New $40m Christchurch hotel opens, Sudima chain tops $200m

The new 86-room five-star Sudima Christchurch City opened this month, targeting an international market and taking the national chain's value to more than $200 million, its owner says.

Sudesh Jhunjhunwala, who founded and owns the chain of four New Zealand hotels, said the new property opened to trade and industry representatives on June 1.

But from next week it will be marketed internationally, he said.

Room rates start at $300/night for 28sq m with a free goodie bag, free mini bar and free valet parking, he said.

ABL was the main contractor on the four-level building on the corner of Salisbury St and Victoria St in the central city area.

Jhunjhunwala said: "This is the first new-build hotel since the earthquakes. All the others have been refurbishments or repairs."

Christchurch Airport's new Novotel is due to open later this year.

READ MORE
• Sudima Hotel chain founder plans overseas expansion

Sudima already has hotels near Auckland Airport, in Rotorua, near Christchurch Airport and is developing at Kaikōura and in Auckland's CBD.

Plans were for Sudima Christchurch City to be finished last year but Jhunjhunwala said it was upgraded to five-star part-way through construction "so it's not really delayed as such, although we were hoping to finish it last year."

The hotel rose on the site for the former Strategy building, demolished after the earthquakes.

Last year, Jhunjhunwala said he planned to build further new hotels in Wellington, Queenstown, Sydney, Melbourne and Fiji.

The entrepreneur said these plans were for about the next five years through to about 2023 and he has targeted those geographic areas "as a natural progression of the business. Our next steps is to Australia and the islands. It was a natural next progression after Wellington and Queenstown to go to Fiji, Sydney and Melbourne".