Blenheim hotel rises to the occasion
Chris Thornley, left, Lenny O’Connell and Nic Smith of Alfred Taylor Developmenthost an update on their hotel project at Wine & Food Experience Marlborough on 13 May. Photo: Evan Tuchinsky.
As well-heeled Marlburians sipped sauvignon blanc and sampled charcuterie plates, Lenny O’Donnell explained why they’d gathered at Wine + Food Experience Marlborough last Wednesday evening.
“I intend to give you an update on that very expensive hole right there,” he smiled, gesturing toward the windows behind his shoulder, “and this area here.”
The venue atop the Marlborough Events Centre overlooks the bend in the Taylor River where Alfred Taylor Development is building an upscale hotel called The Alfred. Rising six floors, it will bring 123 rooms to the edge of Blenheim’s CBD and the “connected commercial precinct” emanating from the rejuvenated Alfred Street complex.
“What we’ve got here and what we’re creating is really exciting,” enthused Lenny, a director in the venture. “We’ve got an exciting and bright future.”
Chris Thornley, the development company’s chair, and Nic Smith, its managing director, also spoke to attendees. A revelation from Nic that The Alfred already has 4,250 room nights booked elicited gasps of surprise. That’s a dividend from contracting with Capstone Hotel Management Group on operations.
“That demonstrates strong early demand,” Nic noted. He explained that a hotel market study in 2023 indicated that Blenheim would need 130 more rooms by 2026 and another 130 by 2029.
Structurally and operationally, the elements of what he called the “seamless luxury precinct” interrelate. The ground floor of the events centre building will house the hotel lobby. Oak and Ivy, upstairs next to the wine bar, will serve as the hotel’s restaurant; PRshed Gym, next to the Whitehaven Theatre, as its fitness centre.
“The design of the [hotel] flows with the river,” Nic said, and its aesthetics mesh with its neighbour. As Lenny noted, “the interconnectedness is key to this development.”
Contractors had three slabs in place the day of the update. Six more should be in by the end of this week; with 27 more by the end of July, the ground floor would be done. The hotel is set to open in 2027.