Ski lodge offers elevated view of tourism boom
New Zealand’s highest hotel is for sale. The Skotel Alpine Resort, in the Whakapapa Alpine Village at the base of Mount Ruapehu, sits on Department of Conservation (DOC) leasehold land.
The resort is at an elevation of 1134 metres above sea level.
The sale includes the buildings and business but not the land.
Colliers International brokers Mathew Gibbard and hotels national director Dean Humphries are handling the sale.
The hotel is owned by former Auckland deputy mayor John Strevens, who bought the property 30 years ago. It has been expanded and upgraded a number of times since the first stage was built in the mid-1960s.
In July last year the property’s rateable value was $3.49 million.
But Colliers’ hotel national director, Dean Humphries, said the rateable value was ‘‘totally different’’ from how the real estate agency would price the property.
The Tongariro Park Management Plan effectively bans further expansion of the hotel.
The three-star hotel has 31 hotel rooms, five standalone chalets, and 12 rooms of budget accommodation with 36 beds.
Colliers broker Mathew Gibbard said the resort has a large restaurant and bar, a gymnasium, spas and saunas, games rooms, a ski hire and equipment facility, and 70 car parks.
Humphries said the Skotel is an established, successful alpine business in one New Zealand’s fastest growing tourism regions.
Last winter 120 people were holed up in the lodge when bad weather closed the roads in July. Many stayed on to hit the slopes even after the roads reopened, to take advantage of the snow.
‘‘Tongariro National Park attracts 200,000 visitors each year, making it one of New Zealand’s most popular national parks in both summer and winter,’’ Humphries said. ‘‘Many of these visitors come to complete the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, described as one of the best oneday hikes in New Zealand.’’
The Whakapapa ski field is undergoing major redevelopment, including new chairlift facilities and plans for a gondola in 2020, he said.
‘‘It has recently introduced advanced snow-making facilities that will open the ski season several weeks earlier, with the 2018 season scheduled to open in early June.’’
Humphries said the hotel sits on 10,800 square metres of DOC land, with the most recent 21-year lease expiring in 2027.
‘‘The Skotel is being sold as an established, profitable business together with the existing improvements,’’ he said.
‘‘This high-yielding investment has many potential opportunities, as the region continues to expand in the wake of the tourism boom sweeping the country.’’
Offers close on March 1.
‘‘The Skotel is being sold as an established, profitable business.’’
Dean Humphries, Colliers