Sudima heads to Wānaka with 136-room hotel

Kirk Roberts Consulting brings Hind Management back after Sudima Kaikōura to operate the 136-room hotel and manage shared resort facilities for the 72 residences

Hind Management, the New Zealand-founded, family-owned hotel operator behind Sudima Hotels, has been appointed to operate Sudima Wānaka and manage shared resort facilities for the residential component of the NZ$180 million Mount Iron Wānaka development. These marks Hind Management’s first venture into residential management alongside its hotel operations.

Sudima Wānaka will be Wānaka’s first major new hotel since the Edgewater opened in 1986, adding 136 full-service rooms to a town whose hotel offering hasn’t kept pace with its growth.

The 1.87-hectare site will also include the 72 Mount Iron Living residences (39 townhouses and 33 apartments) and shared leisure and wellness amenities.

The appointment builds on the successful Sudima Kaikōura partnership, developed by Kirk Roberts Consulting and operated by Hind Management since 2022. Kirk Roberts will lead the development, with Hind Management involved throughout the design and pre-opening stages.

Under a long-term management agreement, Hind Management will operate the hotel under the Sudima Hotels brand and manage the residences, providing a single operating partner across the development.

Hind Management founder and chief executive Sudesh Jhunjhnuwala ONZM says Mount Iron represents a long-term commitment to Wānaka and the wider lower South Island.

“Wānaka is a natural fit for Hind Management. It is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing visitor destinations, with year-round appeal across domestic and international travellers, and complements our existing South Island portfolio in Queenstown, Kaikōura and Christchurch.

“Operating hotels is what we do. The developer brings the site and the build, and we bring the brand, the people and the operating expertise to make the hotel perform from day one. We have seen that first-hand in Kaikōura. For the first time, we’ll manage residences alongside a hotel, so hotel guests and residents will enjoy the same high standard of service across the whole resort. It also gives developers a single operating partner across a mixed-use development. It’s a model we see real potential for with other developers and owners across New Zealand and beyond.”

With more than 25 years’ experience, Hind Management operates eight hotels with 1,333 rooms and employs more than 650 people across New Zealand, both under its own Sudima Hotels brand and as a third-party operator for international brands including Accor’s Novotel.

Sudima Wānaka is expected to create approximately 80 full-time and part-time roles, with local recruitment a priority. Hind Management will draw on its experience operating Sudima Queenstown and its recognition as Employer of Choice at the 2025 New Zealand Tourism Awards.

Kirk Roberts chief executive Jade Kirk says Mount Iron Wānaka builds on the successful partnership with Hind Management at Sudima Kaikōura.

“Mount Iron Wānaka is about creating something more than a hotel or residential development. Our vision is to bring together residential living, hospitality, recreation and wellbeing in one integrated alpine destination, creating a place where coming home feels like going on holiday.

“Our experience developing Sudima Kaikōura showed us what a strong partnership with Hind Management can deliver. They were a natural choice to work with us again and help bring this vision to life.”

Construction of the residential component of Mount Iron Wānaka is expected to begin in early 2027, with hotel construction scheduled to commence in early to mid-2028. The residences are expected to be completed approximately six months ahead of the hotel, with Sudima Wānaka scheduled to open in autumn 2029.

Sudima Wānaka will include a public restaurant and bar, conference facilities, on-site parking and ski storage. Hotel guests and residents will share access to a heated swimming pool, a hydrotherapy area with plunge pools, sauna, gym and wellness centre, pickleball court, a half basketball court area and tranquil landscaped gardens. A defining feature of the development is the Ridgeline, a distinctive elevated, landscaped walkway extending approximately 100 metres through the heart of the resort, connecting its residential, hospitality, recreation and wellbeing spaces.

Mount Iron Living will comprise 39 three-and four-bedroom townhouses and 33 apartments, including three penthouses, with shared facilities all managed by Hind Management.

Like every hotel Hind management operates, Sudima Wānaka will follow the company’s ESG Framework, with targets tied to sustainability-linked financing and reported every year.

All existing Sudima Hotels are certified under the Toitū Carbon Reduce programme, with emissions independently audited and hold Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism accreditation.

Hotel owners and developers interested in partnering with Hind Management or the Sudima Hotels brand can find out more at www.hindmanagement.com.