A new $130m Queenstown hotel will redefine luxury hospitality

Monday, 11 August 2025

A render of the presidential penthouse in the $130 million Noctis Hotel currently being built in Queenstown.

A new $130 million luxury hotel development in Queenstown will help the town evolve from a high-volume tourism hub into a magnet for high-spending visitors.

The development of the new hotel, on an elevated 1.2 hectare site in front of the award-winning Kamana Lakehouse hotel in Fernhill, is the biggest build under way in the town.

Once completed, it will encompass 37 ultra high-end residences across 10 architecturally designed villas, with a central facilities building.

On Monday the team behind the development, Coherent Hotel Ltd, announced the property would be called Noctis, and would establish a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in New Zealand.

Kamana Lakehouse executive manager David Wang said the “celestially inspired retreat” was one of the largest hospitality investments in Queenstown’s history.

The success of the Kamana Lakehouse has given the Noctis developers a platform to push creative boundaries.

The development built on the existing hotel’s success as a destination, he said.

“It has given us the platform to push creative boundaries and deliver something that will become Queenstown’s defining luxury experience and compete with the world’s finest resorts.”

Designed by Hallion Architects and Y-6 Design, with construction in the hands of 3Eyes Construction Group, the hotel will have uninterrupted Lake Wakatipu and mountain views.

The 10 villas will consist of 289m² junior “suites” of three bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom, and 670m² executive residences with four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.

There will also be a 1200m² 10-bedroom presidential penthouse.

The junior suites will each have two terraces, two spa pools, and dual living areas, while the executive residences will have their own private wine tasting cellar, plunge pool, gym, sauna, massage therapy room and home theatre.

The penthouse will have all of those features, with an additional pool, pool deck, reflective pond, and three-car garage.

There will also be a day spa, wellness facilities and a yoga studio, a restaurant to showcase local cuisine and private chefs for in-villa catering, and conference and event facilities for up to 120 guests.

One of the facilities open to guests at the Noctis Hotel will be an infinity pool with lake and mountain views.

Wang said the senior leadership team was being expanded to help drive the Kamana and Noctis brands forward, and recruiting would soon begin for key staff positions.

But once open, Noctis would operate separately from the neighbouring Kamana Lakehouse, he said.

Construction of the new hotel has been under way since April 2024, and work is progressing well. It is expected to be completed in late 2027.

The development marks a new phase of growth for Coherent Hotel, a subsidiary of the Colwall Group, which owns nine hotels in New Zealand including Novotel Queenstown.

Auckland-based Coherent Hotel bought the former Aspen Hotel in 2015 and redeveloped it into the boutique 73-room Kamana Lakehouse, which opened in 2018.

In May last year Japanese construction and engineering firm Toda Corporation bought a majority stake in Coherent Hotel.

One of the drivers for the acquisition was that hotel demand in New Zealand was expected to increase as tourism demand recovers, the company said at the time.

Destination Queenstown’s vision has a focus on attracting higher-spending tourists to the already popular destination.

Kiwibank’s recent regional outlook found that Otago was one of the two best performing regions in the country. A big part of that was a strong recovery in tourism and tourists, said Jarrod Kerr, the bank’s chief economist.

But last year accommodation industry consultant Horwath HTL identified Queenstown as an area where demand for hotel rooms was huge, but supply was limited.

The Noctis development was one that tapped into that need, and there were also other new hotels on the way for Queenstown.

Cactus Kiwi NZ Limited recently applied for consent for a four-level boutique hotel above the Brecon St steps on Man St, while Queenstown Hotel Limited has been granted consent to build a 173-room hotel on top of the Man St car park.

Wang said Queenstown was evolving from a high-volume tourism hub into a more refined, sustainable destination, one that prioritised quality over quantity.

“Our new property is purposefully designed to align with this shift and contribute meaningfully to both the tourism pipeline and broader regional objectives.”

It aligned closely with the long-term objectives of Destination Queenstown’s strategic vision, he said.

That vision had a focus on attracting higher-spending guests who were more invested in the local environment, people, and economy.

“By offering a luxury experience that is deeply rooted in place and purpose, we aim to attract visitors who value deep meaningful travel,” Wang said.

“Rather than adding to the pressures of high-volume tourism, this property offers a considered alternative: low-impact, high-yield visitation that enriches the guest, the community, and the environment.”