Rotorua luxury lodge Peppers on the Point marks strong growth milestone

Five-star Lake Rotorua luxury lodge Peppers on the Point reporting strong growth. Photo / Supplied.

The manager of five-star Rotorua luxury lodge Peppers on the Point says the lodge has experienced significant growth over the past two years.

Lodge manager Ann Gregor-Greene said the luxury lodge was welcoming 90 per cent international guests from Australia to longer haul visitors from UK, Europe and the US.

"My two-year anniversary rolled over in this month and we felt so excited that we had turned a corner with great growth over these past two years, with an increase on sales revenue every month from the date I commenced."

Gregor-Greene said considerable upgrades and investment had been made into the property and future bookings were strong.

"With the collapse of the tourism and hospitality industry due to the pandemic we had to think quickly about how to survive in this new environment and whether we were going to appeal to the local and domestic market.

"The decision was to hibernate and sit tight and look to reopen in September.

"Unfortunately, some of our team had to take redundancy after the first wave of
subsidy. However, we began to receive phone calls, enough to rethink hunkering down and so the decision was made to open with some inventory.

Gregor-Greene said the lodge had retained seven staff and begun increasing hours and bringing some former staff back on board

The food and beverage menu has also been given a bit of a makeover.

"Currently, we offer a set menu or table d'hôte offering which is popular for one night of our guests' stay but not every night.

"We have always been open to the public, but this was not widely known. So with all of this in mind, we had a change in focus which saw us develop an a la carte menu and to market the restaurant as a separate entity.

She said a conversation with Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick cemented the idea of adding brunch to the mix.

Jamie Main is the owner, and the name "The Mains" sprung to mind as a clever twist on words and website www.themainsatpeppers.co.nz offers a fresh new a la carte menu.

Along with produce from the lodge's garden, eggs from the lodge's chickens, freshly sourced meat and fish are delivered daily.

The restaurant launched officially on June 15, and open hours are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 7pm til late and brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 1pm.

Gregor-Greene said dinner was available to house guests every night and the new menu was already proving "very popular".

She said the lodge also offered exclusive, intimate weddings for up to 70 guests with themed receptions hosted in the conservatory.

With a renewed focus on holding events, the lodge was looking at hosting its popular wine and whisky matched dinners again.

Some upgrades to the Log Cabin and Villa Apartment were also being undertaken.

Gregor-Greene said work will start this week to transform the lodge's Villa Apartment into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom space making it suitable for two couples or a family.

"I've used the term "re-invent" ourselves a million times over the past weeks and the team is working alongside me to keep welcoming and hosting guests at Peppers on the Point, which is what we love to do," she said.