Locals convened at a public meeting to discuss the possibilities of a floating hotel on the Oamaru waterfront.
Oamaru Licensing Trust’s general manager Cathy Maaka and Stufkens & Chambers architect Steven Chambers informed the 80 attendees of the hotel’s plans. The locals quizzed the two about the project for most of the evening. Chambers explained the hotel will be located in the best place possible on the harbour so as to avoid as much environmental and animal life as possible.
Yet-to-be-named – and with no developer announced – the four-and-a-half-star hotel will be hosted on a floating moor. It will host 25 rooms across three floors.
The harbour is listed by Heritage New Zealand, and so locals are accordingly concerned that the hotel will undermine the heritage status.
At the meeting, the hotel expressed it does not intend to bring a restaurant to the space to avoid competing with other local eateries.
