Client News

“It makes us so proud and gives us a real sense of achievement in having built these fantastic houses and then being recognised by the industry for the quality and high standards of workmanship,” he said.He described the craftsmanship award as “one of the best” in the Master Builders Awards.

“It shows real recognition for all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into these houses, and it also demonstrates to our team that we’re getting recognised for our very high standard of finishing and quality throughout the construction.”

Stu said the company had grown significantly in recent years and the awards helped his team really focus on what they were trying to achieve.

The two homes that won the awards are both in Jacks Point, enjoying lake and mountain views and with a stunning golf course on their doorstep.

Taking out a Gold Award, Category Award and Craftsmanship Award in the CARTERS New Home $1 million to $2 million category, one of homes exudes lodge-style luxury, featuring timber and stone inside and out.

The other property won the company a Gold Award, Category Award and McKenzie and Willis Interior Design Award in the Nulook New Home $700,000 to $1 million category.

The more contemporary-style holiday retreat has been designed to work as a permanent home for its owners in the future.

Stu has 16 years’ experience in the building trade – he’s been working in the Central Lakes district for a decade and has built a large number of quality homes in the area.

The Lakes Building Company currently has three residential projects under construction, one in Kelvin Heights designed by Mason and Wales, a large house in Dalefield designed by Artkus and a large alteration in Arrowtown designed by Assembly Architects.

The Lakes Building Company most recently finished work on the Gems Childcare Centre in Shotover Country.

Since 2012, the company has received 14 Master Builders awards, including the six current awards.

About The Lakes Building Company

Stu’s local knowledge and eye for detail saw him achieve a Gold Award at the 2012 Master Builder’s House of the Year and was named overall winner for the Category ($350 000 – $450 000 new build). This house was then included as one of the top 100 houses to go through to the National Master Builder’s House of the Year Awards, achieving a Gold Reserve Award, an impressive achievement for a first-time entrant.

In 2013 Stu entered his own beautiful Jack’s Point home in the Builders Own Home section of the competition and again took out the Gold Award and was included in the national finals.

In 2015 the Lakes Building Company picked up two more prestigious Gold Awards.

Click here to visit The Lakes Building Company’s website.

Picture caption:

1/ Lakes Building Company won three regional House of the Year Awards for this Jacks Point property

And it’s making the rental process as easy as can be with its brand-new GO App, enabling customers to book, check-in and order an airport shuttle service, all at the touch of a button.

Gay Ski Week QT Organiser Sally Whitewoods says she’s delighted to be working closely with GO Rentals.

“The company’s a great advocate for GAY Ski Week QT and their cars and services have a fantastic reputation,” she said.

“We felt that both companies were perfectly matched and it’s great to see GO Rentals engaging with the LGBTQI market.

“The GO team is passionate about making travel in New Zealand ‘easier and breezier’ and their 4WD fleet is sure to add some glitz and glamour to event-goers’ journeys.”

To help make things even easier, vehicle hire for Gay Ski Week QT includes free GO Basic insurance, a GO Play Card with discounts for 20 Queenstown activities, 24-hour Roadside Assistance and unlimited kilometres.

GO Rentals Marketing Manager Alex Blanco said the company was thrilled to be partnering with the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest gay and lesbian festival.

“The event is on national and international gay and lesbian calendars and we’re committed to putting a smile on people’s dials by making guest journeys easy from the get-go,” he said.

“We have an awesome fleet of 4WD and budget rental cars suited to Queenstown’s wintery conditions, so everyone has a safe and enjoyable journey to nearby ski fields.

“Our new GO App streamlines the booking and check-in process all in the palm of your hand, and if a cold front moves in, our Uber-style shuttle offers a prompt, warm service.”

GO Rentals prides itself on its quality, safety, environmental mindfulness, and is recognised by Qualmark for delivering sustainable business practices. It was recently awarded a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Award, a first for the New Zealand car rental industry.

To get 10% discount off your Gay Ski Week QT car rental go to www.gorentals.co.nz/gay-skiweek. For the ultimate kiwi car rental experience download the free GO App on the iTunes App Store https://www.gorentals.co.nz/travel-help/go-app/

Event tickets are available from the Gay Ski Week QT website www.gayskiweekqt.com/ and up-to-the-minute news can be found online at www.facebook.com/gayskiweekqt.

Photo caption:

1/ Gay Ski Week QT snowboarders hitting the slopes in style thanks to GO Rentals

Their new tailor-made private expeditions on four wheels or two – off-road (of course) through the central South Island — give groups exclusive access to some of world’s most stunning and remote off-road terrain and landscapes.

Travelling between five to seven hours a day on off-road tracks that scour remote high country stations, cross fast-flowing rivers and consign a sealed road to nothing but a distant memory, their expeditions can literally go ‘coast to coast’ in the course of one epic off-road journey.

Off Road Queenstown, a family-owned and run business, has over 350,000 combined hours of experience in this terrain, unrivalled knowledge of the areas they traverse and unprecedented land access around the central South Island.

