160 YEARS OF HISTORY Experience a taste of history at Casa Nova House, Oamaru’s oldest stone dwelling. A feast for the senses, this mansion features three lush and luxurious guest suites, thoughtful amenities, and onsite restaurant serving tapas-style dishes with a kiwi twist. As a special offer for Business South readers, we’re offering two nights’ accommodation plus a $100 food & beverage credit, bottle of sparkling on arrival and half-day e-bike hire at the special rate of $849 twinshare. Use code STAYSTH22 when booking online. Code valid until 19 May 2022. E: info@casanovahouse.co.nz P: 03 437 0708 www.casanovahouse.co.nz Heritage and luxury a recipe for relaxation With its tidy formal gardens and English country mansion charm, Ōamaru’s Casa Nova House could almost be the setting for a novel by George Eliot or Thomas Hardy. It is restrained, gracious and utterly delightful. The owners of this bed and breakfast treasure are Brenda Laverick and Katrina McLarin, who called Auckland home before falling for Ōamaru during a summer cycling holiday several years ago. They joke about how it turned into the most expensive vacation ever because it led to them looking up properties for sale in Ōamaru and buying the heritage home of their dreams. They then spent a year on a meticulous restoration before opening the upper loor of Casa Nova House, built in 1861, as luxury bed and breakfast accommodation. Last October they added Restaurant 1861, specialising in tapas-style cuisine served with a distinct kiwi twist. There are two dining rooms on the ground loor as well as an outside dining area to make the most of the property’s tranquil garden and grounds on warmer days. “We’re Ōamaru’s only tapas bar,” says Katrina. “We have been doing tapas for quite a long time - since 2004 with our other Auckland restaurant, Poco Loco. From our point of view, it’s another way to bring Casa Nova House back to life and it is something di erent for the people of Ōamaru. “The original tapas cuisine was simple peasant food, full of lavour. We have developed that concept for the kiwi market using lavours for the kiwi palate. If Covid has taught us anything, it is about treasuring those special moments with family and friends. We’re getting back to a place where if people want to dine out, they don’t just want something ordinary - they want it to be extraordinary.” The category 1 heritage listing of Casa Nova House re lects its signi icance as the very irst substantial residential building in Ōamaru to be constructed of locally quarried limestone. In fact, it pre-dates the ornate buildings that make up Ōamaru’s Victorian Precinct and is in a di erent style. It is thought that English immigrant and local gentleman runholder Mark Noble had Danett Hall, his ancestorial home in Leicester, in mind when he had his grand residence built, only three years after Ōamaru was surveyed. When Brenda and Katrina irst moved in, the mansion was in quite a rundown state. Thanks to their e orts, Casa Nova House is a now a beautifully welcoming place, brimming with personality. “To me, Victorian style is whimsical so that means layering and bright colours. We’ve got Axminster carpet on the loor and zebras and lying saucers on the walls. It all works and the guests feel as though they have been transported somewhere very di erent. It is the essence of a special weekend break, that sense of really getting away to a place that’s quite unlike your usual surroundings.” The three guest rooms, each with private ensuite, are named after prominent former owners. Every detail has been carefully considered. “It is all those little elements that make a di erence. For us, it’s things like our push button showers, whole house wi- i and that wonderful blend of old and new. We wanted this to be like the Ritz of Ōamaru.” Casa Nova House can also be hired as a boutique wedding and events venue – ideal for private events up to 50 guests.
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