Despite Queenstown experiencing its highest tourism numbers to date, two up market Queenstown lodges are for sale after the company behind them went into receivership.
Evergreen Lodge in Queenstown’s Sunshine Bay, which has a rack rate of $695 per night, and the Remarkables Mountain Lodge were owned by and operated by private company Sleep Overs Ltd which was placed in receivership on February 4.
The sole director and shareholder of the company is Australian Elliot Sgargetta.
The Remarkables Mountain Lodge was originally built as a homestead for Remarkables Station but is now an up market lodge.
Receiver Andrew Hawkes, of KPMG in Christchurch, said he was called in by the financial backers of the company.
The lodges were continuing to trade as they moved towards a sale because the accommodation market in Queenstown was “reasonably strong.”
“We’ve had good interest in the properties,” Hawkes said.
The two properties are being marketed for sale by Bayleys Queenstown in a tender process closing on March 18.
Remarkables Mountain Lodge, near the Jacks Point subdivision, was originally built in the 1930s as the homestead for what was then Remarkables Station. It had since undergone two major refurbishments and upgrades when more rooms were added.
Nightly room rack rates at the seven-bedroom alpine-style lodge range from $345 to $545. Guest amenities include a helicopter pad, separate sauna and spa, outdoor swimming pool, bar, guest lodge, commercial-grade kitchen and dining room. There is a separate two-bedroom owner’s/manager’s residence and two staff bedrooms adjacent to the main kitchen.
The 490sq m Evergreen Lodge, in the central Queenstown suburb of Sunshine Bay, has four guest suites, all with en-suites. Guest amenities include a guest lounge, gymnasium, and sauna, and also an owner’s/manager’s living quarters.
Latest Queenstown data from the Department of Statistics Commercial Accommodation Monitor records guest nights rose 8.2 per cent in December last year, compared to the same month in 2014.
The average length of stay in Queenstown rose, while occupancy rates increased from 69.5 per cent to 75.6 per cent.
In a separate sale the 73-room Tanoa Aspen Hotel and a 6,537sq m parcel of development land, four adjoining residential properties and two strata titled apartments is being offered for sale by Colliers International.
Colliers national director of hotels Dean Humphries said it was one of the few remaining development sites available in Queenstown.
