The Careys Bay Historic Hotel has been sold for an unconfirmed sum of more than $1.2 million.
Auckland-based National Business Review publisher Barry Colman confirmed yesterday a sale agreement had been reached with a Dunedin family.
Mr Colman and his late wife, Cushla Martini, bought the 1876 hotel in 2001 and extensively renovated the bluestone building, at a cost of of $1.6 million.
Ms Martini (55) died of breast cancer in September 2005. In mid-2006 Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled a plaque in Ms Martini's memory for her work on the restoration. It also marked the official opening of the hotel's courtyard restaurant, Cushla's.
‘‘I'm a very reluctant seller. This is the end of a chapter for me because the Careys Bay Hotel and community became such an important part of our lives.
"Cushla loved the place and she was passionate about preserving our heritage buildings and our colonial history,'' Mr Colman said.
A collection of Ralph Hotere works - including the auction record $230,000 Vive Aramoana - was not included in the sale but would remain on indefinite display at the hotel.
Semi-retired Dunedin builder John Kidston said yesterday that his daughter, Joanna, and son-in-law and hotel chef Rikki Lind would manage the hotel when the family took possession at the end of March.
There were no plans for any immediate changes at the hotel, other than opening up three restored rooms in the second storey for accommodation, Mr Kidston said.
Mr Colman said the hotel had performed well commercially but needed ‘‘hands on management to reach its potential'', which was not possible for him to do from Auckland.
Ms Martini's other Port Chalmers projects, the Tall Poppy restaurant and two 1890s town houses have been sold in recent years, but Mr Colman has retained a restored 1920s cottage near the hotel.
