The Bealey Hotel, a historic coach stop on the road to the West Coast since the 1860s, has shut the doors.
Debbie and Marshall Deaker, who have leased the premises for the past 10 and a half years, have decided to call it quits and will leave next month.
Mrs Deaker said the Bealey had effectively closed already.
Although the current hotel was only built in the 1980s, after a gap of 20 years since the previous one burned down, it continued a tradition dating back to the goldrush days.
It includes motel units, cabins, a lodge, and bar and restaurant and was built 30 years ago by Irishman the late Paddy Freaney, who courted international media at the time with his claims of having sighted moa in the nearby bush.
The current hotel sits on the opposite side of the highway to the historic Bealey Hotel, the last incarnation of which burned down in 1963.
Mrs Deaker said the owners for the past five years, an Auckland family, were now doing overdue maintenance on the buildings, and were apparently aiming to reopen it as a luxury lodge.
"It's been really wonderful to find as the years have gone by we have had many regulars. Although we are a hotel in the middle of nowhere we would have upwards of 500 people who would call in on a regular basis, so that's been really lovely."
Mrs Deaker could not comment on the timeframe for the redevelopment.
"What's actually going to happen ... hopefully it will be amazing when it re-pens."
The Bealey Hotel was "iconic" in Canterbury and well known internationally, she said.
As a luxury lodge, though, its traditional role as a road house for travellers caught out by the winter weather would end.
"It's a wonderful place. I really hope that it is still catering for the average New Zealander and the average tourist."
- Brendon McMahon
