The Scenic Te Pania Hotel has announced it will be unable to take bookings until February 28, 2021. Photo / Supplied
The Scenic Te Pania Hotel has announced it will be unable to take bookings until February 28, 2021. Photo / Supplied
One of Napier's most recognisable hotels has closed its doors until late February, following significant damage caused by November's deluge.
The Scenic Te Pania Hotel announced it will be unable to take bookings until February 28, 2021 – missing the opportunity to host guests during the Art Deco Festival.
The Marine Pde hotel, which has 109 rooms, suffered damage to the ground floor public area and the lift wells.
The widespread flooding caused nearly 600 properties in Napier to be officially classed as flood-damaged after more than 237mm of rainfall was recorded in the city in 24 hours – making it Napier's second-wettest day on record.
Scenic Hotel Group managing director Brendan Taylor said the temporary closure is "seriously disappointing", but all existing staff will be retained.
"It comes on top of an already challenging year, but will once again demonstrate the resilience of our people and industry to pick themselves back up again and get on with business," he said.
"We were anticipating the hotel would be working close to capacity over summer, so this has obviously made a major impact."
Taylor added: "Napier and Hawke's Bay are top-rated destinations for Kiwis, and with the curtailment of international travel this year, the region was proving even more popular."
He also said there is still no indication of the total cost of the remedial work.
Hawke's Bay Tourism chief executive Hamish Saxton said the closure is "hugely disappointing" for the hotel and visitors.
"Scenic Te Pania Hotel is an asset to the region and we look forward to seeing it back in action as soon as they are able," he said.
"In a year of extraordinary challenges this is yet another one for our resilient visitor economy to overcome."
Taylor said the hotel will be "pulling out all of the stops" to enable contractors to work on the property, as well as looking at options to accommodate guests who had previously booked.
