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The chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings says the tribe's new $150 million hotel at Auckland International Airport will be a magnificent architectural statement at the gateway to Aotearoa.
The first sod for Te Arikinui Pullman Hotel was turned yesterday by King Tuheitia on the site alongside the Novotel Tainui Auckland Airport Hotel at the International Terminal.
It's named after the late Māori Queen, Te Atairangikaahu, whose 88th birthday would have been yesterday.
Chris Joblin says architects Warren and Mahoney were asked to make a statement about Tainui.
"The story or the whakapapa around the new hotel, Te Arikinui, is about the journey our people took from the first landing and from earth to sky so it is bringing that storytelling into the design of the building which is really exciting and some of that is quite unique," he says.
Mr Joblin says it's important the hotel is being built in a partnership with Auckland International Airport Ltd, as such long term partnerships are criticial to the tribe's prospects.
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