$11.5million expansion at Queenstown hotel

Media Release from Novotel Gardens Queenstown
March 15 2007

$11.5million expansion at Queenstown’s largest hotel six weeks ahead of schedule

An $11.5 million expansion at Novotel Gardens Queenstown is running six weeks ahead of schedule, General Manager Carl Braddock said today (March 15).

Contractors this week started work on Stage Two of the project, originally scheduled to start on May 1. A new crew was employed to do the work, bringing the total number of contractors on site to around 60.

Using a 55-tonne crane they removed distinctive green trellising from the outside of a hotel wing facing Horne Creek, before erecting scaffolding to start adding a complete new floor to the wing.

The staged development, which started in October 2006, will see 69 rooms added to the property by Jan 2008 and will include major renovations to the hotel’s restaurant, bar and public areas.

When the project is completed, the hotel will have 274 rooms catering for up to 548 guests, a 34% increase in potential guest numbers.

“It will make us by far the biggest hotel in Queenstown,” said Mr Braddock.

“It is fantastic news to be so far ahead of schedule at this stage, and is a credit to project management company Carson Group and works contractor Rilean Construction.

“The official ‘launch’ date for the expansion is January 1 2008, and it’s critical to be so far ahead at this stage in order to give no disruption to the summer 2008 season.”

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