Carnmore Hotel Christchurch

Opened in October 2020 as Cosa Hotel and later rebranded Carnmore Hotel Christchurch, this 88-room, five-storey property on Colombo Street was New Zealand's first hotel built from prefabricated modular units shipped in from Vietnam. It anchors the 4-star end of the rebuilt CBD, a short walk from the Te Pae convention centre.

The place

On Colombo Street in Christchurch Central, about 300 metres from the Te Pae convention centre, in the heart of the rebuilt post-earthquake CBD.

The concept

Opened in October 2020 under the name Cosa Hotel (later rebranded Carnmore Hotel Christchurch), this five-storey, 88-room property was New Zealand's first locally designed modular-built hotel. Prefabricated, steel-framed room modules — complete with tiling, fittings and bathrooms — were built in Vietnam by TLC Modular and craned into place above ground-floor common areas, with wiring, plumbing and finishing completed on site in Christchurch. The build ran roughly two years behind its original schedule, but it delivered a genuinely new hotel building rather than a converted one, positioned squarely in the city's 4-star market. A distinctive mural by a local artist greets guests in the entrance foyer, and the modular approach kept the room count and layout consistent across all five floors: 22-square-metre rooms with double-showerhead bathrooms, in-room safes and Sky TV.

Dining & wellness

The hotel has an all-day café, a licensed bar/restaurant on the ground floor, and a conference venue for 10 to 50 people. Further dining specifics beyond the café and bar are not independently confirmed.