Hastings city centre to get new Quest hotel, behind Opera House development

The new 35-room apartment-style hotel is to be built in the Hastings city centre in a vacant building behind the Hawke's Bay Opera House, Municipal Building and Plaza. Image / Supplied

The regenerating eastern side of Hastings is set to be bolstered by a 35-room, $8 million Quest Apartment Hotel.

The new apartment-style hotel is to be built in the Hastings city centre in a vacant building behind the Hawke's Bay Opera House, the Municipal Building and Plaza.

Wallace Development Company, one of the biggest developers in the lower North Island, will build the hotel. They plan to get construction under way by the end of October.

Wallace Development managing director Jonathan Wallace said a lot of time and resource had been invested in bringing it to fruition.

"We're very proud to bring this unique development to Hastings that will be a key piece of quality infrastructure in the city centre."

The largest provider of serviced apartment-style accommodation in New Zealand, the Hastings build is one of a number being added to Quest's portfolio of 34 hotels across New Zealand and Fiji.

Quest group general manager Adrian Turner said with a new property due to open in August this year and up to six more to open in 2020, Quest now wanted to position itself in Hastings and support the local growth in the corporate market.

The prospect of establishing a new hotel in the Hastings CBD has been a long-term aspiration for the Hastings District Council.

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said it was really exciting to finally be able to announce this development.

"The council has been working to get a hotel into the central city for 10 years, and I need to acknowledge the work of previous councils who have helped with this journey.

"This will help increase economic activity and attract leisure and corporate visitors to our district to enjoy our tourism, hospitality and business offerings.

"With our Opera House, Municipal Building and Plaza redevelopment envisaged to become a national leader in terms of entertainment, culture and the arts - and the other plans to revitalise the CBD - it is vital we have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the visitors this will bring."

The council's city centre strategy includes creating shared office arrangements, cafe-style business and an incubator for new business start-ups bringing more people to the city centre to do business and socialise.

Hazlehurst said Quest would complement these offerings with quality accommodation in both peak and shoulder tourism seasons.

"This will all bring more activity and people to the city centre, making it a cohesive, dynamic environment to socialise and do business."

The timeline for the project is to have the hotel open later next year, after the re-opening of the Opera House and Plaza.