Touch of the Med takes shape

The new 120-room Trinity Wharf hotel on the harbour in downtown Tauranga will be operating by September and employ more than 30 people.
Mirvac Hotels and Resorts, Australia's third largest hotel operator, will be managing the $30 million complex on Dive Crescent under its Sebel brand.
As well as hotel rooms, there are 15 individually-owned luxury apartments which can be added to the accommodation pool.
Part of the Mediterranean-styled hotel and apartment complex is being built on three piers jutting out in to the harbour next to Mission Cemetery and the harbour bridge.
Developers Geoff and Shelley Payne of Civenco Construction are aiming to have the building completed by the end of August. But it's been a long haul.
"We are making good progress; there's a lot more going on than you can visibly see from the street," said Mr Payne. "But it hasn't been easy getting all the resources. There's huge pressure on the sub-trades, creating a shortage of skilled trades people right across the board."
The roof will go on the restaurant, sitting on one of the piers, next month and work on the remainder of the roofing will start in mid-April.
Mr Payne said the project was like building a railway station - "you start at one end and then work your way back, finishing off as you go."
The Sebel Trinity Wharf will have a bar and restaurant, gymnasiums, swimming pool, undercover parking, a pontoon mooring for product launches and special events, and conference facilities for 250 people.
It will be the first internationally- branded hotel in the Western Bay and will particularly chase corporate business. It is also Mirvac's third New Zealand hotel, after The Sebel Suites and Quay West Suites in Auckland.
Janet McBain, Mirvac's New Zealand general manager, earlier told the Bay of Plenty Times that Trinity Wharf complemented the two Auckland hotels, and the company had been looking to expand in this country.
Because Trinity Wharf sits over the water, it fits in nicely with Mirvac's product in Australia. Mirvac manages 29 hotels and resorts there, and was last year named the best accommodation chain in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific at the HM Travel Industry awards.
Its Sea Temple Resort and Spa in north Queensland was named the best new hotel in the same awards.
The Sebel Trinity Wharf will be followed by the 146-room Novotel Hotel which will be built in Durham St and is expected to open by the middle of next year.
Finally, visitors to Tauranga will be spoiled for choice - they will be able to taste the style of four hotels, including the established Hotel Armitage, and Hotel on Devonport which has now been operating just over two years.