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Revingtons Hotel, Greymouth.
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DescriptionRevingtons Hotel, Greymouth
Revingtons Hotel, built in 1938, is located in Greymouth’s central business district at 45-49 Tainui Street and is historically significant as one of the West Coast’s leading hotel establishments.
The ancestry of Revingtons Hotel can be traced to a timber hotel built on this site by John William Oliver in 1876 called the Post Office Hotel. It was taken over by Tom Jones in circa 1885. In the mid 1890s, the hotel was purchased by William Daly Revington, who added his name to its title to become ‘Revington’s Post Office Hotel’, shortened to ‘Revingtons’. Revington made large additions to the hotel building. In 1901, it was described as being ‘probably the quietest, most dignified and generally excellent establishment … [it is] far above what would be generally expected in a town the size of Greymouth’. At this time, it was a two storeyed structure with a large balcony overlooking the thoroughfare, and comprised about 25 bedrooms, as well as apartments. On the ground floor was a large dining room, billiard room, commercial room, four sitting rooms, pantry, kitchen and servants rooms. A major flood in 1936 saw waters rising high enough for the chairs in the dining room to float around. It is possible that this event led to the decision to replace the hotel a year later.
In 1938, the owners of the day, Allan and Margaret Marshall, replaced the original hotel building with a new Spanish Mission-Art Deco style building. The architects were the Christchurch firm of Collins & West. Two storeys in height and V-shaped in plan, this replacement hotel building is rendered and has a ceramic tiled roof. The main façade fronts Tainui Street and contains a central entrance leading to the hotel’s foyer, with a balcony at the centre above. Smaller doorways are located at either end of the west façade’s ground floor, and there are sash windows on both the ground and first floor above. The first floor balcony doorways are flanked by colonnades and above is applied decoration in the form of a curved pediment. The central portion of the façade protrudes from the main roof line. Original architectural drawings, dated January 1937, show the layout of the building with its near-triangular footprint. The ground floor contains a central entrance foyer, two bars, bar parlour, commercial room, lounge, dining room and kitchen. A staircase in the foyer leads to the first floor which contains 25 bedrooms.
The hotel has a long history of hosting dignitaries. Probably the most famous guests were Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were photographed on 18 January 1954, waving to a large crowd from the hotel’s balcony.
A number of interior modifications have taken place in the building since it was first constructed, including renovations in 2008. On the exterior west façade, a fire escape with simple geometric metal balustrading has been removed. Lower down, overhanging the footpath, a rectangular canopy has been added at a level that obscures the upper part of the ground floor windows. While most buildings in downtown Greymouth are on Maori reserve land, Revingtons Hotel is unusual in that an auction in 2008 saw part of the land going into private ownership.Date of Photo1978Map[1]
Revingtons Hotel, built in 1938, is located in Greymouth’s central business district at 45-49 Tainui Street and is historically significant as one of the West Coast’s leading hotel establishments.
The ancestry of Revingtons Hotel can be traced to a timber hotel built on this site by John William Oliver in 1876 called the Post Office Hotel. It was taken over by Tom Jones in circa 1885. In the mid 1890s, the hotel was purchased by William Daly Revington, who added his name to its title to become ‘Revington’s Post Office Hotel’, shortened to ‘Revingtons’. Revington made large additions to the hotel building. In 1901, it was described as being ‘probably the quietest, most dignified and generally excellent establishment … [it is] far above what would be generally expected in a town the size of Greymouth’. At this time, it was a two storeyed structure with a large balcony overlooking the thoroughfare, and comprised about 25 bedrooms, as well as apartments. On the ground floor was a large dining room, billiard room, commercial room, four sitting rooms, pantry, kitchen and servants rooms. A major flood in 1936 saw waters rising high enough for the chairs in the dining room to float around. It is possible that this event led to the decision to replace the hotel a year later.
In 1938, the owners of the day, Allan and Margaret Marshall, replaced the original hotel building with a new Spanish Mission-Art Deco style building. The architects were the Christchurch firm of Collins & West. Two storeys in height and V-shaped in plan, this replacement hotel building is rendered and has a ceramic tiled roof. The main façade fronts Tainui Street and contains a central entrance leading to the hotel’s foyer, with a balcony at the centre above. Smaller doorways are located at either end of the west façade’s ground floor, and there are sash windows on both the ground and first floor above. The first floor balcony doorways are flanked by colonnades and above is applied decoration in the form of a curved pediment. The central portion of the façade protrudes from the main roof line. Original architectural drawings, dated January 1937, show the layout of the building with its near-triangular footprint. The ground floor contains a central entrance foyer, two bars, bar parlour, commercial room, lounge, dining room and kitchen. A staircase in the foyer leads to the first floor which contains 25 bedrooms.
