Sudima hotel in prime spot for conventions
Sudima Hotels owner Sudesh Jhunjhnuwala has announced a new $65 million hotel for central Auckland – opposite SkyCity Entertainment Group’s hotel and planned convention centre.
He said the resource consent was expected to be signed off in about three weeks and because it complied with planning rules there had not been any issues.
SkyCity had sent him con- gratulations, welcoming him to the neighbourhood, he said.
‘‘They are very happy because they need more hotel rooms for convention centre guests.’’
Jhunjhnuwala said the hotel, located on the corner of Nelson and Wellesley streets, would have a 4 rating. ‘‘At current rates that’s a price in the order of $250 to $300 a night but will depend on demand.’’
Sudima has four hotels operating in New Zealand, with three more at either the planning or construction stage.
‘‘We don’t want to take on more development work just at the moment because it is quite intensive. We’d rather complete the ones we have under way,’’ Jhunjhnuwala said.
‘‘But I am keen on expanding in future into other centres such as Queenstown, Wellington, the [Pacific] Islands, and Australia.’’
Construction of the Auckland hotel would begin after demolition of a building on the site and would be completed in the summer of 2019-20.
Jhunjhnuwala said most of Sudima’s guests were Kiwis, followed by Australians. But the global tourism boom meant there would be a continuing influx of overseas visitors, he said.
The hotel will have 180 to 200 rooms depending on the final design. It will include a gym, a rooftop bar, and a separate restaurant and bar.
The other two Sudima hotels in development include a $30m hotel in Kaikoura, and a $50m one in central Christchurch.