NEW HOTEL OPENS AT CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT

Christchurch Airport’s new NZ$80 million Novotel hotel officially welcomed its first guests last night with a special charity event.

The 4.5 star hotel opens to the public today, but more than 100 people enjoyed a sneak preview of the hotel on Sunday night, as part of a charity fundraiser for Christchurch teenager, Maddie Collins, who suffers from kidney disorder, Nephrotic Syndrome.

All 200 premium rooms at the new hotel were handed over to Maddie and her mum, Sarah, to sell, helping them raise more than NZ$20,000 for their mission to make New Zealand one of the top donor countries in the world.

The hotel itself, which is said to offer one of the best view points of the Southern Alps in Canterbury, is described as a significant new addition to Christchurch’s accommodation sector by ChristchurchNZ chief executive, Joanna Norris.

“This is a beautiful and stunningly located property,” she said. “The rooms and conferences spaces are of an exceptional standard and the location enables leisure, conference and business visitors to Christchurch to move seamlessly from their flights directly to their hotel.

“This property complements a strong offering of hotel accommodation in Christchurch at a time when the city continues to experience significant growth in visitor numbers as more and more people explore the beauty of our city and region.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson, who said it was great to see the opening of the Novotel at the airport this week.

She noted: “The Novotel brand has a long tradition of being a welcoming mainstay in Ōtautahi Christchurch for visitors.

“With visitors numbers on the rise for our city and region, together with our Te Pae Convention Centre scheduled to open in 2020, this wonderful new hotel is a great addition to our accommodation sector.”