Ark's $10m Reno Testament to HHG Vision

Ark’s $10m reno testament to HHG vision

In its 60th year, the Arkaba Hotel has undergone major renovations, giving it a fresher and more contemporary feel, while preserving its unique character.

The $10 million makeover ushers iconic hotel into the 2020s with an expanded beer garden, reinvented function rooms a series of technology upgrades, including an Australian first.

And then there’s brand new air-conditioning!

It was a struggling 40-year-old air conditioning unit that was the catalyst for the entire overhaul, said Anna Hurley, the Hurley Hotel Group’s (HHG) Project Manager.

“In 2021, when we realised the work involved in replacing the air conditioning, and addressing some other fundamental infrastructure issues, it seemed was a good time to look at a larger scale renovation.

“We thought it would be nice to have a larger outdoor area in Sporty's and while we’re there, we might as well do the lounge bar… and it just rolled on from there.

“At every stage of the renovation - as the brief expanded - it was very clear that we wanted to maintain the character of the hotel; maintain the fundamental feeling you get when you walk into the Arkaba Hotel.

We thought it would be nice to have a larger outdoor area in Sporty's and while we’re there , we might as well do the lounge bar… and it just rolled on from there.

“But we wanted to give it a fresh new feel and change some of the functionality to make it more suitable for our modern needs.”

Yet much to Anna’s consternation, not everyone who walks into the Arkaba 2.0 instantly notices a significant difference.

“Some people come in and say it looks amazing. “Others say we haven’t changed anything, which can be moderately heart-breaking but in a way, it’s kind of a compliment. It means we’ve retained the essential character of the hotel.”

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas is one who sees the changes.

“It looks magnificent,” he said on the official opening night. “Coming up Glen Osmond Road just then it looks like a whole, brand spanking new hotel, and it's one that I'm sure many of your patrons will enjoy for a long time to come.”

WHAT TO EXPECT

Venture inside the new Ark and the first thing you will notice is a breezier, more spacious interior with new windows that brighten the room, in tandem with modern lighting.

“It’s always been difficult here to get the right balance of natural light given it’s such an old building with two storeys,” Anna said.

“By opening a bit more up to the outside, changing the structure of our offices and completely replacing all of our lighting throughout the old building, it’s made a big difference.

“It was a necessary step going from old technology to LED technology and it’s made quite a difference.”

The new reception area has been reduced in size and redesigned to make a statement of its own.

We have retained quite a bit of the existing furniture and we did a bit of vintage shopping to find some old mid-century pieces as well.

Walking forward you’ll be drawn to the first showpiece of the redesign, the stunning 360-degree lounge area with an island bar.

The Arkaba is a dodecahedron - a 12-sided buildingwith some outer pods transformed from storage space into a new kitchen.

This space has a range of styles, including a table service restaurant, four booths near the bar, casual eating areas, high benches and low lounge seat seating. The furniture is lighter and more modern – but certainly not avante garde.

The focus was to lift the vibe of the lounge bar, while still preserving its original feel.

“We have retained quite a bit of the existing furniture and we did a bit of vintage shopping to find some old mid-century pieces as well,” Anna said.

“It was built in the ’60s and we wanted it to retain that old kind of ’60s look.”

SPORTY’S

The upgrade to the award-winning Sporty’s Bar allowed for more creative licence.

“We have 500 seats in those two spaces that we wanted to have full,” explained Anna, who previously oversaw project management of the Marion Hotel.

“If we’re going to do that, we need to appeal to different customers in different areas. We wanted them to feel quite distinct.

The most important function of a pub is to bring people together and we have put in place some different ways to achieve this.

“Sporty’s was a good opportunity to have some fun.

“It is a sports bar and we wanted it to be a great place to watch live sport but also a great place for families and for women.

“We had a vision of light, bright colours to freshen things up.”

A 7m shuffleboard table and digital dartboards are just part of the fun new take.

“The hospitality industry is facing some significant changes,” said Anna. “Changes to the way people drink, when people drink, how they socialise.

“The most important function of a pub is to bring people together and we have put in place some different ways to achieve this.”

But the star attraction and second showpiece of the new Ark is also an Australian first - a 360-degree wraparound LED screen that “floats” above Sporty’s Bar.

Known as ‘The Funnel’, it has the capacity to show up to six different events simultaneously.

“We are acutely aware in this day and age that if you want to get people out of their houses, you have to offer them something they cannot have in their own home.

People love coming to the pub to have a flutter but we had to adapt to recognise the changing customer behaviour . And people are happier with a smaller TAB area.

“In this case, we wanted to have the absolute best live sport experience anywhere in Adelaide.

“Hence we installed this incredible screen that not only provides great vision to watch multiple different sports at any given time, it’s a real ‘wow’ factor when you walk in.”

The screen was designed by Big Screen Video, which also installed the massive superscreeen where the former, staffed TAB was previously located.

‘We still see horse racing as a key part of the business here,” said Anna.

“People love coming to the pub to have a flutter but we had to adapt to recognise the changing customer behaviour. And people are happier with a smaller TAB area.”

EXPANDED BEER GARDEN

Wander outside and you’ll be greeted by a bigger beer garden with 100 additional seats.

The new area includes more comfortable seating, including booths, and brighter colours. It has had large investment in being an all-seasons area, with a fixed roof, drop down screens around the perimeter and a significant number of heaters.

It’s a veritable oasis in the making. When the landscaping becomes fully established, the greenery will hide Fullarton and Glen Osmond Roads.

“It can be used 365 days a year and has this beautiful, light outlook,” said Anna.

“We’re thrilled with the result.”

