Cade Thornton: Cardrona Hotel co-owner on the hotel going up for sale

Central Otago's iconic Cardrona Hotel is up for sale through private negotiation. 

The 162-year-old building sits between Wanaka and Queenstown. 

It's on the market for the first time in more than a decade. 

Co-owner Cade Thornton told Mike Hosking they'll be selling privately, with no real estate agents involved. 

He says there's been expressions of interest throughout their ownership, from overseas parties and nationwide. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the country's most iconic hotels is up for sale.

(00:03):
The one hundred and sixty four year old Cadrona Hotel
built an eighteen sixty three award winning restaurant year round,
be a garden, seventeen hotel rooms. What's not to want
a Kate Thornton is the co owner and as well
as cad morning.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning, how are you well?

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Thank you? The decision to sell juist or not?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
No? Well, yes, very aarduous. We don't want to sell,
but it's time to self.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Is it based on what you want to go and
do other things?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
I want to go do other things, spend time with
my young kids, see the world and just pubs take
up a lot of your life and time energy, but
they're definitely hugely rewarding.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
What would you say about your time? Which how long
has it? How long you been at least a decade?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Isn't it twelve years? It's my thirteenth winter?

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wow? And your time there? How would you encapsulate it?

Speaker 2 (00:52):
It's defined my life no way, So it's just it's
completely defined my life. Owning an icon is is hugely rewarding.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
So is it the icon you've enjoyed or Is it
just a hotel and you could do it somewhere else
if it wasn't an icon.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
I don't know if I could do it somewhere else.
It's definitely definitely the icon and what it's brought to
our life. And just the Codrona Valley's pretty special too,
And so I think just everything about the pub that
makes it specials what's made it special for me?

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Is it a going concern?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, freehold, going concern, the whole lock stock.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
And barrel and staffing. Do you have trouble?

Speaker 2 (01:33):
No during COVID years, post COVID years, but no, the hotel,
I think it's fame. It's at Lewis Star. So it's
you just got to make sure you pick the right
ones out of the extens.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
And what about the clientele? Are they all locals or
tourists or a mix of?

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Ah? Makes huge? Makes small funny? Fifty locals in the
Codrona Valley, but Queen certain were a massive locals destination
of Queen Sound and Wan people and internationals. It's it's
famous in our time social media, it's famous worldwide.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
How are you train seasonal now? In the sense it does?

Speaker 2 (02:07):
It?

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Does it? It's so there isn't a season in Queenstown anymore?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Not really, No. I mean when we bought it, you know,
twenty thirteen, winter was its bigger season, with great summers.
Now summers bigger than winter. The shoulder periods are really
small now, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Okay. And the accommodation what part does that play as
opposed to the beer garden, as opposed to the food.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
The accommodation is a huge part of the business. Staying here,
you know, everyone loves staying here and that feeds your
bar and your restaurant. But you know, we have an
on site retail store. You know, it all just works,
It all just works hand in hand smoothly and really well.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
How are you selling it? Are you doing a tender
or a boxtion.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Or a expressions of inter sale over six weeks period
and we're actually going to be selling it ourselves?

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Oh no way, good onion? What do you want for it?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Big decisions? We've decided we're not going to disclose that.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Sorry, Okay, is it seven figures? How many sevens?

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Is it heading towards eight figures or is it closer
to just into sevens?

Speaker 2 (03:11):
We'll go as anything. To be honest, you want, you.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Want to have you got intest so far genuine interested
too early.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
There's always interested in the hotel throughout our ownership. There
has always been paid.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
So you won't have trouble selling it.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
No, absolutely not. And there's been a massive amount of
interest from you get on wide and overseas already overnight.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Does it need does it need any work?

Speaker 2 (03:37):
It always needs work.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
No, no, no, But apart from the odd part, apart
from the ongoing it does it? Yeah, you probably rewired
the place you're not going to reroof.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
The back was all done in two thousand and one
when it had a massive investment into it plumbed.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Absolutely fantastic. Will go well with it and I'm sure
you will sell it. And good luck with whether youre
head on to Kate Thornton, who's the co owner of
the Kadrona Hotel. If you never being that it's well
worth it. I mean it's a sensational part of the
sensational part of the country, Tim and Katie. What you
reckon is worth I was looking into one hotel that
was I know what that hotel was worth, but this

(04:12):
is a different I reckon it's worth six, seven, eight. Yeah,
Erecon's worth four. Sam reckons, it's worth four, mind you,
Sam Reckon that Amazon put robots in four years ago.
So I don't think Sam's good on real estate or
hotels or but you know anyway. For more from The

(04:33):
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Speaker 2 (04:35):
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