Kwila Lodge: Historic Gold Coast wedding venue with 10-year lease for sale

Nestled on a massive 16,200-square-metre parcel of land at 5 Boomerang Road, Mudgeeraba, the wedding and event venue with accommodation sits on the edge of Springbrook National Park and near a golf course.

The sale also boasts deal clinchers – a new 10-year lease to the current lodge owner/operators that guarantees income with annual rent increases, along with an “extremely rare” approval to operate as a tourist facility, according to Kollosche listing agents Tony and Adam Grbcic.

“It’s a very rare investment opportunity, and risk-averse – people are always going to get married,” Adam Grbcic said. “We’ve been inundated with interest, with five to six queries a day.”

Grbcic said the sale was a standout in its asset class, and a high-quality contemporary fit out, including the re-landscaped grounds.

“The Kwila team have taken what was a very rundown site and turned it into one of the best and most successful wedding venues on the Gold Coast,” he said. “There’s been no stone left unturned.” 

The main homestead features a commercial-grade kitchen and bar, and a large function room able to seat up to 160 guests, or 250 for a cocktail event. 

Overnight stay offerings include three self-contained, one bedroom studios that can sleep up to four guests, as well one two-bedroom self-contained lodge that sleeps eight, plus loft-style lodgings for up to four people overlooking the scenic grounds. 

There is approval for further accommodation and a restaurant to operate on the site.

Kwila Lodge is co-owned by Amanda Appel, of the the family behind the Bower Estate – another luxury wedding and event venue in the hinterlands – and business partners Daniel and Ruggie Ridgeway of hospitality and restaurant company The Ridgeway Group.

The venue, previously known as the Eco Studio Fellini, was acquired by Appel in January 2023 after Appel and business partner Nikki Scarrabelotti  noticed a gap in the market while running The Bower Estate.

“People wanted a venue with more infrastructure on site and in closer proximity to the city,” she said. “When the Fellini estate came on the market, we knew it was exactly the opportunity we had been looking for and set about creating a sister offering to The Bower Estate.

“The property is of historical significance to Mudgeeraba in that it was once the old dairy. Our vision was to retain the essence of its original character so when people walk in they feel that connection to the past.

“There are some beautiful historic venues around Australia, but the Gold Coast doesn’t really have anything like that, so it was our chance to offer something different to the area. There is certainly nothing else like it.”

The venue has attracted weekly bookings for the past 12 months, and the decision to stay or sell was an “emotional journey” for its owners.

“We figured that if we sell it, it gives us back some equity and frees us up should we want to take on another project,” Appel said. “That is the real driver – the business is successful, we believe in it, and we might want to do something again if we find the right property.”

Grbcic said the “highly appealing” lease should be very appealing for a new owner, with its passionate events owners committing to stay as a tenant to run the venue.

“As the future tenant and an established events operator, they will have a vested interest in maintaining the property and ensuring that it continues to succeed,” Grbcic said.

“They will also have the benefit of a guaranteed income for the coming decade, with a 3 per cent annual rent increase built into the lease, alongside an extremely rare approved ‘tourist facility’ zoning, which opens the property up to a range of future uses.

“Add to this, the value of the land underpinning the investment, and Kwila Lodge is an opportunity that an investor seeking a low-risk, high return asset to add to their portfolio will not want to miss.”