Developers Ashley Cho (left) and Murray Jones on the spot above Cobb & Co, where three apartments are soon to be built. Photo: Dan Hutchinson

Taupō's newest hotel is almost ready to open its doors.

After almost four years of renovation, developer Murray Jones is putting the finishing touches on a 30-room hotel above Finns Bistro and Beer Garden on Tūwharetoa St.

The next stage of the development will involve three apartments above Cobb & Co, attached to the new hotel.

The original plan was for a five-level development and footings were installed for that but difficulties with meeting stringent earthquake codes made it too difficult, Murray says of the apartment development.

The new hotel has no reception staff, relying on a fully automated check-in system that resembles a couple of ATM machines.

It has been a long journey for Murray, converting the old backpackers into a modern hotel, with all the regulatory hurdles that come with such a development.

It features 60-minute fire-rated doors, double-glazed windows, and double- thickness, fire-rated linings on all the walls.

Murray, who owns the building through his company Precinct Developments, has gutted and rebuilt the property from the floor up.

It is in the heart of Taupō’s entertainment precinct, and Murray says he has persisted with the development because the location is hard to beat and once you start a development like this you can’t back out.

Guests check in via a kiosk system managed by IT specialist Ashley Cho, who holds a stake in the business.

When a guest books through Booking.com, the system generates a QR code that is emailed to their phone. At the kiosk, they scan the code, select how many key cards they need, pay a $100 deposit, and collect their keys — all without speaking to anyone.

If guests need further assistance, they can pop to Finns next door, which is open late most nights.

The 30 rooms are spread across roughly 1,000 square metres and are all fitted with new showers, large TV’s, double-glazed windows, and individual heat pumps.

A render of the apartments that are soon to be built above Cobb & Co on Tongariro St.

"There is no building in town like it. It'll be the most compliant building in town."

He is candid about the cost. The fire-rated plasterboard alone accounts for around $1 million of the build. A $50,000 fire escape was added recently at the council's request, despite an existing escape already being in place. The boiler system is still being connected, and Jones estimates the delays are costing about $10,000 a month.

"If I knew what I know now, I might not have even done it. Like a ship — if you go from one port to another, you've got to weather every storm that comes your way. You can't turn around and go back."

The hotel is waiting on a Certificate of Public Use from the Taupō District Council before it can open but bookings are already rolling in.

There are already about 150 bookings in the system, Murray says, with reservations stretching through to next year's Ironman event.

Three two-bedroom apartments are also planned for the site, with building consent due to be lodged by the end of the month and resource consent already in place.

The apartments are designed for families and groups and will be accessed through the same lobby and check-in system as the hotel rooms.

They will include full kitchens, decks, and barbecues.

Murray owns the whole building which has a number of other tenants in it. A later stage involves an automated car parking building with 62 spaces at the rear of the property, though the details of that are still being worked through.

Jones has been developing property in Taupō for 20 to 30 years, having moved from Wellington.

He built the Shooters Golf Range, the Supercheap Auto block with apartments above, and the Rebel Sport building, among others. He owns about 15 buildings in and around the town.

He sees a clear gap in Taupō's accommodation market. Most of the existing motel stock along the lakefront is ageing, and owners are reluctant to trigger the compliance requirements that come with renovation.

"The moment you trigger something, you're out for all those hundreds of thousands of dollars of costs.”

A site across the road, adjacent to Vines Restaurant is still on the market after its previous owners gained consent for a six-storey hotel.

Another site opposite McDonalds also has consent for a hotel but development is on hold for that too, meaning there is still a shortage of hotel-style accommodation in Taupō.

Murray is not optimistic about the economics of those developments, given the costs associated.

"As soon as they have a chat with me, they wouldn't do it," he says.

For now, Jones and Cho are focused on getting their own doors open. Beck Builders, who recently won an award at the regional Master Builders Awards, carried out the extension work on the building.

Murray says you would not know from the outside that it was ever separate from the original structure.

The hotel does not yet have a star rating because it hasn’t opened, although it looks like a typical 4-star quality. Jones is not particularly concerned about that. What he is certain of is the location.

"There's nothing like this. The location — you can't beat it."

The new apartments will be “quite luxurious inside” and connected via a short corridor and lift.