There has been keen interest from Kiwis and foreign buyers in the sale of the Cardrona Hotel, and expressions of interest close on Friday (August 15).

The 162-year-old heritage-listed hotel and restaurant has been on the market for five weeks, and owners Cade and Alexis Thornton said enquiries had surpassed their expectations.

“We’ve had a lot of enquiry from Australia, as well as potential domestic buyers,” Cade said.

“We have narrowed our discussions down to eight groups, so it’s looking promising. 

“Each group are fantastic operators with a background in hospitality or hotels. Alexis and I are confident that we'll find a highly skilled and experienced publican who will do great things for the hotel.”

The interested buyers are from New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Singapore, and many have a prior connection to the hotel.

“It has been really nice to see that almost all the interested parties already have an emotional connection to the hotel and have visited or stayed with us in the past,” Cade said.

The hotel listing on Trade Me Property is the website’s third most popular live listing this year, with more than 130,016 views in the five weeks it has been listed. 

Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd said engagement with the listing showed the hotel “holds a special place in the hearts of many New Zealanders”.

There has also been strong interest from global media, with the hotel appearing in the news around the world, from Australia to Iceland. 

Expressions of interest for the sale close at 4pm on Friday.

PHOTO: Supplied