Their full day and multi-day private tours morph endless fun, excitement and off-road adrenalin rushes into expeditions of such monumental proportions they produce the tales that legends are made of.

“There’s a well-worn tourist trail throughout the South Island but we take clients on our full and multi-day tours to places they didn’t even know exist, let alone realise they could access,” said Off Road Queenstown owner Denis Columb.

While the company’s been operating dirt bike and quad bike tours since 1989, catering for all ability levels and youngsters as young as six (accompanied by adults), the off-road side-by-side buggy tours are a new and exciting addition to the menu.

“Our extended buggy expeditions are the absolute pinnacle of bespoke adventure packages in New Zealand,” said Denis’s son Lachie, Off Road Queenstown’s head guide and a former national ATV motorcycling champion.

“Driving the easy-to-use Yamaha Wolverine sports buggies opens up these adventures to more novice off-road clients, but they always come with the support of hugely qualified guides.

“For advanced and experienced off-road enthusiasts they can use our fleet of top-of-the-range 1000cc race buggies.”

His brother Scott, an eight-time NZ Super and Motocross champion, and Dirt Bike Tours NZ head guide, said the extended tours enabled groups to travel across more varied landscapes, terrain and every off-road trail they could imagine.

“We take them on trails from scenic to extreme and everything’s tailoured to that specific group of clients,” he said.

“There’s nowhere else in the world where a landscape is more suited to using these top-of-the-range off-road machines to the limits of their amazing capabilities.

“These private group packages are all-inclusive of buggies/ dirt bikes, gear, accommodation, meals, transfers and land access so there’s nothing to do other than make the most of trails from scenic to extreme, fast-flowing tracks or more technical trails.

“The feedback we receive from our clients is always outstanding and this season’s groups have unanimously stated it’s the best experience of any trip, ever.”

These bespoke tours are limited to a few lucky groups each year so early bookings are recommended.

From humble beginnings in 1989 the company’s grown to be one of the largest off-road tour companies in the world, with well over 100 top of the range off-road machines including dirt bikes, quad/ATV bikes, buggies, 4×4 Landcruisers and large adventure bikes.

Click here to visit Off Road Adventures’ website.

Picture caption:

1/ Race Buggies are a thrill a minute for Off Road Expeditions’ Executive Pro Tours

Just how popular it proved over its opening weekend took even seasoned staff by surprise. After making a last-minute decision to open Café 1851 on Saturday, the decision was more than justified by the sale of more than 300 cups of fresh Mojo coffee.

Market Place bar and restaurant was humming over the weekend with more than 200 customers enjoying the food, wine and service.

Ninety lucky guests were the first to stay in stunning designer rooms with views over the cityscape and out to the Canterbury Plains and Southern Alps, and Front Office Manager Krysten Butler was happily surprised by the number of ‘walk-in’ bookings received over the weekend, adding to the 11,000-plus bookings the hotel already has in its system.

The hotel is supporting the local economy in more ways than one, employing approximately 80 staff in a wide range of roles.

General Manager Reinier Eulink said he had received plenty of positive feedback since opening, with people “loving” the way the hotel looks.

“When we finally opened the doors there were a million feelings going on. The sense of excitement was strongest, as well as the relief that we’d finally got there.

“When we did open there was almost a sense of calm, knowing all the hard work our team had put in had paid off to get us to that point. The numbers in Café 1851 were a real surprise with the levels of sheer interest. It was brilliant to get that response from the local market.”

The hotel’s café attendants and baristas had to agree, saying they served a “big mix” of locals, tourists and families, many of whom spilled out into the lobby area from the café, sitting in front of the fire with a coffee and something tasty from the food selection.

The Scandanavian décor in the café drew special praise from many.

Food and Beverage manager Cody Huxtable said there had been “intense preparation” to get everything ready for opening.

“To see the end product is extremely rewarding. It doesn’t feel like a real hotel until you welcome in the public and see them enjoying themselves. It’s what we do day-in, day-out, so it’s great to finally be open and interacting with our new customers.”

Meanwhile Food and Beverage Projects Manager Serge Fernandes said the original plan had been to open the café on Monday but brought that forward at the last minute.

“As soon as we put the sign up and turned the lights on, people were trying to walk in and get coffee so we took that as a sign they were ready for us! A few guests mentioned they weren’t just happy to have another option in the city, it was about what the hotel represents for the Christchurch with another part ‘restored’.”

Overall feedback from the weekend also included being impressed with the design changes to the building and the Social Wine Bar concept and menu.

“Many of our staff didn’t realise just how closely people in Christchurch had been following our progress, so they loved chatting to them and seeing how excited they were,” said Reinier.

The return of the brand to the city is a significant milestone for the owners of the building and the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG^®).

Crowne Plaza Christchurch was one of three new hotels that IHG added to its portfolio in the region over the weekend, the others being Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley and the Kirkton Park hotel in Australia.

The new Crowne Plaza Christchurch is situated on the corner of Colombo and Armagh streets opposite Victoria Square.

Picture caption:

1/ Marketplace Restaurant at Crowne Plaza Christchurch will be the perfect spot for dinner. Photo credit: Antoinette Baker