A motor inn with many facilities

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 14

A motor inn with many facilities

The Pavilions at 42 Papanui Road is one of Christchurch’s newest motor inns. It was opened for business about two weeks ago but the official opening will not be held until November. As well as its claim as one of the newest, The Pavilions also claims to be a little different. There are 70 rooms ranging from basic studio units with tea and coffee making facilities through to luxury suites. The Pavilions is, therefore, able to provide for a variety of accommodation needs. "We need to be able to appeal to a lot of people,” says Frank Ash, The Pavilion’s general manager. “We are catering for a number of markets. These include the series tour market; and we are getting regular tours from South Australia, Singapore and Germany; though to the domestic traveller. “We are also interested in catering for business travel. Our rates are very competitive,” he says. All rooms have a television and clock radio and, except for the studio units, rooms have fully equipped kitchens with a microwave. Luxury suites and director suites have a spa bath. There are also specially designed suites for family groups. A room service breakfast is available to all suites. A feature of The Pavilions is “Le Cafe.” The licenced restaurant seats 32 diners and is intended to be informal and friendly. “We want people to enjoy themselves in pleasant surroundings,” Mr Ash says. “We have even put a little comedy into the menu. “The chef is Brent Kerr. He produces superb food. There is no other way to describe it.”

A range of appetising snacks, light meals andmore substantial meals are available. Sweets include icecream served as a different dish each day. While an Icecream Sunday might be quite traditional, . an Icecream Thursday may be somewhat different.

The wine list is especially interesting. All wines served come from South Island wineries and there is an emphasis on Canterbury wines.

“This shows that we are confident about the quality of local wines,” Mr Ash says. “There are many restaurants in Europe where you can only buy the wines made in the area. We believe that we are helping to give New Zealand an identity.”

Included with the extensive wine list there is a page with information about the Canterbury Wine Trail.

The interior design work at The Pavilions was done by Sue Naylor of Auckland. She has been involved in design work through out the South Pacific region. “From a design point of view we have been positive in many ways. We have gone away from pastel colours and are using colours and designs to make a bold statement," Mr Ash says. Mr Ash expects The Pavilions to be fully operational next month. He believes that business should be built up slowly to establish good foundations. He expects occupancy to reach 60 to 70 per cent within two years. The Pavilions group has two other motor inns. They are the Oakwood Manor at Auckland Airport and Sherwood Manor at Queenstown. “We are well positioned to cater for in bound tourists,” Mr Ash says.