The hotel has a long history of hosting dignitaries. Probably the most famous guests were Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were photographed on 18 January 1954, waving to a large crowd from the hotel’s balcony.
A number of interior modifications have taken place in the building since it was first constructed, including renovations in 2008. On the exterior west façade, a fire escape with simple geometric metal balustrading has been removed. Lower down, overhanging the footpath, a rectangular canopy has been added at a level that obscures the upper part of the ground floor windows. While most buildings in downtown Greymouth are on Maori reserve land, Revingtons Hotel is unusual in that an auction in 2008 saw part of the land going into private ownership.Date of Photo1978Map[1]
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Location (city or town)Greymouth
Category Information
MenuBy Location | Greymouth
By Decade | 1970-1979
By Decade | 1970-1979From Facebook
CommentsVicki Hurrell Cool
28 December 2014 at 18:23 · Like · 1
Malcolm Howell This Hotel was the "In Place" years ago. All the big wigs from Royalty, Governor Generals, Politicians to Judges - stayed here.
28 December 2014 at 18:26 · Like · 1
Martin Griffin Nice shot of Revvys.....
28 December 2014 at 18:31 · Like · 1
Heather Newby I went to a coffee bar... either in Revingtons or next to Revingtons.. when I was about 16 with a guy the same age, and we had a coffee and my false eyelash fell into the coffee and he thought it was a spider. I can`t even remember the guys name!
28 December 2014 at 18:32 · Like · 6
Murray Voigt Approx the time Dad run it
28 December 2014 at 18:32 · Like · 4
Murray Voigt Prob intermans cafe. No cafe in pub
28 December 2014 at 18:34 · Like · 1
Kiri Ilton bludy revvys ae..lol
28 December 2014 at 18:41 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Thats a far nicer colour
28 December 2014 at 18:41 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Dont forget Royalty Malcolm Howell
28 December 2014 at 18:43 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Oops! you did remember Malcolm Howell
28 December 2014 at 18:44 · Like · 2
Jakh Heremia Chevron - 3 doors down
28 December 2014 at 18:55 · Like · 3
Kiri Ilton woohoo!!
28 December 2014 at 19:02 · Like · 2
Murray Voigt Opps yea
See Translation
28 December 2014 at 19:02 · Like · 1
Chris Tuanui Yeah nice place to stay .
28 December 2014 at 19:04 · Like · 1
Mark Jeffery Sunley this building is in perfect strangers i was a xtra
28 December 2014 at 19:06 · Like · 2
Marlene Jackson Perry My brothers & I used to run through the revolving door on our way to the movies on a Saturday back in the 1950's.
28 December 2014 at 20:07 · Like · 4
Brian McIntyre All the kids of Puketahi St did too. REVINGTON’S While I’m in that area, Revington’s Hotel with its revolving front door was always a novelty, and all kids would revolve through it, going into town and again on the way home. The doorman, who was a friend of Mum and Dads, just known as “Creighton” to all, would stand either just inside or outside those doors immaculately dressed in his black suit and bow tie. Revington’s back then was “The Class Hotel” in Greymouth, and I think it would have been about 1954, during her Coronation World Tour, that the Queen stayed there, and waved to me from the balcony.
28 December 2014 at 20:14 · Like · 4
Lizzie Aihi Galo Cool
28 December 2014 at 20:27 · Like · 1
Bob Brown My mother always referred to Revvys as "Revvys where the queen stayed".
29 December 2014 at 07:58 · Like · 1
Jill Kramer I worked as a waitress at the Cobb and Co restaurant in Revington's during summers in the late 70s. Fun times. I'll never forget a flood that closed other hotels like Kings and all the guests came to Revington's for breakfast. There were about 80 guests and only two waitresses - it was crazy.
29 December 2014 at 08:05 · Like · 3
Allan Griffiths Always a popular place for bowlers
29 December 2014 at 08:12 · Like · 1
Graham A Kyle I can´t remember how many times I overnighted there, I never brought a beer in the bar. Why?, because I was overnight resident there. and as such.,I could invited "Friends"to enjoy an ale or three for an hour or two. Geez thëy were good times. And when iI thought it was time for bed, all my "guests" went home... So much for the 6 oclock swill...
