Niue Hotel

Niue Hotel was a hotel in Niue, Oceania, the largest on the island. The government-owned hotel was built in 1975 in the hope of stimulating tourism. It was badly damaged in 1990, but was refurbished and expanded. However, it struggled to attract guests and in 2000 was put up for sale, and leased for use as a medical school. The buildings were destroyed by a hurricane in 2004.

Opening

The Niue Hotel was built in 1975.[1][lower-alpha 1] It was on the coast between Alofi and the airport.[3] The hotel was state-owned.[4] There were originally 20 rooms and 40 beds.[5] The hotel was built in the hope of stimulating tourism rather than in response to demand.[5] Its immediate purpose was to provide accommodations for attendees of the 1978 South Pacific Forum meeting.[6] In 1975 the International Labour Organization provided fellowships in hotel and tourism training in Tonga to three candidates from Niue, in kitchen, housekeeping and front office. On their return to Niue they worked at the Niue Hotel.[7]

Operations

The hotel was managed by the Tourist Board.[8] The Niue Hotel provided superior accommodation to that available elsewhere in the region.[9] The restaurant and bar were housed in a round building in the center of the complex,[10] and the bar looked out over the Pacific.[6] From June to August 1979 the hotel had 289 guests, of whom 113 were tourists, more than half from New Zealand.[5] In the 1980s the premier Sir Robert Rex was a frequent visitor.[6]

In 1990 the hotel was badly damaged by Cyclone Ofa.[2] It was repaired and expanded.[4] Reconstruction cost NZ$1.5 million, mainly provided by the government of New Zealand. The hotel was reopened at the end of May 1990.[11] The two-story hotel now had 32 rooms.[1] With the additional 12 rooms there was now enough accommodation to support a regular air service from Auckland to Niue.[12] The decision to lease it to New Zealand interests caused a rebellion by cabinet ministers that almost caused premier Sir Robert Rex to be forced out of office.[11]

In the early 1990s the Niue Hotel was the social hub of residents of the island, as well as accommodating visitors.[10] A 2000 travel guide gave rates of NZ$109/125 for single or double occupancy of a room, including breakfast. Rooms were cooled by fan, and had a fridge and private bath. There was also an ocean-view executive suite and a family suite that could accommodate six.[3] The hotel had a restaurant with 100 seats, a bar, gift shop and swimming pool.[3]

Closure

The Niue tourism business continued to struggle. When the 24-room Matavai Resort opened in September 1996 there were just six tourists on Niue, and the Niue Hotel had no guests at all.[13] In 2000 Premier Sani Lakatani announced that the government would put the hotel up for sale.[2] It had been experiencing poor occupancy rates compared to the better quality Matavai Resort, which itself was finding it hard to attract visitors.[14] In 2000 the Lord Liverpool University George Washington School of Medicine was founded on the island, with the former hotel as its campus.[14] The hotel was destroyed by Cyclone Heta in January 2004.[15]

Notes
  1. Another source says the hotel opened in 1974.[2]

References
  1. Lück, Michael; Kirstges, Torsten (2003). Global Ecotourism Policies and Case Studies: Perspectives and Constraints. Channel View Publications. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-873150-40-5.
  2. Pacific Magazine, Pacific Magazine Corporation, 2000, retrieved 6 October 2020
  3. Stanley, David (2000), South Pacific Handbook, David Stanley, pp. 361–362, ISBN 978-1-56691-172-6, retrieved 6 October 2020
  4. The Contemporary Pacific, Center for Pacific Islands Studies & University of Hawaii Press, 1993, p. 159, retrieved 6 October 2020
  5. Pacific Tourism, as Islanders See it, Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific, 1980, pp. 63–, retrieved 6 October 2020
  6. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. Staff (1991), Fodor's South Pacific: The Best Resorts, Beaches, Nightlife and Shopping, Fodor's Travel Publications, pp. 114–117, ISBN 978-0-679-02097-4, retrieved 6 October 2020
  7. International Labour Organisation (1975), Hotel and Tourism Training Scheme, Tonga, United Nations Development Programme, pp. 7–, ISBN 978-92-2-101450-8, retrieved 6 October 2020
  8. Anthony Haas (1977). New Zealand and the South Pacific: A Guide to Economic Development in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, and Western Samoa. Asia Pacific Research Unit. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-908583-01-0.
  9. PATA Travel News: Asia/Pacific, PATA, 1996, p. 2, retrieved 6 October 2020
  10. Pacific Magazine, Pacific Magazine Corporation, 1995, p. 56
  11. Stephen Levine (Spring 1992), "Niue", The Contemporary Pacific, University of Hawai'i Press, 4 (1), p. 204, JSTOR 23699849
  12. Country Report: Pacific Islands--Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Western Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga, The Unit, 1992, pp. 57–, retrieved 6 October 2020
  13. Stephen Levine (Spring 1998), "Niue", The Contemporary Pacific, University of Hawai'i Press, 10 (1): 217, JSTOR 23706845
  14. Karin Von Strokirch, Margaret Mutu, Stephen Levine, Asofou So'o, Keli Kalolo, Kerry James (Spring 2001), "Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000", The Contemporary Pacific, University of Hawai'i Press, 13 (1): 243–244, JSTOR 23718518CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Stanley, David (2004). Moon Handbooks South Pacific. David Stanley. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-56691-411-6.
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