From Island Escapes to Casino Ruins
Across Australia, former holiday resorts that once drew families, celebrities and international visitors have been left empty, partially demolished or overtaken by vegetation.
The abandoned resort trail stretches from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and Whitsundays to Western Australia and remote Christmas Island. Some properties were damaged by cyclones. Others were undone by financial collapse, ownership disputes, failed redevelopment plans or years of neglect.
Queensland dominates the list, with several former resorts occupying valuable coastal and island locations.
Palmer Coolum Resort, Sunshine Coast
The former Hyatt Regency Coolum was once one of Queensland’s leading five-star resorts. It hosted the Australian PGA Championship and a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
Clive Palmer bought the property in 2011. The resort later closed in 2015, putting about 600 staff out of work and leaving villa shareholders facing prolonged uncertainty.
The site became known for Palmersaurus, a theme park featuring more than 160 life-size dinosaur replicas installed across the grounds. The juxtaposition of dinosaurs and a former championship golf resort made the property one of Australia’s more unusual redevelopment stories.
The golf course remained open, but the wider estate became tied up in disputes, legal action and delayed plans. A $150 million redevelopment has since been flagged, including villas, residences, studio units and residential lots.
The resort also had a place in Australian popular culture. An episode of Kath & Kim was filmed there in 2007, when the property was still operating as Hyatt Coolum.
Great Keppel Island Resort, Queensland
Great Keppel Island was once one of Queensland’s best-known party destinations, promoted around its sun, sand and “get wrecked” image.
The former resort deteriorated after the 2008 global financial crisis and was demolished in 2018. Despite repeated proposals to revive large-scale tourism on the island, the site remained a symbol of unrealised potential.
The former resort area has been partially cleared, but Great Keppel’s ghost-resort reputation has persisted because of the contrast between its past popularity and its long-running redevelopment delays.
Tourism has not disappeared from the island. Holiday Village and Hideaway continue to operate, but a full revival of the former main resort site has yet to occur.
South Molle Island Resort, Whitsundays
South Molle Island was once home to Adventure Island Whitsundays, a 188-room resort with several swimming pools and a golf course.
China Capital Investment Group bought the island for $25 million in 2016. Cyclone Debbie then caused severe damage in 2017, leaving the property in a deteriorated condition.
The 28-hectare island remains on the market with redevelopment potential. It sits within one of Australia’s strongest tourism regions, where annual visitation has been estimated at about 897,000 people and visitor spending at $1.7 billion.
Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins previously described South Molle as “almost like a jewel in the crown” of the Whitsunday Islands and said the council wanted to see the site reactivated.
Double Island, near Palm Cove
Double Island, off Palm Cove in Far North Queensland, was once a private luxury retreat used by wealthy travellers and celebrities.
Its location offered rainforest, reef access and seclusion close to one of the region’s main tourism centres. However, the resort was left to deteriorate for almost a decade.
The Queensland Government eventually cancelled the former lease and took control of the island. Safety fencing and surveillance cameras were installed to discourage trespassing.
In June 2026, Morris Group secured a long-term lease for a proposed $40 million redevelopment. Plans include 24 luxury villas, a restaurant, sunset bar, resort pool and helipad.
The project will require the removal or remediation of old infrastructure and protection of the island’s natural environment.
Brampton Island Resort, Mackay region
Brampton Island Resort was once a major island holiday destination in Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef region.
The island has been owned by United Petroleum since 2010, but the resort remains closed. Buildings, amenities and a beachside swimming pool have continued to deteriorate.
Images of the property show empty accommodation blocks and ageing facilities surrounded by tropical vegetation. Its long closure has made Brampton one of the most visible examples of abandoned tourism infrastructure in the Great Barrier Reef islands.
No confirmed reopening date has been announced.
Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon
Capricorn Resort is one of the largest abandoned resort sites in Australia.
The former integrated resort near Yeppoon closed in 2016 after years of concern about declining and neglected facilities.
Unlike smaller island properties, Capricorn Resort operated on a significant scale. Its closure left a large collection of empty buildings, former guest facilities and overgrown grounds.
The site’s size makes its decline particularly striking. Once a major coastal tourism drawcard, it is now better known through images of abandoned accommodation and disused resort infrastructure.
El Caballo Blanco, Western Australia
El Caballo Blanco, near Wundowie east of Perth, was one of Western Australia’s best-known family attractions during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Spanish-themed resort and amusement complex was famous for dancing horse performances, chairlift rides, water slides and equestrian shows. At its peak, it reportedly attracted about 250,000 visitors a year.
After its closure, much of the infrastructure remained. The 6.5-hectare complex included an equestrian arena, amphitheatre, tennis courts, motel accommodation, commercial kitchens, function rooms and an empty swimming pool.
The property was later offered for sale. By 2026, new plans had emerged for the site, meaning El Caballo is better described as a former abandoned resort with redevelopment prospects than a permanently derelict property.
Christmas Island Casino and Resort
Christmas Island’s former casino resort was built to attract high-spending visitors from Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia.
Jakarta was about an hour away by air, making the remote Australian territory a potential gambling and leisure destination for wealthy regional travellers.
The complex had 156 guest rooms, several restaurants, nightclubs and a swimming pool. Hundreds of people worked there at its peak.
The resort’s fortunes changed during the Asian financial crisis. The casino closed in 1998, and the property became one of several disused structures on the island.
Its remains now represent one of Australia’s more unusual failed tourism ventures: a remote casino built for an international market that disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived.
Together, these sites show how vulnerable major tourism developments can be to economic shocks, extreme weather, ownership disputes and delayed investment. Many occupy valuable land in well-established visitor regions, but reopening them requires significant capital, infrastructure work and regulatory approval.
Some may yet return. Others are likely to remain reminders of an earlier era of Australian tourism, when island resorts, themed attractions and remote casinos were promoted as gateways to paradise.
