Nigel Harper return to The Hermitage Hotel after more than thirty ...

Media release from The Hermitage Hotel, Aoraki Mount Cook12 December 2011New General Manager returns to The Hermitage HotelThe lure of the stunning Aoraki Mount Cook region has seen new General ManagerNigel Harper return to The Hermitage Hotel after more than thirty years.Mr Harper took up his new role today (Monday December 12) having gained a wealth ofexperience at management level in the hotel business throughout New Zealand andAsia.John Davies, chairman of Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village Ltd which owns the iconicNew Zealand property, said he was delighted to welcome Mr Harper to the position.“Apart from his obvious breadth of knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry,he brings with him the knowledge of operating in the special environment that is AorakiMount Cook and has a strong focus on management and operations,” said Mr Davies.Mr Harper has spent many years with global hotel company Accor in Asia in rolesencompassing all aspects of hotel management and operations, and also spent morethan ten years with Southern Pacific Hotels, based in Sydney, during which time he wasdirector of operations for Australia and Asia.Most recently he was General Manager at Scenic Hotel Southern Cross in Dunedin, andarea manager for the company’s three hotels in Otago.He previously ran The Hermitage for seven-and-a half- years in the 1970’s, and has runother key tourism properties in Tongariro National Park, Queenstown and Taupo.Mr Harper said he was very much looking forward to living and working in the mountainsonce again.“To some extent it feels like coming home,” he said. “Of course there have been somephysical changes since I left in 1978, but it’s a stunning property to be working with andI’m looking forward to getting the word out there about the diversity of our product.”From its modest beginnings in 1884 as a 12-bed ‘cob’ building to the 217-roomcombined hotel, motel and chalet complex of today, The Hermitage Hotel has played ahuge part in New Zealand’s pioneering history. It’s been a home away from home forclimbers like the late Sir Edmund Hillary, and hosted innumerable guests, dignitaries andcelebrities from around the world.

ENDSPicture Caption: New Hermitage Hotel General Manager Nigel HarperFor further media inquiries please contact:General Manager Nigel HarperThe Hermitage HotelPhone: +64 (0)3 435 1620Mobile: +64 (0)27 500 9281Email: Nigel.Harper@hermitage.co.nzOrAlexa ForbesSouthern PRTel: 03 441 1117Email: Alexa@southernpr.co.nzHotel HistoryThe first Hermitage was built in 1884 under the direction of Frank Huddleston fromTimaru.Access was initially by horse-drawn coach service from Fairlie (a two-day ‘bone shaker’which now takes a smooth 90 minutes) which later progressed to service cars.After nearly 30 years, bad weather and floods took its toll on the original Hermitagebuilding and a series of floods destroyed it beyond repair while the second Hermitagewas under construction.By the time it opened in 1914, service car provider The Mount Cook Motor Companywas expanding to keep up with visitor demand. Keen to keep The Hermitage openthroughout winter, in 1921 it took over the lease and developed camping facilities andpackage tours.In 1944 the lease expired and The Hermitage was returned to the Government. Disasterstruck in September 1957 when the second Hermitage was razed to the ground in aspectacular fire. The third and current Hermitage was built and operational by May 1958and was run by the Government-owned THC (Tourist Hotel Corporation).The original accommodation wing, now known as the Mount Cook Wing, still standstoday. Numerous additions have been made since, notably:1967 - Glencoe Lodge1969 - Panorama Restaurant1973 – Chalets1975/76 - Motels1977 – 40-room Wakefield Wing2001 - $20 million makeover to all public areas and new 60-room Aoraki Wing.

2008 – $10 million Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre opens.The hotel’s range of facilities makes it a popular venue for weddings, conferences andparties, where two restaurants and a café have floor to ceiling views of Aoraki MountCook.In 1990 the hotel returned to private ownership and is now jointly owned by TrojanHoldings, a company owned by the Davies family of Queenstown and the Valentinefamily of Dunedin.Today The Hermitage is an icon of superior accommodation and dining, and a worldrenownedtourist destination.