Hospitality properties for sale
A trio of waterfront hospitality buildings and businesses at three upper North Island seaside towns are on the market — with the approaching summer a lure for new owners.
The three properties range from what was a fishing club’s headquarters, to a country pub which has been serving beer for more than a century, through to management of a substantial four-star lodge.
All three entities are being individually marketed for sale by Bayleys Real Estate and feature in Bayleys’ latest Total Property portfolio magazine.
In the Far North, the historic Marlin Hotel overlooking Whangaroa Harbour encompasses the accommodation, food and beverage activities associated with a long-standing Kiwi country hotel, as well as a budget backpacker operation.
The land, buildings and Marlin Hotel business, at 576-578 Whangaroa Rd, are being marketed for sale at auction on November 27 through Bayleys Kerikeri. Salespeople Irene Bremner and Anthony van Gessel said the hotel’s fully licensed business operated from an 855sq m two-storey premises on 1265sq m of land.
“To modern customer demands, the Marlin’s food and beverage offerings have been segregated into a breakfast and lunch-focused cafe setting, and the more traditional ‘pub grub’ dining options are served in the evening and for events or functions,” Bremner said.
“Both activities are sustained by the same commercial-grade kitchen, although they are currently seasonally ‘dormant’ as the owners have chosen to concentrate on building up the accommodation side of the business.
“The cafe now has both an indoor and al-fresco seating arrangement, with a cabana overlooking the new deck area. Meanwhile, the licensed restaurant adjacent to the bar hosts up to 38 patrons.”
The main building features seven guest bedrooms on its upper floor, configured into a range of single and king-size beds and a two-bedroom suite. A separate bungalow-style building within the property houses three backpacker-style rooms supported by shared bathroom facilities.
The Marlin Hotel had undergone a comprehensive renovation over the past 12 months to create a familyfriendly dining establishment to replace what was the former pub dining space, says van Gessel.
“Kiwi country pubs have undergone a renaissance over the past decade, with the likes of the Duke of Marlborough in the Bay of Islands, the Theatre Royal in Kumara on the West Coast of the South Island, and the legendary Whangamomona Hotel in the Central North Island spearheading the trend and all becoming tourist destinations in their own rights. With the right marketing, Whangaroa could be among that echelon,” van Gessel said.
“From the outside, the Marlin Hotel looks as gracious and imposing as it did at the turn of the last century when it was first built. But the interior now reflects an inviting and modern atmosphere ready for ‘turn-key’ operation in time for summer.”
Whangaroa is the harbourside departure and arrival point for big game fishing boats heading out to the Cavalli Islands and Great Exhibition Bay to the north, just below Cape Reinga.
It is also a base for tourists visiting Karikari Peninsula and Matauri Bay and Tauranga Bay.
Meanwhile, on the Coromandel
Peninsula, the management rights to one of the biggest commercial accommodation providers of its type in the area — Admirals Lodge at 71 Buffalo Beach Rd — are being jointly marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Hamilton and Bayleys Whitianga, with the tender process closing on December 5.
Salespeople Josh Smith and Belinda Sammons said the lodge’s 18 rooms were configured in a combination of studio and one-bedroom units, each with its own self-contained cooking amenities and overlooking an inground swimming pool. The lodge’s predominantly rectangular structure directly faces Buffalo Beach across the road.
Smith said nightly rack rates at Admiralty Lodge ranged upwards of $250, reflecting the venue’s four-star Qualmark rating.
The management rights business for sale includes a unit-titled twobedroom owner/manager’s residence and adjacent staff kitchen and office space.
“The property trades without food and beverage operations on site, allowing the managers to concentrate purely on the marketing and provision of accommodation services,” Smith said. “The restaurants and cafes of Whitianga are literally just 2km away.
“Through the introduction of numerous musical, arts and cultural concerts and festivals, Whitianga has expanded its visitor appeal from being purely a summer seaside town to being year-round destination.
“Occupancy rates at Admiralty Lodge have benefited from this increas- ed tourism
traffic to
Whitianga, and being at the upper echelon of accommodation providers in town has enabled the lodge to outperform the general motel sector.”
Smith said the Admiralty Lodge’s management rights business was being sold with a solid inventory of bookings in place well into 2020, and a detailed calendar of marketing activities planned for the lodge.
Rounding out the trio of waterfront hospitality venues for sale, the land and buildings which housed the Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club, at 11 Tui Tce, in Tairua, on the Coromandel, are also being jointly marketed for sale at auction on November 28 through Bayleys Hamilton and Bayleys Whitianga. Salespeople Smith and Sammons
said the building and its combined floor area of 298sq m sits on 780sq m of land directly across the road from Tairua wharf.
“With a booming membership of more than 550 keen anglers, the Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club has outgrown its current premises — so the land and buildings are being sold with vacant possession,” Smith said.
“There is the potential, subject of course to council consent, to exercise ‘existing use’ rights for the location to take advantage of its apex waterfront location close to the centre of town, in addition to car parking for some 12 vehicles.
“The hospitality and food and beverage services infrastructure within the club are included in the sale, including the commercial grade kitchen, bar facilities and bathrooms.”
The venue’s car park flows seamlessly into the adjacent ThamesCoromandel District Council-owned car park utilised by passengers sailing on the Tairua ferry.
“There has been a synergy between both car parks and the fishing club’s committee is hopeful this could continue. Such an evolution would of course support the establishment of a bar and restaurant, which could draw on ferry passengers as potential clientele,” Smith said.
“Upstairs, the premises consists of an open plan layout looking directly out on to the harbour, in a Lockwood home-style decor. At ground-level there is covered parking and storage space, which, with appropriate approvals, could conceivably be converted into additional seating for a hospitality business. There is also the opportunity to convert the property to a bach as it is residentially-zoned with commercial use rights.”