Queenstown Hilton to open ... somewhere

The Hilton hotel group has confirmed it is looking to open a Queenstown hotel but will not confirm exactly where it will be.

Hilton's corporate communications manager Australasia, Charlotte Seymour, said last week that the group was negotiating opening a Hilton in Queenstown and staff were being sought for senior roles.

"We realise Queenstown is the premier tourist destination in New Zealand, and we see it as a key destination for a property, but can neither confirm nor deny an actual location,"

The Hilton group was not the only major hotel group keen to expand into Queenstown, Ms Seymour said.

"We're one of several operators who are looking at the site, but part of what we do when we are looking at potentially opening a hotel is seeing what staff would be available to go there," she said.

Hotel Council Queenstown chairman John McIlwain said the possibility of a Hilton opening in Queenstown would be a welcome addition to the hotel industry.

"They are a world-renowned operator," he said.

Although the Hilton group would give no indication on where it was planning to open, a site in the Kawarau Falls development site was a strong possibility, Mr McIlwain said. "They could be considering a number of sites around town, but the Kawarau Falls site would be the obvious choice because it is one they could quite easily walk into."

If any announcement was to be made confirming a Hilton hotel would be opening in Queenstown, it would be within the next next month, Ms Seymour said.

Stage one of the Kawarau Falls Development is near completion.

Melview (Kawarau Falls Station) Investments and Melview (Kawarau Falls Station) Development, the companies behind stage one of the development, were placed into receivership in May last year after defaulting on payments to Bank of Scotland International.

Receivers of the project, KordaMentha could not be contacted for comment on the possibilities of the hotel site yesterday.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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