(TAN): Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown recently opened its doors to guests, the brand’s parent, InterContinental Hotels Group, said in a statement. This is the first Holiday Inn Express hotel in New Zealand and Australia.
The hotel has 227 contemporary guest rooms including spacious suites apart from superior rooms that provide great views of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. The hotel’s architecture 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.
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Guests can have easy access from Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown 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. Queenstown is also the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Milford Sound for unforgettable exploration.
Ronald Barrott, Pro-invest Group CEO said, “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.”
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.
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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 we 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 a staple for holiday-goers for many years to come.”
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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.
IHG had 761 Holiday Inn Express hotels in the pipeline, as of March 31.
