4 | Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? New life beckons for town icon The 140-year-old Pier Hotel has undergone an extensive renovation that has added nine double rooms to the upstairs accommodation. The Pier Hotel T T Rosa Watson REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A grand old lady at the heart of Kaikōura has been restored to its former glory and will provide a stunning location for visitors to the seaside town. The 140-year-old Pier Hotel has undergone an extensive renovation that has added nine double rooms with ensuites to the upstairs accommodation. The bar space has been doubled, and a cocktail bar added on. New furniture has been introduced and an outdoor area built complete with large deck. In keeping with its historic past, a century-old oak sideboard left behind by a guest, who could not pay the bill, now has pride of place in the restaurant Owners Bernie and Shona Harmon, who bought The Pier in 2013, are passionate about the building and its history. Care was taken to keep some of the original look, with the balcony restored to what it was and the original shiplap cladding used. “The whole thing’s been replaced back to what it was when it was built,” Bernie says. “The extension tied in well with the original building,” Shona adds. “You wouldn’t know it was an extension.” The building had its beginnings in 1885, but at a different site “round the corner” by Fyffe House. The foundations remain on the front lawn of the historic whalers’ cottage. The hotel was moved to the current site in 1903. It stood up well to the 2016 earthquakes, with a timely removal having taken place beforehand. “There was a big chimney up through the middle of the restaurant and just a month previous to the earthquake we took the chimney out. The builder said if we hadn’t done that the whole thing would have imploded on itself,” says Bernie. “We did have to have some earthquake repairs, but it actually stood up really well. The builders were very impressed when they stripped it down to the bones.” The local Historic Places branch was engaged through the process, along with a cultural observer, Shona says. The complex was closed for 10 weeks while work was carried out. Now the lower floor is complete and the upper floor with the accommodation is due to be completed by the end of the year. The couple’s daughter will operate her beauty “We feel like it’s finished now. It looks glamorous again.” salon from one of the refurbished rooms once completed. Local tradies were used for the most part to complete the work, with 20 to 40 a day working on it. “We’re super impressed with all the tradies,” Shona says. “They’ve been a great bunch to work with.” For Bernie, the hotel has a special connection – his father owned the fishery down on the wharf just past the Pier Hotel. “It was a special place in his childhood,” Shona explains. “It was mostly a fisherman’s pub and it’s sort of morphed into a restaurant now. And now since the restoration we’ve opened a cocktail bar, which is going really well.” Patrons come from around the country and the world, but Shona says it is well-supported by the locals. “It’s probably one of the favourite restaurants in the town.” The kitchen serves up cuisine Kaikoura is famous for, such as crayfish and paua, which Bernie catches. “I try to have fresh crayfish all year round, and we can have fresh paua all year round,” he says. The hotel employs 16 to 25 staff over the year in the bar and restaurant, and cleaning staff. Shona says there will probably be more once the accommodation gets going. Shona and Bernie are thrilled with the refurbishment. “We feel like it’s finished now. It looks glamorous again.” Proudly supporting The Pier Hotel 193 Halswell Rd, Christchurch | 03 338 9199 | sales@halswelltimber.co.nz KAIKOURA 218 Beach Road, Kaikoura Phone: 03 319 5447 Email: sales@kbcitm.co.nz www.itm.co.nz • Project Information • Trade Contacts • Frame and Truss Plant • Delivery • Estimating • All Building Supplies
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