The precinct blends hospitality venues with soon-to-open luxury accommodation, garnished with a collection of avant-garde artworks, and was developed by a consortium comprising the Victor Smorgen Group, the Kanat Group, and property developer Trenerry Property.
Launching first with an impressive selection of food and beverage venues operated by celebrated Melbourne chef restauranteur Scott Pickett, in partnership with renowned publican Craig Shearer, the Continental Sorrento precinct will soon encompass the 108-room InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula hotel (opening in May) and the expansive Aurora Spa & Bathhouse (opening mid-2022).
With an ‘elevated dining’ restaurant Audrey’s, named after Pickett’s grandmother who inspired him to cook, as well as the Conti Bar, Beer Garden, Promenade, Atrium, late-night venue Barlow, Sunset Terrace, and spectacular event spaces like the Grand Ballroom, Halcyon Hall, and the Gallery, the precinct will welcome thousands of people per day during peak periods.
The architectural and interior design scheme has been delivered by award-winning studio Woods Bagot and sees the revitalised 20,000-square-metre lifestyle precinct spread across six levels and five separate buildings, drawing inspiration from both Victoria’s coastline and Europe’s heady continental summers.
The historic site’s previous iterations and heritage characteristics have been integrated with a contemporary, future-focused experience.
The precinct’s redevelopment also houses a multi-million-dollar art collection, which Woods Bagot global chief executive Nik Karalis said is a natural extension of the focus on capturing the concepts of rebirth, intergeneration, nostalgia, and temptation.
Karalis said: “Curated by the team at Broached Commissions, the artistic approach is centred around complementary pieces that remind you of the composition between modernity and heritage, and the tension between the two.
“There is a contemporary newness about it – there is some edgy artwork that will really provoke thought and there is some comfortable artwork.
“There’s a whole curatorial story around abundance and hedonism as well, which supplements the whole ethos of the design.”
Broached Commissions creative director Lou Weis echoed these sentiments, noting the Continental’s carefully curated collection presented ‘world views and ways of living that were taboo at the time of the Continental’s inception as a place of leisure.
Weis said: “The art, like the program of the entire Continental precinct, is layered, sophisticated, and highly diverse in expression.
“Our curatorial research into Sorrento started with the early colonial period – Sorrento’s moment as an attempted penal settlement was fleeting.
“Sorrento has always been about getting away – from work, the city, the family, from oneself.
“The reimagining of the Continental is a contemporary response to what ‘getting away’ entails.”
Weis further explained that the Continental art strategy was built around themes that correlated to Wood Bagot’s ‘architectural focus on a nostalgia for luxury’.
He continued: “We have interpreted this through the prism of hedonism, a concept Western society struggles to embrace as having any virtue.
“There is no one speed, no one temperament best suited to this luxurious coastal compound.
“The Continental creates its own diverse ecosystem of temperaments, all seeking pleasure in different ways, all seeing and passing each other at various points but also able to stay separate if so desired.”
Trenerry Property development manager and part-owner of the Continental Rob Dicintio said the reopening of the iconic venue was an exciting time for Mornington Peninsula locals and visitors of all ages, who would be enthralled and entertained by the multi-generational precinct and all the experiences within it.
He added: “Both locals and those from further afield have been eagerly awaiting the revival of this famous destination for years.
“We can feel their anticipation – and the responsibility that comes with this – and we’re so proud to say the Continental is back, more beautiful than ever, to inject plenty of excitement into the hospitality and tourism industries, giving the Mornington Peninsula economy a much-needed boost.”