Hamilton Hotel Hat-trick as Pullman developers eye another building

Saturday, 5 April 2025

Keen to contribute to their hometown - Sanjil Mistry (left) and Pienaar Piso, the men behind the Pullman development in Hamilton's CBD, show off the sorts of views that’ll be available from their new high-end roof top bar by the end of next year.

Hamilton developers of the $100 million five-star Pullman hotel development already on the go in the CBD say they’re now looking at a second big hotel project nearby.

The revelation comes from Sanjil Mistry and Pienaar Piso, who own the city’s current tallest building, the Mistry Centre in Ward St which towers over Centre Place.

It’s currently being transformed into a 191-bed Pullman hotel operation with beds over 12 floors, with several floors of office and retail space as well. Hotel opening is scheduled by the end of next year.

An impression of the new Pullman Hotel in Ward St, which is due to have beds spread over 12 floors of the existing Mistry Centre in Ward St.

The revelation is the latest in what is rapidly becoming a hotel boom for the city.

Mistry’s and Piso’s comments on them looking at a second hotel came on Thursday in an interview arranged long before the announcement the same day that Auckland’s Templeton Group had gone unconditional on a deal with the city council.

That Templeton project is set to combine a 25-storey building with a 218-bed hotel, apartments and a dining precinct beside Victoria on the River. It would be a new tallest building for the city.

The Mistry Centre partners received the Templeton news positively, saying they felt there was plenty of room for all, and Sanjil Mistry revealed that “we have already purchased another building to build a second hotel” in the CBD.

“It’s going to be circa 150 rooms.

“We were just waiting for the occupancy to come right for this hotel,” said Mistry in the interview on the centre’s 15th floor, due to be transformed into a high-end bar.

“And it’s an existing structure so it’ll be ready a lot sooner than building a new building.”

The area outside the Ward St Pullman hotel is due to be transformed to facilitate valet parking for guests.

Said Piso: “It’s much newer than this building so it’ll be maybe a 13 month-14 month build.”

While no final decision had been made “we are most likely to proceed”, said Piso.

On the Pullman project, Mistry said a lot of demolition work had been done inside and work had started on putting windows in place on the three lower floors. The building’s windows work is due to be finished by the fourth quarter of this year.

A shot look east across the Claudelands bridge from one of the under development lower floors of the new Pullman hotel project.

Detailed designs for the whole building were still being being worked on but the design had been finalised for the high-end roof top bar and lounge, which will have panoramic views from the vast majority of the floor.

“It’s going to be phenomenal,” said Piso.

“The windows are going to go…all the way up the the rooftop.”

On the bar’s high-end character, Piso said: “We’re going to be there to play with the big boys.”

While some design furniture was being imported from China “everything else gets built here, constructed on site”, said Piso.

A drone shot from last month of some of the lower floor areas being redeveloped.

“It’s going to be constructed by builders in Hamilton.”

He was “100%” confident of hotel completion by the scheduled end of next year timing and said the project’s costs were on budget.

“Me and Sanjil personally check every single item on this.

“We don’t leave it to anybody else because we feel this is an iconic construction, even though there’s other ones that are bigger….this is an iconic one that’s happening now so we take a lot of pride in it.”

On whether there might be some “first-mover advantage” by their hotel opening before Templeton’s and a planned Ruakura hotel development, Mistry said: “By being first I’d like to think our occupancy’s going to get up there first and people will enjoy the location, and events will start coming back to Hamilton because of that.

Pienaar Piso (left) and Sanjil Mistry speaking to the Waikato Times on a tour of the new Pullman hotel project. New windows are due to be in place across the site by the fourth quarter of this year.

“And it will have a ‘grow-on’ effect” for the wider city, Mistry said.

Added Piso: “As events grow the next hotel, when it opens up, will then add to that growth so I can’t see any negativity for us [in] anybody else building”.

He said they welcomed investment by others in Hamilton.

“That’s what the aim is - to make Hamilton the best city in New Zealand.”

Piso said the announcement that international flights are coming back to Hamilton in June had further boosted their confidence for the future.

Both men have long-standing links to the city. Mistry shifted here when he was two and Piso migrated from South Africa 22 years ago.

They said they were keen to keep contributing to Hamilton.

“I want to give back to the city”, said Mistry and Piso said Hamilton is “the best city to work and raise a family in New Zealand”.

By the numbers:

Mistry Centre key stats:

Total levels: 19

Above ground: 17

Future intentions:

Car parking levels below ground: 2

Ground level – Reception & restaurant

Level 1 and 2 - Conference and office space

Levels 3-14 – Hotel rooms

Level 15 - Rooftop bar & restaurant

Level 16 - A private lounge (details to be confirmed)