Construction has started on Wellington's first major new four-star hotel in more than a decade, with work beginning on the $65 million Holiday Inn.
Thursday, November 18th 2004, 8:05PM
by The Landlord
The 17-storey, 238-room hotel will be on a long-vacant site on the corner of Featherston and Whitmore streets, and is expected to be open for business in mid-2006. The top three floors of the building will contain 25 privately owned apartments.
Work on the hotel was expected to start earlier this year but developer Nigel McKenna of Melview Developments said such a big project took time. "It takes a significant amount of investment and commitment but we said we would do it and we'll deliver."
The timing was now right for the hotel, which had been on the drawing boards since 2001.
"Indicators including overseas visitor figures, domestic tourism and rising Wellington occupancy rates, driven by things such as the stadium and the festival of the arts, suggest the hotel will meet with strong demand," Mr McKenna said.
