With little concrete information on the exact site but plenty of speculation, it seems likely the "Hilton Queenstown" will take over the planned Westin hotel site on the Kawarau Falls Station development.
The company website entry reads: "Hilton Queenstown, surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu, is Hilton's third hotel to open in New Zealand.
"Our brand new hotel, one of the closest hotels to the Remarkable skifields and only a short distance from Queenstown village, is the perfect base to explore all that Queenstown has to offer. We are now seeking five-star hospitality professionals to join the Hilton family and ensure the successful opening and operation of this beautiful property."
Hilton Australasia corporate communications manager Charlotte Seymour did not return phone calls from the Otago Daily Times yesterday, nor did KordaMentha, receivers for Kawarau Falls Station.
The future of the Westin - part of the $1 billion Kawarau Falls Station development - has been in doubt, with the hotel having stopped taking bookings, despite nearing completion.
Ronnie Hilton, the grandson of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels Corp, which was established in Cisco, Texas, in 1919, was in Queenstown in January during the Michael Hill New Zealand Golf Open at The Hills.
Ronnie is the youngest of Barron Hilton's eight sons.
His brother Richard is the father of celebrities Paris and Nicky Hilton.
One of his partners in the NZ Open Pro-Am, Greg Turner, told the ODT he understood "they were looking around" while in Queenstown, but "they weren't specific".
"I've got my theories," Turner said.
Remarkables Park Ltd director Alastair Porter said if the Hilton brand did have a presence in Queenstown, "that can only augur well" for the resort.
"Remarkables Park would be happy to lend any support [we] could to Kawarau Falls to secure a major hotel."
The Westin was supposed to be the first of four hotels to open at the site, which also included a Quadrant hotel.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts owns the Westin label, while Quadrant is Melview Development's own hotel chain.
Two companies associated with stage 1 of the development, Melview (Kawarau Falls Station) Investments Ltd and Melview (Kawarau Falls Station) Development Ltd, went into receivership in May.
Receivers KordaMentha allowed work to continue despite the two Melview companies owing creditors more than $144 million, including $117 million to Bank of Scotland International, which called in the receivers.
Last week, the ODT reported a "preferred operator" for the two stage 1 hotels had been identified by the receivers, who were working through the commercial arrangements.
Stage 1 is expected to be completed in August, with a "targeted opening date" in September.
