THE ROYAL HOTEL, WAIMATE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 922, 31 March 1879, Page 2

THE ROYAL HOTEL, WAIMATE.

We hav.- ;.i>icii pleasure in giving ihe public. the medium of our v ;i description of this handsome :t • 111 iii• •t i v> rise South Canterbury host<-I:ies. the more so because the wellknown ]i:>iniic.-Lppei-, Mr. M. formerlv of < lamaru and Hampden, is the jivoju'ii!!" The house is situated in Shcr-man-snvet, within easy instance of the railway slaiion and two minutes' walk h-. ,m 'ilic Post and Telegraph Offices. i.*'rom the position it occupies, it will become. ill the course of a few years, when Waimate becomes connected by rail with the rich lands of the interior, the central hotel of the town, and will, there can lie little doubt, be surrounded thickly by places of business. The main front entrance opens into a well lighted hall, coiiiiinmicating with the commercial room, •Ji'ift. x lGft. in area. This room is divided from the dining-room by a totara moveable panelling, and is at right angles to it. The dining-room has a similar urea, and is well lighted raid suitably furnished. At the rear of this apartment is a suite of private rooms used by the landlord. jSTearly hi the centre of the house is the billiard-room, where the lovers of the cue can enjoy within its lofty and well-lighted walls, on one of AlcoclVs best tables, a quiet game. To the bar is appended two parlora, the bar itself having an area of 22ft. x 18ft., while a taproom and two double bedrooms are situated immediately behind it. On the second ilat (south side) are sixteen single bedrooms, 10ft. x Bft. On the south side (new wing) ai'e eleven single bedrooms, finished and furnished sumptuously. This suite of rooms is readied by'the main front staircase, while the domestics have access to it by a back staircase. A bath-room, fitted with hot, cold, and shower apparatus, is conveniently placed in fhe centre Gf these dormitories. The main front family suites are approached by the front staircase. A roomy and well-carpeted hall conducts to the family apartments. The south suite, consists of a handsomely furnished composite parlour, containing a capital piano, kept "in good tune and order, pier glasses, oil paintings, and loXmges, and the upholstery of which is in Morocco, while that of the bed room is also of the best and most comfortable class. From the windows of these rooms a fine view is obtained of the Gorge and the Waimate home station. The <Teen parlor in the centre of the main front commands an extensive view of the country towards the Waiho and the Waimate railway station, including the residences of Messrs. John Manchester and Leonard Price. The north suite is in crimson velvet, and is a counterpart of the south, as regards comfort, furnishing, and cheerfulness. There are two linen closets on this floor. Communication is established all over the house by means of electric bells. Among the conveniences attached to the house, we note the waiters' pantry, furnished with a hot and cold water-sink ; in the kitchen a 75 guinea Leamington range, and high pressure boiler, which forces hot water up to the bath-room and family bedrooms in the north wing and main front. The house is protected against fire by means of a Uo'feet well full of water, fitted with a I powerful force- pump and hose. On the | north end is a concrete tank containing j 12,000 gallons of rain water, also fitted with a force pump to supply the pressure | boiler in the kitchen, and general household consumption. A brick storeroom, 22ft. x 12ft., and a detached nursery apd female domestics' bedrooms, together with, a concrete cellar under the bar, having an

I sirnri <•." :"c x 30ft, completes the rounds I or ilio xioyal Hotel. We have endeavored to afford our readers some idea of the character of Mr. Sherwin's new hotel, and of the excellence of its appointment.'?, and we have done so as a matter of fairness to the spirited proprietor. It is our duty to encourage hotelkeepers to soar above the too prevalent habit of making their "hotels" simple drinking saloons. It is well known that the sale of drink pays best, and that it scarcely pays, directly, at all events, to be too solicitous for the comfort and health of hotel sojourners. Rather than invest the money necessary to furnish a hotel as it should be furnished in order to be suit- . able for a home, the majority of hotelkeepers prefer the quick returns, even . although they may have to confine themselves to the more unpleasant branch of ■ their business in order to secure them.