Prominent New Zealand hotel brand Sudima Hotels is making a significant investment in the Queenstown tourism market with a new hotel planned for the Five Mile Town Centre.

The 4.5-star hotel, set to open in the 2021-22 summer season, will operate as Sudima Queenstown and addsto Sudima Hotels’ current portfolio of four hotels including Auckland Airport, Rotorua, Christchurch City and Christchurch Airport. Two more developments are in the pipeline for Auckland City and Kaikōura.

The hotel property is owned by Clearmont Group, the developer behind the Five Mile retail and business centre.

Director Craig Greenwood says that after over four years in the planning the group is delighted construction is now underway on the signature four-storey Armadillo shaped building which will complete the entrance to the Five Mile centre.

“In choosing a hotel operator we felt we needed a brand which delivered a quality experience at an affordable price and we believe Sudima Hotels fulfils these brand values,” says Craig. “The hotel will also have a conference centre, meeting a need identified by our business customers, and there will be a further 2700m2 of retail on the ground floor.”

The building has been designed by Queenstown’s JCY Architects director Richard Chambers and his team and is inspired by the topography of Queenstown’s surrounding mountains.

“The building will complete the retail loop of the centre with a lobby on the ground floor accessing the hotel above,” says Richard. “The palette of materials developed from previous buildings on the site includes weathering steel, warm timber-like tones on the upper levels and board-marked concrete panels with timber soffits.”

Naylor Love is spearheading the construction and regional manager Greg Boland says they have a long association with Five Mile having worked with the developers from the outset.

“The design team has put a lot of time into making sure that the new hotel ties in with the look and feel of the rest of the development, and we’re looking forward to delivering a stunning building that fulfils their vision.”

Fast Facts

• Sudima Queenstown at Five Mile is close to Queenstown Airport, major ski fields and main routes north and south.
• The hotel will feature 120 guest rooms (king, twin and family), a restaurant and bar with alfresco dining, four meeting and conference rooms and ski storage.
• The décor will have natural finishes throughout to complement the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
• Sudima Hotels is an award-winning leader in the New Zealand accommodation and hospitality sector. In 2019 the company won three New Zealand Tourism Awards, including the Supreme Tourism Award.