Holiday town hotel looking for new owners
Mangakino Hotel, its accommodation business and 4059 square metres of freehold land are on the market for less than $1 million.
Real estate agent Christine Stevens said that although the house bar was closed, the accommodation facilities were operating, and there were opportunities to develop the hotel further.
The property, five minutes from Lake Maraetai, offers a raft of social, sporting and hobby activities.
The hotel, restaurant and accommodation block have been renovated to attract private functions, weddings, conferences, meetings and exhibitions.
The hotel includes a large restaurant and lounge area, and nine twin, double, triple and family guest rooms.
A large partially-covered outdoor garden bar links to the house bar, which, Stevens said, ‘‘just needs someone to kick it back into life’’. Its current alcohol licence runs to 2018.
There is also a former bottle store attached to the hotel.
Mangakino was built during the 1940s as a settlement to house dam and power station workers.
‘‘Many folks from all around New Zealand have discovered Mangakino, buying up many of the affordable former Ministry of Works two-bedroom cottages. There are new buildings, relocatables and developments taking place,’’ Stevens said.
Mangakino has a permanent population of less than 1000 people but that’s increasing as people move into the district.
‘‘There’s everything you need here for the quintessential Kiwi holiday,’’ Kirsty Trueman, Taupo District councillor representing the Mangakino-Pouakani Ward, said.
‘‘People who own baches are retiring to the town, and there’s been a steady increase of people buying holiday homes over the last 10 years.
‘‘People are also selling up in the bigger cities and moving here where they can buy an affordable freehold property in a central location.’’
They are commuting to work in Taupo, Rotorua and Tokoroa, each less than an hour’s drive away.
‘‘The number of new builds [in Mangakino] has been increasing over the last few years but the majority of people are renovating existing homes or baches.’’
There has been a noticeable increase in demand for hotel and motel accommodation, particularly since the opening of the 13 kilometre Mangakino River Trail, a section of the New Zealand Cycle Trail, she said.
The Taniwha, an annual event with biking and walking categories on the river trail, draws hundreds to the area.
Nearby Pouakani, New Zealand’s largest totara, also attracts many visitors.
‘‘People lived here for generations, and so many people who worked on the dams come back to see the place and stay a few days,’’ Trueman said.
The town has an area school, police, fire brigade and ambulance services.