The views at Eichardt's Private Hotel are spectacular. Photo / Supplied
The views at Eichardt's Private Hotel are spectacular. Photo / Supplied
The super-rich are booking in for a $10,000 a night stay in Queenstown's just opened lakefront penthouse.
The 240sq m suite at Eichardt's Private Hotel welcomed its first guest, from New York, last night. Atop a modern development beside the landmark historic hotel, the penthouse boasts free-flowing champagne, a private chef, a driver, and a butler on call 24/7. Throw in the unimpeded view looking straight down Lake Wakatipu from a vast deck with spa, fireplace and an outdoor kitchen.
Last weekend millionaire hotel owner Andrew Cox partied on high, letting off fireworks to mark the project's completion.
When the development was first announced, tourist bosses said there was a demand for such high-end accommodation in the resort town.
Cox told the Herald that while ongoing occupancy rates were "the sixty four thousand dollar question," early bookings were exciting. Even before opening, 30 bookings had been made, with interest coming mostly from North Americans, but also very wealthy Australians and Europeans.
"We're blessed with having a very unique location."
Cox says Auckland is next in his sights for an expansion to his Imperium Collection of properties.
"We've been actively working on that for about the last 18 months." A waterfront location would be a must. The businessman, originally from Christchurch, but long resident in Melbourne, where his wide-ranging interests include a controlling stake in the Rebels Super rugby side, said he hoped to get something under way in Auckland within two years.
"Ultra-high net worth individuals" - who he said already arrived in New Zealand by private jet, luxury yacht or just first class flights - were well served in the countryside by our world-recognised retreats. "But there is an opportunity in the market for that type of visitor to want to have that luxury lodge experience, in an urban or CBD market."
Millionaire hotel owner Andrew Cox. Photo / Supplied
A suite in a top Auckland hotel - especially configured for wealthy guests - can reach penthouse-like prices, but Cox maintains the super-rich customer typically enjoys a more bespoke, boutique experience than even the best hotel chains can provide.
"They define how they want to be treated and served by the staff." Often guests wanted to talk and to be called by their first name, not Mr ...
Eichardt's guests typically stayed 3-5 nights rather than the standard 1-2 in most hotels, Cox said. Some were happy just to chill, others booked helicopters for sight-seeing across the Milford Sound and up the West Coast.
"Queenstown's got everything you can want in a resort, it's very international, it's easy to get to, just two hours and 20 minutes from Melbourne now.
"You can do so much and you can do so little. Ultimately you can find your own pace there."
He rejects any suggestion the destination is being priced out of the range of local tourists. "It's cheaper to eat out in Queenstown than the main cities."
Being a year round resort allowed for a competitive market, catering for everyone from backpackers to the wealthy tourists he is targeting. The town's growth issues, including traffic build-up and land release for more housing could be managed.
"The biggest challenge is we don't lose the uniqueness of the resort by having the bars and the noise from the bars go all night."
Cox would also like to see a more overt police presence in Queenstown, especially in the evenings, "to keep it nice and refined."
