Stony River hotel for sale
Taranaki’s beloved Austrian couple are moving on from the spot on the coast they called home for six years and starting a new chapter.
Renate and Heimo Staudinger have put the Stony River Boutique Hotel on the market and say they will be handing over a Taranaki icon.
‘‘We’ve achieved a lot and it’s time to move on. We’re close to 60 and this job is 24/7 for us,’’ Renate said. ‘‘We can be really proud of what we’ve done.’’
The business is listed with Bruce Woodhead from Harcourts Taranaki for $350,000 plus GST (if any), the advertisement states.
For Heimo it was full-on in the kitchen so he has taken a career change as a unit manager at a conference centre in Palmerston North.
Eventually, the couple plan to both move there, or Whanganui.
But Renate doesn’t rule out a move back to Taranaki as they’ve made a lot of friends here and don’t want to move too far away.
‘‘I will miss Taranaki but you never know, we may come back. Our heart is here and when we see the mountain we know we are home.’’
The pair hoped locals would take the business over as customers had told them they wanted it to stay like it is.
Renate said it was a great opportunity and the buyer didn’t require a hospitality background.
The bookings are full, the hotel has been rated with excellence on TripAdvisor for the last five years, and there is plenty of space to hold events like the Staudingers did with Stony River’s Christmas markets, harvest festival, and schnitzel nights.
‘‘We’ve tried really hard in the last year to get it to a point where the team works on its own without us so someone can just come in and take it over.’’
Renate and Heimo moved into the hotel in 2013 and started the restaurant in 2014.
The Staudingers have become known for their quirkiness, hospitality, and great food.
‘‘People know us as a place to get a good feed and good laughter,’’ Renate said.