PORT DOUGLAS ICON LISTS $7M LUXURY VILLA

Local property icon and Far North Queensland developer, John Morris, is offloading one of his luxury villas in Port Douglas.

The 97-year-old, known as “Mr Port Douglas” thanks to his efforts in putting the coastal town on the tourism map, has recently completed a $50 million 17-villa development known as The Escapes Collection on Rachel Carson Lane in the popular holiday town.

Morris has been credited with transforming a sleepy seaside village into a thriving holiday hotspot after developing the Radisson Treetops Resort, the Toressian Resort (now known as Reef Resort Villas), and Cayman Villas.

Port Douglas’ most well-known hotel, the Sheraton Mirage, even bears Morris’s stamp after he collaborated on the development with Christopher Skase before the infamous businessman’s downfall.

Now Villa 15 of The Escapes Collection has hit the market with $7 million price expectations through Queensland Sotheby’s agent, Caroline Yarr.

The FIRB-approved residence is one of a collective developed by Morris’ family business, which counts his daughters among the team, with Janet as interior designer and Wendy in marketing.

Nine homes in collection have already sold, achieving prices between $3.65 million and $7 million. Sold to buyers from Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand and South Australia, the glamorous holiday homes are earning as much as $2500 a night during the high season for a four-bedroom villa.

Fully furnished down to the linens and featuring hand-picked artwork by local artists, the grand residence is a turnkey property.

Several of the villas, including number 15, were designed by Gary Hunt, a renowned Port Douglas-based architect who specialises in island resorts and has lent his talents to rich lister Tim Gurner’s high profile projects such as The $250 million resort development, The Davidson on the site of the old Dougie’s backpacker hostel.

As a brand-new villa, the five-bedroom home combines bold contemporary bold aesthetics with its lush tropical setting to create a holistic Far North Queensland retreat.

Hunt’s savvy north-facing design, together with the bespoke interior design featuring unique pieces throughout, results in a modern footprint perfectly curated to its surrounds and northern Queensland climate.

The signature element of the property is its wraparound pool and all-weather alfresco spaces that seamlessly connect with inside living areas.

Inside, there are raw concrete and stone feature walls matched with spotted gum timber ceilings, as well as European oak, Italian porcelain Terrazzo and natural sisal carpeted floors.

At the heart of the floor plan, the family-friendly kitchen features Siemens appliances, an integrated fridge and freezer, Corian benchtops, and a unique Verde Luana marble splashback. For alfresco entertaining, the villa also has a complete outdoor kitchen.

Additional features at Villa 15 include a Savaria 4-person lift, Navurban sustainable timber laminate joinery, Astra Walker custom-made iron bronze tapware, Asko laundry appliances, remote-controlled blinds, pure linen curtains, ducted air-conditioning, solar panels and a double garage.

Select villas are designed by Gary Hunt, a renowned Port Douglas-based architect specialising in island resorts.

Melbourne developer and rich lister Tim Gurner have also engaged Gary on his Port Douglas developments, including three premium residences on ‘the hill’, which will set the benchmark for FNQ luxury residences, as well as the residential/resort development on Davidson Street. 

Find out more about Villa 15, The Escape Collection Port Douglas at Queensland Sotheby’s, Port Douglas.

A Sydney couple has paid $15.5 million for the Grand Penthouse at Marquee’s $285 million La Belle Residences beachfront development which is nearing completion at Palm Beach, eclipsing the record for an off-the-plan apartment sale on the southern Gold Coast.

The sprawling single level 640 sqm beachfront residence, with sweeping views of the Gold Coast north and south, beats the previous record of $14.6 million, set at the Sur Kirra Beach penthouse in Coolangatta in December 2025, and comes in 70 per cent above Palm Beach’s apartment suburb record of $9.1 million.

The buyer plans to make it their permanent home as they relocate to the Gold Coast. The result marks a turning point for Palm Beach. The suburb was once a quiet stretch of beach between Burleigh Heads and Currumbin and now ranks among the country’s most sought-after coastal addresses.

The sale also shows how the top of the market is changing, according to Jacques Winterburn of Marquee, one of Southeast Queensland’s most active private developers.

“For a long time the southern Gold Coast was where people came for holidays. Wealthy interstate buyers are no longer just buying holiday homes here, they are relocating,” Mr Winterburn said.

“These are people who live on Sydney Harbour. They had already decided to relocate to the Gold Coast, and what took the time was finding the right property in the right location. They chose the northern end of Palm Beach. The comparison has changed. They’re weighing Point Piper and Bondi against the premium end of Palm Beach. Absolute beachfront, genuinely quiet, Tallebudgera Inlet a short walk away and Burleigh minutes up the road without the noise and busyness that comes with living there. On space, beach access and lifestyle, this wins.”

The Grand Penthouse is built on the scale of a large house. It has 510 sqm of internal living space and a 130 sqm balcony, five bedrooms each with its own ensuite, a private cinema, an executive office, a wine display and multiple living areas. The hallways are two metres wide, which is almost unheard of in an apartment design.

The building sits on over 40 metres of absolute beach frontage. The penthouse itself runs 34 metres along the beachfront, one of the widest new apartments on the Gold Coast, and occupies a single level, so there are no stairs. Its 270-degree views run uninterrupted from Burleigh Headland and the Surfers Paradise skyline south to Currumbin and Snapper Rocks.

The couple moved quickly, committing within about a month after inspecting completed Marquee buildings across the Gold Coast and bringing friends along for a second opinion.

“They did their homework, but once they had seen the finished buildings the decision came easily,” sales and marketing spokesman Azura Griffen said. “At this price level, buyers wanted to walk through projects we had completed years ago, not look at renders. Track record and trust in delivery are the whole conversation.”

What took longer was the residence itself. Over the following months the couple worked with Marquee to customise the penthouse, reworking the layout so that every key living space looks out over the ocean.

“They knew exactly what they wanted. The ocean had to be in every room, the kitchen, the dining room, the master bedroom, the office,” Ms Griffen said. “Because Marquee is both the developer and the builder, we could work through those changes with them.”

Ms Griffen said the building being close to completion has given buyers confidence.

“Buying off the plan at this level is about trust. Buyers can now walk the site, see the finishes and stand on the balconies. Once they’ve done that, the decision usually makes itself.”

La Belle Palm Beach is due for completion by Christmas 2026. Marquee has already secured its next absolute beachfront site, in the same pocket at the northern end of Palm Beach, with a launch planned for early next year.

“We have a number of buyers who love the northern end of Palm Beach for the same reasons, a quiet serene beach, close to thetranquil waters of Tallebudgera, yet minutes from the restaurants of Burleigh Heads,” Ms Griffen said. “That feedback is why we secured our next site in the same pocket.”

“It will be more boutique, with larger apartments of 190 to 300 sqm and the same world-class amenity. It will be our best beachfront building yet.”

“We are already taking enquiry and pre-registrations, much of it from buyers who missed out at La Belle and want to make sure they do not miss the next one.”

PORT DOUGLAS ICON LISTS $7M LUXURY VILLA

Local icon John Morris is selling Villa 15 from his luxe Escapes Collection in Port Douglas, an architect-designed, five-bedroom villa with a wraparound pool and bold tropical style.