The Australian ‘ultimate girls’ weekend’ boasting Meghan Markle as its star guest has hit more trouble after it was revealed the hotel’s pool and spa is not finished and the beach below has been battling effluent ‘poop balls’ over the past two years.
A spokesman for the Duchess of Sussex has confirmed she will still be appearing at the inaugural ‘Her Best Life Retreat’ in Sydney despite a series of setbacks.
The all-women event, dubbed ‘Meg-stock’, will welcome up to 300 guests to the three-day luxury retreat from April 17 to 19, during the Duchess’ trip to Australia with the Duke of Sussex.
VIP ticket holders who pay £1,700 will get front-row seats and the chance to pose for a group table photo with the former Suits actress, 44.
But since the event was announced last week, it has been beset with problems, which began when it was reported that the organiser’s talent agency has gone bust with more than $500,000 of debt.
The 5-star InterContinental Hotel in the east of Sydney has promised guests set to briefly meet Meghan and take part in a Q&A that they can have a ‘relaxed time by the pool overlooking Coogee Beach’.
But now it has emerged that the new infinity pool overlooking the Tasman Sea, which Meghan’s fans are excited to relax next to, is still under construction. The spa, bar and ‘leisure deck’ are also due to be completed next month.
One guest who stayed at the hotel last week called the refurbishment of the pool ‘a work in progress’ and a ‘blot on the view’, the Daily Mail can reveal.
And those wanting to relax on the beach below will also have concerns because since 2024 foul-smelling balls made up of a mixture of chemicals, soap scum, cooking oil, hair and human excrement have been washing up.
Meghan is appearing at a women-only event in Sydney, which is described as a ‘girls’ weekend like no other’ – but the event has been rocked by problems ever since its launch
Staff work on the hotel’s unfinished infinity pool yesterday at the hotel set to host the Duchess of Sussex and her fans next month
The pool area of the luxury hotel is currently being refurbished and the new bar and spa are also not completed with just a few weeks to go
The hotel has been under refurbishment since last year
Academics tested the balls on Coogee (pictured being collected by the council in 2024) and found they were made from chemicals, soap scum, cooking oil, hair and human excrement – likely broken off a giant fatberg under Sydney in the sewers
Fans who are keen to meet Meghan at the retreat – but have to travel solo – are also asking the hotel and organisers to clarify they have to stay with a stranger because £1,705-a-head tickets only appear to be sold on basis that you ‘share’ a twin room.
A prospective guest who registered their interest in attending claims that you could end up having to share a room unless you’re booking with a friend.
The official website says that tickets are sold at up to $3,199 on a ‘twin share’ basis.
The Daily Mail has asked the hotel and the organisers to comment.
Guests staying at the hotel confirm is it not yet completed, after refurbishment started last year.
The hotel’s homepage reveals its new ‘leisure deck featuring the ocean-facing infinity edge swimming pool, poolside bar, outdoor event terrace, Eliva Spa and Club InterContinental’ are still not complete.
The completion date is given as April – but does not expressly make it clear that it will all be completed when guests arrive for the weekend to meet Meghan.
Below the hotel is Coogee Beach, a busy stretch of sand south along the coast from the more famous Bondi Beach.
Coogee is hugely popular with locals and tourists but in recent years it has been at the centre of a pollution battle sparked by so-called ‘poo balls’ washed up on the beach.
In 2024 and 2025 foul-smelling brown balls were washed up along the coast, and they were photographed by families enjoying time together at Coogee, which comes from the Aboriginal word koojah, which literally means “smelly place”.
Tens of thousands of these stinky mini boulders washed up along the coastline over 16 months. The balls were initially thought to be the result of an oil spill or waste from passing ships.
But academics say their tests confirm they were a mix of ‘cooking oil, soap, and human excrement’, probably broken off from a giant fatberg stuck in local sewers.
Royal fans have unkindly compared the girls weekend to the Fyre Festival – an exclusive luxury music festival that failed spectacularly.
Guests were promised it would be packed with ‘A-list’ celebrities and luxurious accomodation.
In reality, guests who paid between $500 and $12,000 depending on their tickets ended up stranded on an island with no running water, hardly any food, and a mattress in a tent as the only place for them to sleep.
The exclusive event costs thousands of pounds for the weekend but it is sold on a ‘twin share’ basis
The InterContinental Coogee Beach’s website confirms that its refurbishment of pool, spa and other eminities are due for completion in April
Workers in hazmat suits work to clear up toxic balls on Coogee Beach in 2024, which saw it closed
On Tuesday it was reported how the PR woman organising Meghan’s comic-con-style appearance at an Australian ‘ultimate girls’ weekend’ has run into major financial difficulties after her PR agency went bust with a giant $500,000 tax bill.
Gemma O’Neill has been busily promoting a three-day event in Sydney where women pay £1,705 for a ‘VIP experience’ including a picture with the Duchess of Sussex over dinner.
But it was reported in Australia that the talent agency owned by Gemma has collapsed owing more than half a million Australian dollars, mainly to the taxman.
She says she cannot pay her debts due to a lack of savings and her ‘limited income’.
Administrators were said to have been appointed after O’Neill’s talent management business, Gemmie Agency, went into voluntary liquidation in November.
The firm owes $543,548 to the Australian Taxation Office, with another $3,300 owed to small business Jack Lawrence Accountants and Advisors, reports news.com.au.
Besties Australia, organisers of the weekender being supported by Meghan in mid-April, are mentioned in the insolvency report.
There was a loan of $18,143 made to Besties by the Gemmie Agency. Administrators have reportedly written to Ms O’Neill requesting ‘a detailed explanation of the balance of that loan’.
Organiser Gemma O’Neill (pictured hosting an episode of the Her Best Life podcast) has reportedly informed administrators she cannot make the repayment contributions on the $500,000 she owes due to limited income and a lack of savings
Just last month, on February 20, O’Neill reportedly informed the administrators she couldn’t make any repayment contributions, noting she has no available personal savings, limited income, and had failed to refinance her beachside apartment in Sydney.
On the same day her star client Jackie O, a well known broadcaster in Australia, had a public row with her KIIS FM radio partner, Kyle Sandilands, which led to to the duo being taken off air and their $100million contracts were torn up.
Around a fortnight later Gemma and Jackie announced that Meghan would headline their £1,400 ‘girls’ weekend’, where the former Suits star would deliver a gala dinner speech and pose for photos with paying VIP guests.
Up to 300 guests will be welcomed to the three-day luxury retreat in Sydney from April 17 to 19, during her trip to the country with the Duke of Sussex.
The deal was brokered by the ‘third wheel’ in her marriage to Prince Harry, Markus Anderson, who is a close friend of O’Neill’s.
Administrators from Grant Thornton Australia said in a creditors’ statement that the debts incurred by O’Neill’s agency were in stark contrast to a seven‑figure commission paid by an unnamed ‘key client’ between October 2023 and March 2024, according to news.com.au.
