Tourism to the district increased after the opening of the Cook Highway in 1933, with road trips to Mossman and the town of Daintree among the local attractions promoted to visitors to far north Queensland.

Although early selectors attempted mixed agriculture, poor soil and high rainfall meant that the land around Mossman was more suited to sugar cane cultivation.

[1] During this period of prosperity for Mossman a cyclone on 12 March 1934 once again heavily damaged the top storey of the Exchange Hotel, but this time the whole building was replaced, with the timber sourced from the Daintree Mill.

[14] In April 1934 tenders were invited for the erection of a hotel in timber and concrete at Mossman, for Mrs T Nugent, the architect Vibert McKirdy Brown of Atherton.

Born in South Africa c.1887,[16] by 1916 he was living in north Queensland where he enlisted and served in the army during World War I, listing his pre-war trade as "contractor".

[19] In his home town of Atherton, Brown designed many civic and commercial buildings, including the Tinaroo Shire Council Chambers (1928), various shops, and the Grand Hotel (1933) on the corner of Main and Vernon streets.

During the 19th century far north Queensland was seen as a romantic, exotic and tropical destination, with visitors mainly interested in the natural beauties of the area, such as landscapes, numerous waterfalls and the Chillagoe Caves.

[1] In the 1920s and 30s, Cairns was the major entry point for visitors to far north Queensland, and had an established reputation as a tourist centre and "tropical winter resort.

[1][24] From 1891 tourists could access the Atherton Tablelands by rail, but the construction of the Gillies Highway (Gordonvale to Yungaburra) in 1926 enabled the White Car Line to transport tourists by road, increasing access to attractions like Lake Barrine, Lake Eacham, the Mount Hypipamee Crater and the Curtain Fig Tree at Yungaburra.

Other popular attractions in the region in the interwar period included the Barron Falls, the Maze, Fairyland Tea Gardens, and Dodd's butterfly collection at Kuranda, the "Jungle" at Malanda, and Paronella Park south of Innisfail.

The Lake Eacham Hotel at Yungaburra, originally built in 1910 after the arrival of the railway line from Cairns, was considerably extended and refurbished in time for the opening of the Gillies Highway, assisting the town to develop as a tourist destination and a gateway to the Tablelands.

[26] The Malanda Hotel had its major phase of construction in 1911 after the arrival of the railway line, but it too benefited greatly from the increased tourist trade brought about by the Gillies Highway.

[31] Prior to the Highway's completion the Minister for Public Works, Henry Adam Bruce, stated that it "should prove to be one of the finest tourist roads in Australia".

[1][35] On 10 April 1935 the Cairns Post noted that the Exchange Hotel bar was open, with the building being put in order to accommodate boarders, "and [it] will supply a long felt want during the tourist season".

"[37] In June that year the same newspaper commented that "with implicit faith in the great expansion of Mossman and the stability of this wonderfully fertile district, the owner, Mrs D. O'Brien, has had erected this really palatial hotel".

Hotel designs of this decade in Queensland employed a variety of modern styles, including Spanish Mission, Functionalist and Art Deco.

Often on corner sites with features such as rounded facades, sweeping horizontal or vertical ornamentation, cantilevered awnings and hipped, tiled roofs, these new hotels offered a higher standard of accommodation and comfort for patrons and guests than older establishments.

Large function spaces were made possible by the use of folding doors or partitions between the lounge and dining rooms, and separate entrances for guests and bar patrons continued to be a requirement.

[1][40] In both major cities and small towns, the timber hotels of the preceding decades were gradually being renovated or replaced by brick and masonry structures, often after a devastating event such as a fire or cyclone.

The hotel also provided accommodation for visiting doctors, bankers, public servants, business people, graziers and other upper-middle class visitors.

As an important part of the town's social life, the Exchange Hotel was utilised for dances, Melbourne Cup parties, weddings, World War II fundraising events, and Rotary Club meetings.

Part of the ground floor was leased to the Totalisator Administration Board (TAB) of Queensland from 1989, and in 2009 the land was sold to Lance Sutton and Melynda Harding.

New male and female toilet blocks (plus a dry store) were built to the centre rear of the ground floor in the early 1980s, and in 1988 the existing private bar counter configuration was formed, with the doorway to the street being replaced by a window.

Although the Bruce Highway was finally bitumened all the way from Brisbane to Cairns in the early 1960s, facilitating faster trips north in the family car, by 1965 it was noted that tourists were passing through Mossman without staying the night.

[47] As eco-tourism increased in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation area, Mossman's appeal as a scenic destination in its own right was reduced while Port Douglas evolved as the accommodation centre for the region's tourism.

An easement from Mill Street runs along the eastern boundary of the hotel site, dividing it from a long, gable roofed building on the adjacent property.

The main entrance door is set back within a small alcove with elaborate timber surround, comprising square pilasters and a shallow triangular pediment.

The Mill Street (eastern) wing comprises a small private bar and a large dining room containing the main staircase to the first floor.

It is important in illustrating the growth and prosperity of the north Queensland tourism and sugar industries during the 1920s and 1930s and the associated development of Mossman as the administrative heart of the Douglas Shire.

Built to provide comfortable accommodation for tourists, its original form and layout is legible and it retains many features including its lounge and coffee room (ballroom) space and evidence of its bars, parlours and retail facilities on the ground floor.