Tainui and Auckland Airport break ground on $150m hotel deal

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Construction of the new premium 311-room hotel will begin on August 1.

Waikato-Tainui's expansion into Auckland is continuing with construction of a new $150 million hotel about to get under way at Auckland Airport.

The 5-star Te Arikinui Pullman Auckland Airport Hotel, being built by Tainui Group Holdings (TGH), in with partnership with Auckland Airport, will feature 311 rooms over nine storeys.

A karakia was held on Tuesday to break ground, with construction set to begin on August 1.

The five-star Te Arikinui Pullman Auckland Airport Hotel will feature 311 rooms over nine storeys.

The hotel aims to open its doors by early 2022.

The Māori King, Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII, laid a silver shovel to break the earth and mark the occasion.

Parekawhia McLean, left, Chris Joblin, Kiingi Tūheitia, Adrian Littlewood and Sir Henry Van Der Heyden break ground to mark the start of construction.

Chris Joblin, chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings, said the 50/50 partnership was the second joint venture between the two groups.

The first was 4-star Novotel Tainui Auckland Airport Hotel, which opened in 2011.

An artist's impression of the Te Arikinui Pullman Auckland Airport Hotel.

'We are confident the two hotels will provide a complementary offer to meet the needs of discerning travellers,' Joblin said.

He said the project would expand the footprint of TGH in the tourism industry, and support the economic resilience of Waikato-Tainui.

'With around 40 million passenger movements forecast by 2040 we believe this will also prove to be an enduring investment.

'We already have three hotels so this will be the fourth, so this gives us a significant presence in the domestic and international markets.'

Parekawhia McLean, chair of the Te Whakakitenga o Waikato, said the iwi was proud of its role in bringing a spectacular new hotel to the front gateway for Aotearoa, New Zealand.

'It's very fitting that the design for Te Arikinui is inspired by the historical links of Tainui waka at Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour) and the discovery and exploration our tuupuna (ancestors) undertook in settling this area,' said Ms McLean.

She said the date was as auspicious one and marked the 88th birthday of the late Māori queen Te Arikinui Te Atairangi Kaahu.

Mark Thomson, Auckland Airport's general manager of property, said the project would generate around 300 jobs during construction and employ 200 once open.

'The joint project team has gone to great lengths to ensure a world-class experience for travellers, including a top floor restaurant and bar offering stunning views across the Manukau Harbour and Waitakere Ranges as well as luxurious guest rooms. All this is within a short and effortless walk from the terminal,' Thomson said.

The hotel design, by architect firm Warren and Mahoney, infuses unique Waikato-Tainui cultural elements drawing heavily on the connection between land, sea and sky through the use of natural materials and light.