The Marque Hotel Christchurch
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At 15 floors, the hotel is the tallest building in the South Island.
Towering above Gloucester St, The Marque Hotel is just a minute's walk from Cathedral Square and is a departure point on the famous scenic tram.
The first of the international The Marque Hotels brand in New Zealand, its 71 rooms and suites feature contemporary finishes including polished stone vanities, high ceilings, 32" LCD flat screen TVs, in-room safes, high-speed broadband access and air-conditioning. Rooms and suites come in a choice of five designs. Features include individually controlled air conditioning, double glazing and panorama windows offering dramatic views of the Southern Alps.
Secure undercover parking is provided, along with 24 hour reception and room service, tour desk, gym, sauna, and a stylish restaurant and bar. The lobby is contemporary, functional and designed to be welcoming with a fireplace that draws the eye and beckons people in.
Business travel convenience
Designed to make life easy for those guests on business trips, as well as those there to relax, free wireless internet is available in all the public areas and in the Biz business centre. Every room has easy-to-use free high-speed broadband access for up to a specified limit, iPod docking stations as well as a desk and a comfortable ergonomic chair. Laptop-sized room safes are also provided.
A special feature is a virtual concierge service – a 32" LCD touch screen in the lobby where guests can search for local attractions, shopping, transport and entertainment. Guests are able to book online with instant confirmation.
General manager Brad Watts says The Marque Christchurch's versatile meeting and event facilities are ideal for business and social use. "Dedicated meetings and events staff provide friendly, unobtrusive service to ensure every occasion runs smoothly, efficiently and without fuss," he said.
There are two principal meeting rooms catering for up to 50 people for an event, plus two small office rooms for up to four people, right next to Biz. Full room service or specially-designed menu options are available in every meeting room or in the lobby/bar area.
The two main meeting rooms are modern and comfortable, with effective sound proofing, a 42" plasma screen, data projector, free wireless broadband, DVD facilities and a sound system.
Fresh, seasonal food
Those dining at the restaurant, aptly called Fresh, are treated to a menu, designed by executive chef Adrian Lowrey, to complement New Zealand's superb locally produced food and wine. As might be expected, it features fresh seasonal produce.
Wet, the hotel's ground-floor hip bar, offers a fine selection of international beers, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages as well as an innovative snacks menu.
"The Marque Hotel Christchurch is a contemporary, vibrant and stylish business hotel where guests receive friendly, efficient service and value for money," said Mr Watts.
He says the reaction from guests has been enthusiastic. "We've had 100 per cent willingness to return. They've made comments along the lines of: 'Love the beds, food, staff, location and the double glazing.' Most bookings are being made via online web sites and travel management companies."
The future is looking extremely promising, said Mr Watts. "The Rugby World Cup will generate a lot of interest internationally and will be top of mind of rugby union fans worldwide. One would hope that there will be a positive spinoff with pre and post touring."
Low environmental footprint
Careful attention has been paid to mitigating the impact of the hotel on its environment. The facade is double-glazed throughout and high-grade insulation has been used to reduce energy costs The latest energy saving systems have also been incorporated wherever possible as part of property manager Ernest Duval's commitment to reducing the building's environmental footprint. Features include an energy generating wind turbine designed to power a variety of energy generating devices. Trees on the two roof terraces provide guests with a pleasant outdoor area to relax and help improve the air quality in the city.
A first for Christchurch is the hotel's space-saving car stacker. Built to take 93 vehicles, the car stacker is designed to maximise parking space within the hotel precinct and lessen the impact hotel guests' vehicles have on the environment by cutting down the amount of driving they need to do to find a parking space. The result is fewer emissions than in a conventional car parking building.
The hotel was built on the site of a 1930s era two level retail and secondary office building with construction beginning in 2007. The main contractor was South Island Construction and about 200 workers were involved in the project.
Contemporary edgy brand
The Marque Hotel Christchurch is operated by the Rendezvous Hospitality Group (RHG), which is based in Singapore. RHG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Straits Trading Company Limited and was formed last year to combine the hospitality assets of The Straits Trading Company, together with its hospitality management arm – Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts International.
RHG currently operates 13 hotels across the Rendezvous Hotels and The Marque Hotels brands in the Asia Pacific region. It employs more than 2,500 people and manages more than 2,600 hotel rooms. The company aims to establish itself at the forefront of the hotel industry in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, in particular with business travellers and has plans to expand to over 12,000 rooms by 2020.
Rendezvous Hospitality Group (RHG), which already operates The Marque Hotels in four Australian cities: Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney, decided that the Christchurch property provided the perfect opportunity to introduce the contemporary and edgy The Marque brand to the New Zealand accommodation market.
CEO of RHG, Iqbal Jumabhoy, said: "As we already have a well established and very large RHG hotel in New Zealand with the Rendezvous Auckland, we decided to launch The Marque Hotel brand in the Christchurch market.
"Due to the company's recent new corporate direction and growth plans, we have redefined both the Rendezvous and The Marque brands. From this we decided that the Christchurch property is better suited to our reinvigorated The Marque brand," said Mr Jumabhoy.
"The Marque brand encompasses RHG's smaller, contemporary, youthful and stylish hotels where guests receive hassle-free service and value for money. Rendezvous hotels, however, are larger with a full range of services and targeted to the more upscale traveller.
"The contemporary style of this environmentally friendly 171 room hotel fits perfectly with the The Marque brand and in addition, will appeal to the demographic and clientele visiting Christchurch," concluded Mr Jumabhoy.
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