased by Le Meridian.

Equiset, on behalf of the Rialto Joint Venture, investigated redevelopment options for the hotel.

On behalf of the Rialto Joint Venture, Equiset negotiated vacant possession of the Rialto Hotel with Le Meridian.

Following vacant possession, the Rialto Joint Venture put the hotel on the market with a preferred redevelopment concept.

On behalf of the Rialto Joint Venture Equiset managed the sale of the hotel to Eureka Funds Management.

Following the sale, Equiset worked with Eureka Funds Management and the new hotel manager, The InterContinental Group, to refine the redevelopment brief and concept.

Conventional hotels usually have only two or three room configurations. However the Rialto has up to 40 room configurations.

Prototype rooms were built. The details and design were value-engineered and the required quality benchmarked to maximise the outcome.

Equiset went to extraordinary lengths to deliver the highest quality result

Equiset paid a premium to secure the best contractors.

Only the best fit-out materials were used.

Many were imported, which added another element of complexity to the project and required lead time to be carefully coordinated. 

The heritage component of the project exposed a number of unexpected obstacles. 

This meant the team had to continually redesign solutions and think on their feet.

The close relationship with the client facilitated quick decisions, which enabled the project to meet the scheduled delivery date.

The project was completed in November 2008 after 11 ½ months of work.

The project delivered: 

• 253 suites
• gymnasium and pool area
• InterContinental Club
• 2 bars
• atrium dining area
• 2 reception areas

The project was recognised with a number of awards:

• 2010 Property Council of Australia – Winner of Tourism Award
• 2009 HM Award for Hotel Refurbishment 

The hotel was also Green Globe Certified in March 2009 by EC3 Global. The Rialto is the world's first hotel to meet the requirements of their Building Planning & Design Standard (retrofit). 

Features

• Redevelopment of the existing hotel into a five-star, 253 room InterContinental-branded hotel
• Fine dining restaurants and retail outlets
• InterContinental club, gym and refurbished pool
• Significant heritage restoration
• Connectivity between the hotel and
• Rialto Towers
• Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD)

Statistics

• 253 Hotel Rooms
• 1,115m² approx. retail space
• Refurbishment value $45 million

Project program/milestones

• Construction commenced November 2007
• Construction completed November 2008