A ‘blank canvas’ tourism opportunity
A Waikato resort is seeking a new owner to kick-start its potential as a major rural tourism venture.
Lakeside Spa and Resort in Karapiro is a fully self-contained, large-scale accommodation provider and function venue, spread over 35.44 hectares of rural farmland next to Lake Karapiro, south of Cambridge.
The complex includes 45 onebedroom chalets of about 59 square metres each.
It features a conference centre, a health and fitness centre, a heated swimming pool, spa suites, hydrotherapy and beauty treatment rooms, saunas and a steam room.
A one-bedroom manager’s apartment could be converted into a hospitality space overlooking the pool. There is also a five-bedroom staff residence next to the lodge.
The land and buildings, at 987-1002 Tirau Rd, are being jointly marketed for sale by private treaty through Bayleys Auckland and Bayleys Hamilton. The deadline for offers closes on April 12.
Bayleys Auckland tourism and hospitality sales specialist Carolyn Hanson said the current owner purchased the property about four years ago and extensively landscaped the site.
The property’s assets were maintained but in an unused state over the intervening years.
A live-in property manager kept it in pristine condition ready for occupation, Hanson said.
Bayleys’ tourism sales director, Nick Thompson, said Lakeside Spa and Resort was a turnkey operation ready-made for a new owner or operator to open it to the public for the first time.
‘‘It really is a blank canvas opportunity, which can be completed to the tastes and budget of any style … Under the present configuration, the business would easily qualify for a five-star accommodation-standard rating.’’
Thompson said the property also included 20.35ha of neighbouring, separately-titled grazing grassland, in six fenced paddocks and leased as a finishing block irrigated by its own water bore. It would be suitable for activities such as clay-bird shooting, golf, archery, petanque or even drone racing.
A hill next to the property could be landscaped for mountain biking or for a walking track.