Wyndham Hotel Group today (July 5) has announced its third Ramada Suites in Auckland – Ramada Suites Victoria Street West, Auckland – which will also be the company’s 12th property in New Zealand.
The hotel’s prime CBD location of 147 Victoria Street West is the site of the historically significant former Cambridge clothing factory, and is within walking distance of the waterfront district, the city’s famous Sky Tower, shopping centres, galleries, parks, SkyCity Casino and excellent restaurants and bars.
Construction has begun and is slated to be complete late in 2018. With a mix of hotel and residential accommodation, the property will feature studios, executive suites and one-bedroom apartments, all with kitchen facilities and either harbour or city views featuring the Sky Tower.
In Auckland, Ramada Victoria Street West is the third franchise agreement between Wyndham Hotel Group and local developer Safari Group. The 66-room Ramada Suites Albany, Auckland North Shore opened in March this year, and the 42-room Ramada Suites Auckland, Federal Street, opened in 2015. Once complete, Ramada Victoria Street West will be managed by BT Group, which also manages three other Wyndham Hotel Group properties in New Zealand.
Safari Group Director, Robert Neil, said the company has been working with a conservation architect and Heritage New Zealand to appropriately retain the important historic appeal of the site.
“Gaining the necessary approvals for our vision required hard work and thorough planning, and we believe the end result will be something that guests will value and the public will see as a respectful and attractive merging of historic and modern Auckland,” he said.
During construction, the Cambridge factory’s heritage-listed Graham Street and Victoria Street West facades – which date back to 1901 – will be reinforced and retained, while the interior will be refitted and remodelled for office space. Internal architecture from the building will also feature in the new construction project.
“Auckland continues to see strong growth and development thanks to rising visitor numbers,” said Barry Robinson, Wyndham Hotel Group’s President and Managing Director, South East Asia and Pacific Rim.
“This is driving increased interest from developers for globally known brands like Ramada and others offered by Wyndham Hotel Group, which are well positioned to meet the emerging needs of travellers in the region.
“New Zealand is a key region of focus for Wyndham Hotel Group and to help meet growing demand, we have established a strong partnership with the Safari Group which has opened four hotels opened throughout the country and two more in the pipeline,” Robinson said.