Latest news with #CardronaHotel
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Keen interest in historic Cardrona Hotel
The Cardrona Hotel is for sale. Photo: ODT Files With more than 90,000 views on Trade Me, the Cardrona Hotel is topping the property charts after its listing on July 3. Nestled between Wānaka and Queenstown, the building has been standing proudly on the Crown Range Rd for over 160 years and has had 11 owners since its early beginnings. The pub's owners — Cade and Alexis Thornton and James and Fleur Jenneson — have owned the historic establishment since 2013. They have described the chance to buy it as a "once-in-a lifetime opportunity". Trade Me property spokesperson Casey Wylde said the property had over 92,000 views and counting. "The iconic property has clearly had a lot of Kiwi dreaming about a lifestyle change," she said. "It's really no surprise this landmark of the South Island has been so popular." She added the average asking price in the Wānaka district for residential properties was $1,629,000, and given the high interest in the hotel, it was likely to fetch much more than that. The complex includes a bar and restaurant, 17 ensuite hotel rooms, a beer garden, a children's play area, a modern workshop, a retail gift shop, and car parking. Based on the average number of views, Ms Wylde said the property was set to take out the top spot in the coming week. The deadline for sale is August 15. Mr and Ms Thorton published a statement on the hotel's Facebook page expressing their gratitude to the community and explaining it was time for them to focus on their family. "The time is right for us to pass on the baton to new owners," the couple said in the statement. "Our children are both excited about the prospect of having their dad around more." It did not take long for the comment section to flood with words of encouragement from members of the community, staff, and friends. The destination hotel has offered much more than accommodation with past visitors sharing their happy wedding memories in Cardrona. The owners also clarified in the statement that the hotel was still operating as per usual with no changes being made to any future reservations already made.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Iconic heritage-listed Cardrona Hotel goes on the market
Heritage-listed Cardrona Hotel is going on the market. Photo: Supplied to RNZ One of the country's most photographed pubs - and a fixture of the Central Otago landscape - is going on the market. Expressions of interest open on Friday for the 162-year-old, heritage-listed Cardrona Hotel. Cade Thornton, who has owned the pub with his partner Alexis and James and Fleur Jenneson since 2013, said the decision to sell was indescribably difficult. The group decided it was time to step back and focus on their young families, he said. "It's just such a friendly, happy place. It's a great environment to work and to be the custodian, the captain of that, is tremendously rewarding, and to see the place change in our time. It's defined my life, really." The hotel on the Crown Range Road between Wānaka and Queenstown included a restaurant, year-round beer garden, and 17 ensuite hotel rooms sleeping up to 44 guests. Its facade dated back to a now-vanished gold rush town that thrived in the 1860s, when Cardrona was a bustling settlement supporting thousands of Otago gold rush miners. Cade Thornton said it employed 40-50 staff, and the hotel was often fully booked. "The business is in really good stead. I've got some very long-term senior staff who love the pub and their jobs and their roles, and they want to see it through with the new owner," he said. He said the hotel attracted people from all walks of life. "We'll have guests arriving by helicopter, all dressed up for a nice meal, and then the local farmers will come in, leaving their gumboots by the door. I don't think there's any other place quite like it in New Zealand." The hotel on the Crown Range Road between Wānaka and Queenstown included a restaurant, year-round beer garden, and 17 ensuite hotel rooms sleeping up to 44 guests. Photo: Supplied to RNZ The Cardrona Hotel was being sold by private negotiation as a freehold going concern. Thornton said the owners would not be publicly disclosing a price, although in 2010, prior to expansion works, it was valued at $3 - 4 million. He hoped the next owner would have a "real passion" for the pub. "Fifty percent of buying it would be that you'd have to love it. You couldn't just look at it as a business opportunity. You'd have to be passionate about the business, the pub, its history, its potential," he said. "If someone's wanting it, who's got the means and the drive, I don't think they'd ever regret it," he said. Expressions of interest were open from Friday, 5 July until Friday, 15 August.
