Trust Continues Ascot Upgrade with Further $2.1m

A $2.1 million renovation will ensure Invercargill’s Ascot Park Hotel continues to exceed expectations in the hospitality industry.

The Invercargill Licensing Trust has approved extensive upgrades to 53 of the hotel’s 116 rooms, with 13 completed to date and another four currently in the construction phase.

Ascot Park Hotel general manager Bryan Townley said the significant expenditure involved reflected the Trust’s long-standing commitment to reinvesting in its portfolio of businesses.

“It really gives everyone here a positive shot in the arm because every time you redevelop something it shows faith in the future of the business.”

Townley said guest feedback on the new rooms had been excellent.

“Before we launched into this project we took the time to create a prototype room to garner feedback as to what works and what doesn’t from a guest perspective. As a result, we’ve now been able to design a room which really does surpass guest expectations and that’s fantastic,” he said.

“People are travelling a lot more nowadays and they have a higher expectation of what’s acceptable in terms of standard. It’s our job to make sure we deliver on that and continue to evolve, not only as a hotel, but as an industry.”

With the aim of developing contemporary rooms with a luxurious feel, Townley enlisted the talents of award-winning interior designer Lynne Gray, of Gore.

“It really is a complete transformation. We made the decision to gut each room back to a bare shell and rebuild from there with the aim of futureproofing and getting them right up to spec,” Townley said.

“What I love about the classic styling Lynn creates is it doesn’t date. She also worked her magic on the Emberz restaurant redesign 18 months ago so we’re now accomplishing a consistent style throughout the hotel.”