New Hotel Of Distinction In The South
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Full credit to Geoff Thomson for bringing 4.5 star hotel quality to his home town, described by his new Distinction Invercargill Hotel manager as impressive in every way.
“He has not cut any corners in this property. He has gone all out and that will be the difference, I believe… It is great to be part of bringing this property to the Invercargill market,” Dean Nicol said.
The first customers through the doors last week was a tour group of 45 people mostly from Australia. “It was a great way to open the hotel and they felt very special being our first customers,” Dean said.
The hotel has hosted a few invited guests “to give us the opportunity to practice our service delivery and work through fine tuning of any issues that arise,” Dean said, and now they are open for all bookings.
Corporate clients are starting arriving, and Dean said the response and feedback has been really positive. “The goal is to continue with the quick completion of the hotel and the continual improvement of the services we deliver; it is a very exciting time.”
Dean was previously the general manager of Distinction Hotel in Palmerston North before moving to Invercargill to take on executive manager position at the Ascot Park Hotel.
He rejoined Distinction Hotels in April to be part of the new Invercargill hotel, and said after the success of the Dunedin property, it was great to see a lot of the features that provided customer “delights,” like the quietness of the rooms, washing machine and dryer in each one, the small prep area, the blue light in the bathroom, “the excellent showers and wonderfully comfortable beds have all been emulated in this hotel, but to the next level, and that is what will make this property a desirable place to stay.”
Dean is looking forward to when the hotel is finished and said it generally takes a while for things to settle in after the last construction worker leaves,” but when all is complete it is going to be a fantastic hotel.”
The remarkable transformation of the old Menzies government building into a 150-room Distinction Hotel has been completed, and the proud owner said he was excited to deliver Distinction’s signature heartfelt hospitality to even more guests and locals, and to make a positive contribution to the local Southland economy.
“We know that our rugged coastlines, wildlife, unique attractions, produce and famous Southland hospitality is a perfect match with visitors and now is our opportunity to ensure that Southland is front and centre in any future visitor’s itinerary”.
Geoff has 25+ years experience in the hotel industry, starting in Te Anau and then transforming the historic Dunedin Chief Post Office into the luxury Distinction Dunedin Hotel, followed by the redevelopment of an earthquake-damaged Christchurch hotel in the heart of Cathedral Square, which opened as the luxury Distinction Christchurch Hotel in early 2018. There has also been complete refurbishments of Distinction Whangarei Hotel, and Distinction Coachman Hotel Palmerston North during 2024/25, 80 deluxe rooms & suites at Distinction Luxmore Hotel Te Anau, along with upgrades of rooms at Distinction Mackenzie Country Hotel Twizel - as well as increasing capacity to 48 rooms by 2025/26 summer season. To book or find out more go to Distinction Invercargill Hotel website.