Click photo to enlarge
Ronnie Hilton (right) and New Zealand golfer Greg Turner
during the Pro-Am at the New Zealand Open in Arrowtown on
January. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
A Hilton hotel for Queenstown looks certain, with the
company advertising on its website for a business development
director and an operations director.
With little concrete information on the exact site but plenty
of speculation, it seems likely the "Hilton Queenstown" will
take over the planned Westin hotel site on the Kawarau Falls
Station development.
The company website entry reads: "Hilton Queenstown,
surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of
crystal clear Lake Wakatipu, is Hilton's third hotel to open
in New Zealand.
"Our brand new hotel, one of the closest hotels to the
Remarkable skifields and only a short distance from
Queenstown village, is the perfect base to explore all that
Queenstown has to offer. We are now seeking five-star
hospitality professionals to join the Hilton family and
ensure the successful opening and operation of this beautiful
property."
Hilton Australasia corporate communications manager Charlotte
Seymour did not return phone calls from the Otago Daily
Times yesterday, nor did KordaMentha, receivers for
Kawarau Falls Station.
The future of the Westin - part of the $1 billion Kawarau
Falls Station development - has been in doubt, with the hotel
having stopped taking bookings, despite nearing completion.
Ronnie Hilton, the grandson of Conrad Hilton, founder of the
Hilton Hotels Corp, which was established in Cisco, Texas, in
1919, was in Queenstown in January during the Michael Hill
New Zealand Golf Open at The Hills.
Ronnie is the youngest of Barron Hilton's eight sons.
His brother Richard is the father of celebrities Paris and
Nicky Hilton.
One of his partners in the NZ Open Pro-Am, Greg Turner, told
the ODT he understood "they were looking around" while
in Queenstown, but "they weren't specific".
"I've got my theories," Turner said.
Remarkables Park Ltd director Alastair Porter said if the
Hilton brand did have a presence in Queenstown, "that can
only augur well" for the resort.
"Remarkables Park would be happy to lend any support [we]
could to Kawarau Falls to secure a major hotel."
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