Eichardt's Private Hotel is right on the lakefront in Queenstown.
Eichardt's Private Hotel is right on the lakefront in Queenstown.
The owners of a soon-to-be-built Queenstown penthouse are already claiming the title of New Zealand's most expensive hotel suite, with a price tag of $10,000 a night.
But it pales in comparison to the world's priciest luxury accommodation, the royal penthouse suite at Geneva's Hotel President Wilson, where a single night will set you back $82,879.
The ritzy 240sq m Queenstown digs feature in an expansion of Eichardt's Private Hotel, taking the top floor and two lakefront apartments of a $6 million development set to open early next year.
The Royal Suite at the Langham in Auckland and the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva.
The pricey penthouse will feature a commercial-grade kitchen, ensuites, a 100sq m balcony, a sauna, spa and powder-room.
Eichardt's Private Hotel is owned by Christchurch-born multimillionaire Andrew Cox, of the Imperium Group, who also owns Queenstown's Spire Hotel, plus bars, restaurants and other businesses in Australia and NZ.
He said the penthouse would appeal to only a small group of elite guests.
With the opening of a jet terminal in Queenstown last year, Mr Cox said the hotel's guests would be able to fly in and out with relative anonymity, and packages could be tailored to meet their needs "whether that be heli-skiing on untouched powder or the latest beauty treatment taken in their private quarters".
The organisation responsible for marketing New Zealand as a tourist destination says the biggest growth opportunities exist among the top 10 per cent of the world's wealthy - those with liquid assets of $7 million to $40 million-plus.
Such travellers could spend $50,000 per visit to New Zealand, with some capable of spending $100,000 or more.
Hotel President Wilson in Geneva.
Target markets for the super rich tourists were the US, Japan, Australia, Britain, Germany and France.
Another Queenstown hotel, The Rees, offers a penthouse apartment from $950 to $1450 per night.
And when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and baby Prince George visited last year, they stayed at Wharekauhau Lodge in Palliser Bay, where the most expensive accommodation costs $5590 each a night, with a minimum three-night stay.
Pricey suites
Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown Penthouse suite (due for completion early 2016): $10,000/night
Huka Lodge, Taupo Owners Cottage: Up to $5313 per person, per night. Guests: The Queen, Bill Gates, Muiccia Prada, Joan Collins, Sir Edmund Hillary.
The Langham, Auckland Royal Suite: $2420 per night Guests: Rolling Stones
Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland The Royal Penthouse Suite: $82,879.25 per night Guests: Rihanna and Bill Clinton.
