New Rhapsody Resort is the most exciting accommodation addition to Surfers Paradise in many years, combining “unparalleled convenience” with modern luxury by the beach.

The property, by HB Australia, heralds a new era for the Gold Coast, rising an extremely impressive 41 levels over the seaside. Award-winning architects designed the landmark and DBI International presented its five-star rated ‘green’ design. The building is swiftly becoming an icon along the new Surfers North precinct.

Rhapsody Resort entered the 2016 Regional Master Builders Housing and Construction Awards for the Gold Coast, where it took out the title of Best Residential High Rise Over 3 Storeys and Over $20 Million in Value. This is a prestigious award and the project will now progress to the state level judging to be held mid-October 2017.

Neil Munro is resort manager of the stunning 223 self-contained apartments that make up the property. He explained that the resort boasts a selection of stunning studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments, perfect for business or leisure while providing the ultimate Gold Coast resort experience.

Guest feedback has high-lighted how much the resort’s superb location is relished by visitors: the property is situated just a moment’s walk from the pristine white sands of Surfers Paradise beach. On level 41, Rhapsody Resort presents a sky deck with outdoor barbecues as well as seating overlooking the ocean.

At street level, there is the dramatic hull design feature to appreciate and the beautiful heated resort style swimming pool and spa. On floor 27, guests can enjoy the exclusive residents lounge, two meeting rooms, outdoor sun terrace and a fully-equipped gymnasium with spectacular ocean views.

“All of our luxury apartments are self-contained and boast full kitchen and laundry facilities. They have contemporary styling, including bulkheads with down lighting to define spaces. The designers are also focused on preserving natural light by using full height floor-to-ceiling glass. The resort is ideal for group accommodation, whether it’s large family groups, conference and incentive groups, or sporting teams, our flexible range of apartments cater to everyone,” Neil assured.

With a hotel and PGA-golf background, Neil Munro arrived on the Gold Coast 12 years ago, to take on the role of operations manager for IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), assisting with the transition of the ANA Hotel to the IHG group. His next role was as general manager of Legends Hotel with the Sunleisure Group; he worked with Q1, Avalon and Circle on Cavill.

In 2008, with the acquisition of Sunleisure, he took up an area manager role within the Mantra Group, where he looked after a portfolio of 11 properties within central Surfers Paradise. In 2012, Neil left the Mantra Group to set up his own business working for bodies corporates assisting with project management and defect issues.

In October 2015, he joined the Frawley family to manage the opening of the of their latest acquisition, Rhapsody resort that opened in May 2016.

Neil loves this property, telling us: “Rhapsody Resort is unique! The standout feature of the newest building in Surfers Paradise is not just the absolutely stunning design of the building but also its prime location. For me, the sensational rooftop design particularly stands out, and level 27 also leaves a fantastic impression with wonderful open air spaces. The position of the property is right on the hair-pin of the GC600 race tracks this offers incomparable views, with almost 60 percent of the track visible from the balconies.”

As for the management rights of Rhapsody Resort, Neil revealed: “Rhapsody Resort P/L is 100 percent owned and operated by the Frawley family who are pioneers of the management rights industry. The family purchased its first management rights business in 1985 and went on to purchase several more strata properties and played a major role in the successful listing of BreakFree Resorts on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2002.

“Over the years, they have accumulated extensive industry experience, knowledge and ex-pertise. The strength of the family business has been its commitment to long-term relation-ships with unit owners, bodies corporate and guests/tenants and the ability to provide first class service to all stakeholders. The various members of the family have individual strengths, covering all facets of the management rights business including but not limited to: property maintenance, sales, and marketing, BCCM Act, trust accounting, food and beverage and industry representation.”

With Neil’s vast knowledge of the Gold Coast market and his strong body corporate knowledge, it was an easy transition for him to set up this re-sort. He said: “Having Q1 as our sister property, we had high standards to achieve but we feel we have ticked all of the boxes. We have a small team but all the staff are attentive and work together to ensure the guest experience is a lasting one.”

He continued: “As far as my biggest achievements at this property: I would consider them to be the fantastic team I recruited for this resort, and the policies and procedure that we have implemented to benefit the business. This has allowed the team to hit the ground running and maintain the incredible 90 per-cent occupancy since we opened the doors.

Having only been open for 10 months, Rhapsody Resort already sits at number three out of a ranking of 33 TripAdvisor hotels in Surfers Paradise in relation to guest satisfaction. Understandably, the team are proud of this and have worked extremely hard to achieve it.

Neil added: “I enjoy working with a young team of individuals who come to work every day, wanting to make a positive difference to the guest’s experience. We offer a wonderful product and we all have the same aim: to enhance our guests stay through exceptional customer service.

“The accommodation is small and boutique, and this allows us to focus on what matters: our guests and owner returns!”