The Muse Christchurch Art Hotel

The Muse Christchurch Art Hotel occupies the 1961 Canterbury Building Society building, one of the few mid-century structures to survive the 2011 earthquakes, converted into a 40-room boutique hotel and opened in 2020. A council-funded seismic strengthening programme and a design built around local art give it one of the more distinctive stories among Christchurch's post-quake hotel openings.

The place

In the former Canterbury Building Society building on the edge of Christchurch's rebuilt central city, near the Cardboard Cathedral, one of the few mid-century structures to survive the 2011 earthquakes.

The concept

The Muse occupies the 1961 Canterbury Building Society building, one of architect Peter Beaven's first commercial commissions and one of the last of his commercial buildings left standing in the CBD after the earthquakes. Christchurch City Council part-funded a seismic strengthening programme on the condition that the reinforcement stay invisible from the exterior, and the change of use from office building to hotel — recognised with a 2021 Highly Commended Seismic Award — marked the first time the building had operated as a hotel. Three Sixty Architecture led the conversion, referencing Beaven's original 1960s material palette while the interior fit-out added street-art-style murals by New Zealand artists, dusky-pink hexagonal tiling and curated local artwork throughout the public spaces and corridors, giving the hotel its 'art hotel' identity.

Dining & wellness

The hotel has an in-house restaurant (Seven) and one of central Christchurch's few rooftop bars, the Pink Lady Rooftop, alongside a café.