‘A LITTLE AMERICA’

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30562, 3 October 1964, Page 1

‘A LITTLE AMERICA’

(From Our Own Reporter)

GREYMOUTH, October 2. The prices for accommodation at the New Franz Josef Hotel announced by the Minister of Tourism (Mr Eyre), have astounded the people of Greymouth, if not the whole of the West Coast. A week’s stay in a luxury suite at the hotel by a man and his wife would cost £B4 10s. “Very few New Zealanders will be staying there. You can put the ring around that,” said a prominent Greymouth businessman today. The reaction of a town hotel-

keeper was, “It will be a jolly good thing for us as we will get all the trade.”

A Greymouth resident, who is fond of motoring tours, said he would take his wife down there when the Haast Pass road was opened. “But it will be in a caravan,” he said. Another man named the new hotel as the “Little America.” The general opinion. was that New Zealanders had been priced out of the hotel by tariffs. The tariffs announced by the Minister of other rooms at £4 5s a day single or £8 a day double have been compared with hotel tariffs in other centres. The price in Rotorua for the best accommodation is £3 14s, in Nelson £3 4s, in the major cities £3 ss, and in Greymouth, £3 3s 6d.