Hotel St George, Wellington facts for kids
The Hotel St. George was once a very important and famous hotel in Wellington, New Zealand. It was known as one of the best hotels in the city for many years.
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A Famous Wellington Landmark
The Hotel St. George was built in 1929-1930. It was designed by architect William Prouse. The building is a great example of Art Deco style, which was popular at that time. For a short while, it was even the biggest hotel in New Zealand!
The hotel was located where two busy streets, Willis and Boulcott Streets, met. Its main entrance was on Boulcott Street. Before the Hotel St. George was built, an older hotel called the "Albert" or "Old Identities" Hotel stood on the same spot. This older hotel was named after John Plimmer, an early settler in Wellington.
Home to Stars and Royalty
The Hotel St. George was known as Wellington's top hotel. Many important events took place in its special Palm Lounge.
During World War II, in 1942, the hotel was used by US Marines. It even appeared in a movie called Until They Sail in 1957.
One of the most famous visits was by The Beatles in 1964. They stayed in rooms 601 and 602 during their tour! Many years later, in 2012, a tribute band called The Bootleg Beatles even performed a concert from the hotel's balcony, just like the original Beatles did.
The hotel was also the first choice for many important visitors. This included members of royalty and international sports teams, like rugby teams. It also hosted the first national science fiction convention in New Zealand in 1979, and again in 1980 and 1987.
Hotel Features
The Hotel St. George has eight floors. It had many different types of rooms for guests. Some rooms had their own bathrooms, while others shared bathrooms.
Today, the building is recognized as an important historical place. It has a Category II listing with Heritage New Zealand.
Festival of The Arts Venue
In 1992, the third floor of the hotel became a fun place for late-night shows. This happened during the Festival of The Arts in Wellington. After the main performances around the city, many famous New Zealand musicians came to play. They performed in their own bands or even created new "jam" bands on the spot!
It is believed that the Queen of New Zealand visited the Hotel St. George during one of her tours. Her youngest son, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, also spent some time in New Zealand in 1982. He worked as a tutor at Wanganui Collegiate School.
Student Living
Since 1994, the Hotel St. George has mostly been used as a student hostel. First, it housed students from Massey University in Wellington. Then, starting in 2006, it became a hostel for Victoria University of Wellington. It is the university's second-largest hostel, providing homes for 232 students. During the summer holidays, when university is out, it still works as a hotel.
The building had big renovations in 2005 and 2006 to make it better for students. More improvements continued in 2007.
In 2007, the company managing the hostel faced some money problems. Because of this, Victoria University of Wellington took over managing the hostel itself. This made sure that students would still have a place to live in 2008.
For a while, St. George Hall was the most expensive student hostel at Victoria University. It had eight floors for students, and an extra building called the Annex with three floors. The eighth floor was set aside just for girls.
In 2008, Victoria University of Wellington took over the lease for both the St. George Hotel building and the Annex. The hostel became known as "St George Hall." The university worked to improve the hostel's reputation. At that time, St George Hall had eight staff members, including a Residential Manager and Residential Advisors.
However, in 2009, Victoria University decided not to continue using St. George Hall. This was because the building did not meet modern earthquake safety rules. Since then, the building has been owned by the Prime Property Group.
