AIRLIE Beach's beloved Club Croc Hotel is about to be reborn and general manager Luke Harley wants to be sure of one thing - it doesn't lose its iconic charm.

Club Croc was snapped up by Singaporean group Well Smart Investment Holdings in July and on October 4, the company's $6 million major refurbishment and re-branding program began.

Fast forward to last week when it was also announced the renowned Mantra Group had secured the management rights to operate the hotel.

Mr Harley said it was important to keep Club Croc's name and reputation but acknowledged it needed "new energy, new enthusiasm and new service standards".

"From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, (Club Croc) was iconic in the region, so why eliminate that?" he said.

"All we've got to do is (get past) people's impression of the last five to seven years which, with the experience (we're) going to create here, with the money being put into the product and with team we're going to create... won't be too hard to do."

The refurbishment will cater strongly for the international and domestic conference market, offering 130 of 160 rooms as king split, meaning a single group of at least 300 people can stay at any one time.

The local economy has already benefited greatly from the project, with 15 of the 16 companies involved in the refurbishment being local and about 52 local staff set to be employed upon completion.

Mr Harley said the hotel had received much more than just a paint job.

"A lot of people think of a refurbishment as a lick of paint and that's it... whereas this isn't," he said.

"This is the full gut of every hotel room, a full re-fit and a full re-brand so all 160 rooms as well as the restaurant and as well as the conference facilities are stripped down to a concrete shell."

The hotel will have a fully serviced restaurant and will house a maximum of three guests per room. As for dates, Mr Harley said the team was hopeful for a pre-Christmas soft opening.