Downtown high-end luxury – ROKI Queenstown well underway

With nightly rates ranging from $2000 to $25,000 for private suite, in-room chef, butler and chauffeur, the super high-end ROKI Queenstown Hotel may exceed most budgets, but bookings for next year are already rolling in.

General manager Stephen McAteer says they’re slightly ahead of schedule, aiming to open the $70m project in April next year, and there’s strong interest from the international market, particularly the US, with good New Zealand and Australian bookings too. He’s hoping to convert those first guests into regular returns. “We are tourism ambassadors. We want to show off Queenstown to our visitors,” McAteer says.

They’re pitching ROKI (Te Reo for tranquil and calm) as a peaceful sanctuary in the heart of NZ’s buzzing adventure capital.

ROKI’s high-end, fine dining restaurant The Dining Room will impress on the third floor of the five-level lakefront complex on Lake Esplanade with acclaimed former Huka Lodge executive chef Paul Froggatt at the helm in the kitchen. Froggatt has Michelin star experience in France, England and Asia and will bring his own unique high-level influence to the cuisine. He also oversaw the restaurants at the Robertson Lodges and McAteer says they’re “very honoured” to have him on board.

The intimate restaurant – just under 40 seats, and terrace bar overlooking the lake, will be open to the public and locals will be encouraged to experience the hotel’s offering. “Food and Beverage is a very important part of the experience for our director (Australian Denis Mackenzie) and there will be a lot of traditional tableside service and culinary theatre – carving, serving, sautéing at the table,” McAteer says. They’ll be procuring the best of NZ’s produce and ingredients, with local venison, lamb, crayfish, and crab all showcased in the plush restaurant with the terrace bar focusing more on lighter lunch and snack-type options. McAteer assures the restaurant and bar area will be “quite a spectacular venue.”

Froggatt is already designing menus, and Mackenzie has been cellaring top wines for the last seven years in preparation, with just over eight thousand bottles in the hotel wine cellar now.

An entire floor’s been dedicated to ROKI’s luxurious spa facility PURE, which features a 20m swimming pool, hot tub, saunas, steam room, hydrotherapy and two treatment rooms.

Guests booking the 550sqm top of the line four-bedroom suite also get driven around the area in the ‘house car’. Entry level rooms start at about $2000 a night with 10 one-bedroom suites, three two-bedroom family suites then the top level three and four-bedroom suites. Construction should be completed by the end of the year, followed by the fit-out. Top Kiwi interior designer Virginia Fisher, who designed the interiors for Eichardt’s, Matakauri Lodge and Huka Lodge, is charged with creating a ‘calming and relaxing’ atmosphere throughout.

McAteer expects to open in April next year with about 45 staff and hopes to be fully operational by the summer. He’s already recruited some key head office staff and has a number of others he’d like to handpick for his team.

Staff accommodation was a must in the current climate, and they’ve bought some older homes in central Queenstown that they’re currently upgrading for staff. “This will enable us to recruit and retain good staff.”

McAteer says the inspiration for the development came from Australian Mackenzie’s struggles in finding a ‘family-friendly’ luxury hotel suite for his family. He first fell in love with Queenstown on a visit in 2012, now visits regularly, and wants to create a legacy to showcase “the remarkable sanctuary Queenstown offers”, McAteer says.  

Sustainability is a huge focus and with ROKI’s logo featuring a native kea, the owners have partnered with the Kea Conservation Trust, working with the locally based Southern Lakes Sanctuary. ROKI’s owners will donate around $1000 a month towards conservation work and predator control at the head of Lake Wakatipu.

A full-time sustainability officer will be on staff and McAteer is keen to ensure staff get hands on, heading into the bush to help with the predator control work. Guests will also be invited to donate to this work.

More hotels are planned in NZ, and potentially Australia and the South Pacific, as part of the ROKI Collection.