Coherent Hotel Ltd has lodged consent with the Queenstown Lakes District Council for the 89-room hotel across nine titles adjoining the Kamana Lakehouse, previously known as the Aspen Hotel, which it also owns.
The resource consent application — which the developer has asked to be publicly notified — said the planned hotel was consistent with the council’s tourism goals of ‘‘moving towards the high-quality/longer-stay experiences’’.
‘‘The hotel will make a significant and long-term contribution towards training and employment in the visitor industry.
‘‘Staffing levels will be close to 1:1 at the proposed hotel, requiring at least 90 staff.’’
The total land area, which would front Richards Park Lane and Aspen Grove, was just over 11,200sq m.
A series of interconnected buildings would house 82 suites, each with 52sq m floor area and a 15sq m deck, six king suites, with floor areas of 132sq m and 45sq m decks, and one presidential suite.
That would have a floor area of 348sq m and a 145sq m deck, three car parks, and a private entrance from Richards Park Lane, with a stone wall along the boundary and a security gate.
Each of the groups of suites would have a rooftop garden — which would not be accessible — to provide some green space and relief for neighbouring properties.
King suites would have ‘‘gable roof features that nod towards the hill-top village concept and provide architectural relief’’.
The development, on a sloping site, would breach the height limits in places and the total building footprint was 74.1% of coverage, which exceeded the limits of between 40% and 45%.
However, because the design included the roof gardens — which ‘‘meaningfully contribute to the visible open space’’ and would occupy 3383sq m of the buildings’ visible surface — the developer said building coverage was actually 39%.
The accommodation wings were planned to the west and east of a ‘‘central core’’.
It would house a ‘‘dramatic double-height’’ hotel reception and lobby, a lounge bar and outdoor terrace with a wrap-around ‘‘reflection pool’’, a business centre and function room, a specialty dining area for about 66 people, an all-day dining area for about 100, and capacity for another 50 to dine on a wrap-around terrace.
Also planned were an indoor pool, gym, hot tubs, indoor and outdoor terraces and a fire pit.
The proposal included a 91-space underground car park, almost three times the number of parks required under the district plan.
