The new owners of the historic Cardrona Hotel have no intentions of ''spoiling'' its character. James Jenneson and Cade Thornton moved from Christchurch to take over the hotel, which has been under their management since Friday.
Mr Jenneson, formerly an optometrist, said it was the first time he and Mr Thornton had been involved in hospitality management.
The friends were on a road trip when they decided upon a career change.
''When we started this journey, if someone told us we'd be the owners of the most famous hotel in New Zealand, we'd have laughed heartily at the thought of it, but here we are,'' Mr Thornton said.
''We feel pretty privileged to be at the helm of something so historic and we have every intention of building on what already exists, rather than making dramatic changes,'' he said.
Mr Thornton's background was in renovation, which would be useful in getting the hotel, established in 1863, to the standard they wanted, Mr Jenneson said.
The business partners had been looking to buy the Cardrona Hotel for ''quite a long time'', he said.
Extensive research was followed by almost a year of due diligence.
''It's just a fantastic area and a unique opportunity.
''We plan to improve a few things, but obviously it's been here for 150 years so we don't want to be changing too much, or spoiling anything that's here,'' Mr Jenneson said.
He did not disclose the purchase price.
