Sounds resort fetches close to $3.5m

Furneaux Lodge, built as a residence in 1904, was a private holiday home until the 1970s.

Furneaux Lodge resort in the Marlborough Sounds has been sold for close to $3.5 million.

The lodge was sold to Geoffrey and Ralph Faulkner, owners of another Sounds resort, Punga Cove, seller Jacky McManus told the Dominion Post.

Mrs McManus said the price paid was "just under" the $3.5 million asking price.

Furneaux Lodge made headlines in January 1998 with the disappearance of Ben Smart, 21, and Olivia Hope, 17, after they boarded a water taxi following a New Year's Eve celebration at the lodge.

The bodies of the pair have never been found, but Scott Watson was convicted of the murders.

- NZPA