InterContinental Hotels Group’s® (IHG) fastest growing hotel brand* has made its debut in New Zealand with the launch of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown opening its doors today, 10 July. Opened in partnership with Pro-invest Group, the new-build hotel welcomes guests in time for the start of the ski season, offering an unrivalled location on the corner of Stanley and Sydney Streets in Queenstown’s city centre.
The hotel features 227 contemporary guest rooms including spacious suites – a Holiday Inn Express first in Australia and New Zealand – in addition to superior rooms which provide breathtaking views of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. The hotel’s architecture, designed by local architectural practice McAuliffe Stevens (MSRA), combines abstract elements representing ice and erratic rock forms to pay homage to the hotel’s landscape history and achieve a design that fits with the surrounding urban environment.
Smart travellers will be rewarded with easy access to the popular ski destinations of Coronet Peak, Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone, while tourist attractions such as the Skyline gondola and the town’s dining precinct are right on the doorstep. Home to fresh air and adventure, Queenstown is also the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Milford Sound for unforgettable exploration.
Ronald Barrott, Pro-invest Group Chief Executive Officer said the Group was excited to launch a new product at its first New Zealand property: “We are committed to expanding the Holiday Inn Express brand in New Zealand and we’re confident that Queenstown’s reputation as premier destination makes it the ideal place to start.
“Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown has a stylish alpine vibe, complete with an outdoor lounge with firepit. It’s also equipped with the smart, simple rooms and features business and leisure travellers know and love,” he said.
With smart, savvy travel in the brand’s DNA, the hotel is complete with everything guests need including a fitness room, sauna, two flexible meeting rooms, self-serve laundry, dry room, onsite parking and a free business centre. The brand’s much-loved perks will also be on offer with complimentary Express Start breakfast, power showers, black-out blinds, high-quality bedding with a choice of pillows for a sensational sleep experience, and uncapped Wi-Fi.
Introducing a sustainable stay
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown continues the brand’s commitment to responsible tourism, with various innovations and design elements for a sustainable stay. From a design perspective, all air exhausted from the hotel passes through a heat recovery plant, which then extracts the energy from the air exhausted from the hotel’s bathrooms, toilets, gym, meeting rooms, restaurant and general-purpose areas, and transfers that energy to the incoming fresh air. The results are a substantial reduction in energy used to pre-treat the incoming air used in ventilation of the hotel.
The hotel will also roll out IHG’s flagship sustainability initiative, A Greener Stay, which allows guests to take part in conserving the environment through opt out of housekeeping services, resulting in energy and water savings. As an added reward, guests who choose the opt-out receive up to 500 IHG Rewards Club points per night.
Leanne Harwood, Managing Director, IHG Australasia & Japan said: “The opening of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown is not only a wonderful addition to this vibrant and much-loved town, but a testament to the strong, ongoing partnership with have with Pro-invest Group. I have no doubt that the brand’s unique approach to smart travel, essential facilities, sustainability and fresh energy will make it staple for holiday-goers for many years to come.”
The opening is the sixth Holiday Inn Express property since 2016 to be opened by Pro-invest Group, following the launch of Sydney Macquarie Park, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Melbourne Southbank hotels in Australia.
*Holiday Inn Express if IHG’s fastest growing brand in terms of pipeline with 761 hotels in the pipeline. Numbers correct as 31 March 2020.
