Hyatt checks out - Pullman checks in

Guests staying at Auckland’s oldest five-star hotel, the Hyatt, tonight will find the hotel has a new name when they wake up in the morning.

The Hyatt Regency will become Pullman Auckland Hotel & Residences just after midnight when international hotel management group Accor takes control.

Plans to rebrand the hotel on Waterloo Quadrant follow its $60 million sale last year to a confidential buyer within the GPR Hotel Group.

Pullman is Accor’s corporate “check-in, chill out” brand of upscale hotels for business travellers, with a network of 50 internationally.

Its entrance is part of a major New Zealand expansion by Accor, which took over what was Hotel So in Christchurch (formerly owned by developer Dave Henderson) for conversion to its All Seasons economy brand just before Christmas.

Accor vice president New Zealand Paul Richardson said the Pullman was off to an auspicious start with close to a “full house” tonight.

“Guests obviously won’t notice a vast difference by the time they wake, though we will have a large contingent of staff working through the night to begin the re-branding, including changing the main signs on the roof,” he said.

“By the weekend it will be very obvious to everyone in Auckland that the hotel has changed and that a new – and internationally renowned – brand name has made its debut in the city.

Accor will become New Zealand's largest hotel group when it opens the new Novotel and Formule 1 hotels at Auckland Airport in the middle of next year.

The company said yesterday there were a number of other projects under consideration in New Zealand.

The Hyatt opened in 1968 as the Intercontinental, or "Big I" as it became known, and boasts some of the largest conference facilities in Auckland, with the capacity to host events for up to 1000 delegates.

These include the grand ballroom and Top of the Town boardroom – one of Auckland's most exclusive venues – on the top floor of the hotel. The hotel received a $7 million refurbishment last year.

As the Pullman, it will offer 267 rooms, suites and apartments, with three executive levels.