“Sporty’s is already showing tremendous growth and functions are trending in the right direction,” said Anna.

FUNCTION AREAS

The Hurley Group has also taken advantage of the Arkaba’s large footprint to improve its function offer, which includes a series of smaller private bars. The Ark can now handle functions from 30 to 600 people.

“A really critical part of the renovations has been increasing the number of function rooms we have to sell,” said Anna.

“We feel people are willing to invest in special occasions.

“Also, corporate functions have always been a really successful part of this business and we knew we had scope for growth.

“We’ve improved our technology significantly. And we’re certainly seeing the results coming through.”

ARCHITECTURE

As stated earlier, the Arkaba has a unique design for an Adelaide pub – a dodecahedron.

Remaining true to South Australian architect Dickson and Platten’s original design was a non-negotiable aspect of the project.

Anna described their input into the most recent project as “remarkable”.

“We love the bones of this hotel, the original design. We think it is a really beautiful part of Adelaide’s history and we wanted to make sure we maintained the integrity of that original design.

“The Arkaba’s always been a very warm, cozy and inviting space that’s very welcoming for lots of different types of people whether you’re from the country, the southern suburbs, the northern suburbs or a local.

“We wanted to maintain that feeling and we hope that’s what we’ve done.

“It still feels like the Arkaba.”

Anna also paid tribute to Cook Build which encountered numerous challenges during the rebuild but still delivered 95 per cent of the project on time.

Those hurdles included dealing with old plumbing and dated electrical work buried in tunnels beneath the Arkaba, as well as encountering asbestos where it had not been expected.

“They took the time to understand the nature of the trading operation during construction, which not every

builder has the capacity to understand,” Anna said. It allowed hotel manager Jordarn Karpowicz to keep the doors open and the tills ringing.

“He did a really good job in very challenging circumstances, problem solving every day. Nothing was too big a drama.”

Not everything has changed. The gaming lounge and accommodation wings were not updated during this project, however visitors can expect to see some minor updates in the near future.

Head chef Jasper Anderson has introduced some higher end dishes for the restaurant.

The restaurant menu includes dishes such as hiramasa kingfish and Eyre Peninsula oysters as share plates, and mains including 12-hour pressed lamb and salmon with edamame purée, teriyaki sauce, black rice, bok choy, spring onion and peanut chilli crunch.

Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options are available. But devotees of the Arkaba can rest assured the staples remain the same.

“A chicken parmy is the cornerstone of any good pub operation so we’ve remained true to that.”

Anna said the hotel is enjoying the fruits of its investment.

“We’ve made a really good start,” she said, going on to pay tribute to her parents, Jenny and Peter, for their “passion, passion and willingness to take risks”.

QUIET DINNERS

Recently, the hotel made headlines for becoming the first venue in SA to introduce regular “Quiet Dinners” for the autistic community, thanks to a partnership between Autism SA and the AHA|SA.

Almost 60% of autistic people and their families avoid going to pubs and bars. Bright lights, loud noises, crowded venues, and overpowering smells can all add to a sensory overload for people on the spectrum.

To make dining out more accessible and inclusive, the Arkaba Hotel offers Quiet Dinners on the first Monday of each month from 5pm to 9pm.

A section of the venue has lights dimmed, reduced music volume, a private bar to order from, and the

dinners are located where people can easily enter and exit without having to walk through crowds.

“Our goal at the Arkaba Hotel is to be a venue for all occasions, we want to provide a place for everybody to make special memories and connect with their loved ones,” said Anna.

LIVE MUSIC

In 2018, The Arkaba Hotel was inducted into the SA Music Hall Of Fame.

Over the years, the Arkaba Hotel has been home to acts such as Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Diesel, Thirsty Merc, Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins, Mental As Anything, The Cure and many more.

Established as a premier entertainment venue in Adelaide, the Arkaba continues to deliver great quality events - whether it be weekly live music throughout the hotel or a national touring band, tribute show, DJ or comedian in the iconic Top of the Ark.

PREMIER PRAISES ENTREPRENEURSHIP

During his speech at the opening of the new-look Arkaba, Premier Peter Malinauskas paid tribute to Peter Hurley, “one of the most remarkable entrepreneurs in the state of South Australia in conjunction with his beautiful wife Jenny, and their impressive children, Samantha, Anna and Nick.”

“Sometimes leadership is about seizing moments where no one else will.

“And what Peter and Jenny identified over the years have been various opportunities that existed that no one saw. One of them is the acquisition of Arkaba hotel in 1991 when it went into receivership.

“The transformation of the Arkaba under the Hurley’s leadership has been substantial.

“There was the big redevelopment in the year 2000 when you effectively doubled the number of hotel rooms and then of course, most recently, over $10 million investment to give this venue yet another lease of life into the long term.

“But amongst all that activity is the 600 people who are able to enjoy the dignity of work every single day because of the initiatives and the risks that have been taken by the Hurley Group. “That is to their eternal credit.”

In 1991, amidst the backdrop of an unforgiving recession, the iconic Arkaba Hotel found itself in the hands of receivers. However, driven by a bold vision, hotel owners Peter and Jenny Hurley refused to let adversity hinder their dreams. After a lengthy battle for bank approval, they finally took ownership of their first freehold hotel. Meanwhile, Peter’s brother, Tony Hurley, saw the potential and seized the opportunity to build an exceptional retail liquor business on the premises.

The Hurley Hotel Group remains a family-owned business operating in South Australia for over 30 years. Peter and Jenny believe a good team is essential to the success of a large company and the Group employs over 600 staff, with many of them long term employees.