An Australian developer wants to spend more than $60 million on a new hotel at the entrance to Queenstown.
Pro-invest Group lodged plans with the local council for an eye-catching 227-room Holiday Inn Express, which would breathe new life into a prominent plot on the corner of Stanley, Sydney and Melbourne Streets.
It would replace the Bungi Backpackers and cover an adjoining section next to the Millennium Hotel, helping to ease the resort's shortage of visitor accommodation.
But the development would be sad news for some local people who remember the backpacker hostel as the town's former maternity hospital.
The hotel would accommodate up to 450 guests in two wings of three and four levels.
To avoid traffic pressure on the Stanley St entrance to town, and on Melbourne St, which may become part of a CBD bypass, the hotel's entrance would be off Sydney St.
There would also be underground parking off Melbourne St.
It would be Pro-Invest's first Holiday Inn Express hotel in New Zealand.
The Holiday Inn Express brand is used by more than 2400 hotels worldwide.
Pro-invest Group's development boss Tim Sherlock said: "We are committed to developing a high-quality Holiday Inn Express hotel that will be a landmark building at the gateway to Queenstown."
Uniquely, the 'select-service' brand would not have full-scale food and beverage facilities.
"You ask anyone who goes to Queenstown what the food was like in the hotel and they'd say 'the breakfast was alright, but for everything else I ate out'," Mr Sherlock said.
"Why would you sit in your room when you've got Botswana Butchery, The Bunker, all these beautiful restaurants?
"We don't build those elements because ultimately people don't use them, and therefore we can be more competitive on the rate."
As a result, only about 15 staff are needed, most of whom would be accommodated on-site.
However the four-star hotel would still have a fitness centre, laundry facilities and function room.
There would also be free breakfast, grab-and-go food and Wi-Fi.
Local architect Preston Stevens, of McAuliffe Stevens, said his design reflected the hotel's immediate urban environment and wider natural landscape.
He called it "a kinetic interplay of ice and rock".
Mr Sherlock said he liked the way the Stanley and Melbourne St facades were broken up.
It was understood Pro-invest Group paid $12m last year for the 5615 square metre site, which was formerly two separate properties.
The vendor, Dunedin-based Three Beaches Ltd, originally owned the Bungi Backpackers site.
In 2015, it then bought the neighbouring villa of the late Dr Bill and Molly Anderson, which had since been demolished.
Mr Sherlock says that, subject to resource consent, he hoped construction, which would employ more than 750 workers – would start late this year.
The hotel would then open for business either late next year or early to mid 2019.
It would be Pro-invest Group's seventh Holiday Inn Express – the other six, under varying stages of development, were in Australia.
Mr Sherlock was also close to buying an Auckland CBD site.
His group's proposed local hotel is being welcomed by advocacy body Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) and Destination Queenstown (DQ).
TIA boss Chris Roberts said: "It's well recognised that there is a need for new hotels to meet the tourism growth forecasts for Queenstown."
DQ boss Graham Budd said his marketing body supported the hotel.
"It is positive to see continued investment in Queenstown and we welcome the addition of new hotel capacity."
Holiday Inn Express brand is operated by InterContinental Hotels Group, which also manages Queenstown's Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels. Pro-invest will operate the Queenstown hotel under Pro-invest Hotels Group.
- by Philip Chandler
