Shelley, who manages Poshtel with her husband Aidan, says the sporting collections revolve around sports that have been important within Otago. “It’s so great someone is preserving this for future generations because so much of this stuff actually gets thrown out…We’re not nervous about people touching things.”
The couple returned from the UK in January 2020 after a long period in Cheltenham managing two bed and breakfasts, “We just think we’re lucky. Very, very lucky.”
Open for close to two years, the hotel is steadily becoming a searched for place to stay, “A lot of people come down to do the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail. A lot of Aucklanders. Not enough Wellingtonians. I’d like to see a few more down here.”
Shelley says managing the unique accommodation is a constant source of surprise, “Every day I find something new. Everywhere.”
Poshtel, being a treasure trove, makes it hard to play favourites with the different spaces, “This lounge is where people walk in and they go wow!…I like the snooker room. I like the way the light comes in. Upstairs we have a music room and that’s really lovely. We had the NZ Orchestra stay, when they came to play at the Ōamaru Opera House, I put one of them in the music room…Then in the gallery we’ve got a canon that was salvaged by Kelly Tarlton off Tiritiri Matangi Island, so that for Aucklanders is really important.”