Will There Be A Room 524 In Sydney’s Second InterContinental Hotel?

Pop/Rock fans will certainly remember the 1997 death of INXS lead-man, Michael Hutchence.  Hutchence was found hung in his suite, room 524, at the Ritz Carlton Sydney hotel.  In 2001, the hotel lost the Ritz name and fell into ill-repair. The building was abandoned in 2009.

Now, the Intercontinental hotel group has purchased the infamous property and will turn it into a 140-room hotel set to open in January 2014.  The hotel has iconic Sydney Harbor. The hotel will be named InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.

One challenge facing the new group – evicting the current tenants – squatters have taken over the vacant building.

Inside the former Ritz Carlton hotel (Copyright: Australian Broadcast Company)

This month shops and a Russian restaurant will begin operating in the space.  A group of Singaporean businessmen have invested about $20 million in the refurbishment of the hotel and paid $58 million for the property.