Hotel Lake Brunner and Paroa Hotel were each hit with three-day suspensions of their licences after police found intoxicated people on their premises.
Two managers' certificates were also suspended.
Hotel Lake Brunner's suspension has been set down from 8am on Friday, November 15 until 8am the following Monday — Canterbury Anniversary Weekend — and a busy weekend at Moana with the influx of visitors from Canterbury.
Hotel owner Phillip Barnett said an outpouring of support, and widespread disbelief from the community and patrons over the upcoming suspension, had reinforced his decision "to pursue a more public hearing to examine both the principle of natural justice and the SCAB test itself".
The police-initiated SCAB test is used to identify intoxicated patrons by assessing their speech, co-ordination, appearance and behaviour.
Mr Barnett said it leaves venues vulnerable to "frequent, potentially inconsistent assessments" and had given his bar an unfair outcome.
"Under this test, if a patron is judged to fail two of these arbitrary assessments, a hotel must remove them from the premises.
"In our case, although these patrons had not been excessive in the drinks they had consumed at the hotel, the mere presence of these two individuals whom the police deemed intoxicated, led to this decision."
Mr Barnett said the incident occurred on the evening of a local resident's funeral, "a time of heightened emotion".
According to other guests, "the two patrons in question had not caused any disturbance".
"The legal costs so far have exceeded $25,000. Closing our bar will bring further financial impact in the tens of thousands," he said.
Police had earlier briefed the hotel of potential trouble from comments on Facebook, and "we expected a more constructive and collaborative approach from local agencies".
As well, he pointed to a contradiction in the ruling: "Although our bar is closed under the suspension, we're still permitted to operate our off licence/bottle store during the same period. This means that, regardless of how a customer travels to our premises, we could legally sell them a significant quantity of alcohol — as long as they are over-18, not in breach of the SCAB test and do not remain within our designated on-licence area of our bar and restaurant."
Mr Barnett said he and his family had operated the Moana hotel for 12 years, and this was the first time their commitment to host responsibility had been questioned.
"While this experience has been disheartening, we are determined to find solutions that continue to uphold both the safety and social importance of our hotel. Thank you to our patrons for your ongoing support, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause over Canterbury Anniversary Weekend.
"Our restaurant, accommodation, hot tubs, non-alcoholic beverages, and off-licence bottle store will remain available, and we will be open to welcome you with our dedicated team."
Police have previously said the decisions followed "solid investigation work" undertaken by the alcohol harm prevention officer for West Coast, sergeant Russell Glue, who was appointed to the role two and a half years ago.
- By Meg Fulford