29 December 2014 at 12:32 · Like · 2
Allison Riding I waitressed there in the mid-80s, when they had a Cobb&Co restaurant.
29 December 2014 at 14:55 · Like · 2
Allison Riding Was a great place to work.
29 December 2014 at 14:57 · Like · 1
Paul Agnes Smith They still put on a feed mid week? Visiting Coast , Feb '15.
29 December 2014 at 18:59 · Like · 2
Don Hutton Graeme Barrow and I had a few beers here 1955 - 58!
29 December 2014 at 20:11 · Like · 2
Brenda Brown Tainui St entrance was used to acsess Harleys for unloading of goods.
1 January at 19:27 · Like · 1
Jason Mather was a lot of coast stuff in this as well as Revvy's http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/never-say-die-1988
5 January at 11:37 · Like · 1
Graham A Kyle The first time I stayed at Revingtons, I checked in at the same
time as another "Sales Representative" he was from Ch Ch. He asked me my
room number. I told him, and he just smiled. I was in the South West wing,
and about 6.55am the bloody train left for Ch Ch. Well it was so close and noisy that I felt I had to open my window to let it in, and then open the
door to my room to let it out.... Damn, so much for a good nights
sleep...I can relate more "Revingtons Story´s" if anyone is interested...
Just say the word... Greetings from Sweden, about as far away as one can
come from the "Coast"...
28 December 2014 at 18:23 · Like · 1
Malcolm Howell This Hotel was the "In Place" years ago. All the big wigs from Royalty, Governor Generals, Politicians to Judges - stayed here.
28 December 2014 at 18:26 · Like · 1
Martin Griffin Nice shot of Revvys.....
28 December 2014 at 18:31 · Like · 1
Heather Newby I went to a coffee bar... either in Revingtons or next to Revingtons.. when I was about 16 with a guy the same age, and we had a coffee and my false eyelash fell into the coffee and he thought it was a spider. I can`t even remember the guys name!
28 December 2014 at 18:32 · Like · 6
Murray Voigt Approx the time Dad run it
28 December 2014 at 18:32 · Like · 4
Murray Voigt Prob intermans cafe. No cafe in pub
28 December 2014 at 18:34 · Like · 1
Kiri Ilton bludy revvys ae..lol
28 December 2014 at 18:41 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Thats a far nicer colour
28 December 2014 at 18:41 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Dont forget Royalty Malcolm Howell
28 December 2014 at 18:43 · Like · 1
Brian McIntyre Oops! you did remember Malcolm Howell
28 December 2014 at 18:44 · Like · 2
Jakh Heremia Chevron - 3 doors down
28 December 2014 at 18:55 · Like · 3
Kiri Ilton woohoo!!
28 December 2014 at 19:02 · Like · 2
Murray Voigt Opps yea
See Translation
28 December 2014 at 19:02 · Like · 1
Chris Tuanui Yeah nice place to stay .
28 December 2014 at 19:04 · Like · 1
Mark Jeffery Sunley this building is in perfect strangers i was a xtra
28 December 2014 at 19:06 · Like · 2
Marlene Jackson Perry My brothers & I used to run through the revolving door on our way to the movies on a Saturday back in the 1950's.
28 December 2014 at 20:07 · Like · 4
Brian McIntyre All the kids of Puketahi St did too. REVINGTON’S While I’m in that area, Revington’s Hotel with its revolving front door was always a novelty, and all kids would revolve through it, going into town and again on the way home. The doorman, who was a friend of Mum and Dads, just known as “Creighton” to all, would stand either just inside or outside those doors immaculately dressed in his black suit and bow tie. Revington’s back then was “The Class Hotel” in Greymouth, and I think it would have been about 1954, during her Coronation World Tour, that the Queen stayed there, and waved to me from the balcony.
28 December 2014 at 20:14 · Like · 4
Lizzie Aihi Galo Cool
28 December 2014 at 20:27 · Like · 1
Bob Brown My mother always referred to Revvys as "Revvys where the queen stayed".
29 December 2014 at 07:58 · Like · 1
Jill Kramer I worked as a waitress at the Cobb and Co restaurant in Revington's during summers in the late 70s. Fun times. I'll never forget a flood that closed other hotels like Kings and all the guests came to Revington's for breakfast. There were about 80 guests and only two waitresses - it was crazy.
29 December 2014 at 08:05 · Like · 3
Allan Griffiths Always a popular place for bowlers
29 December 2014 at 08:12 · Like · 1
Graham A Kyle I can´t remember how many times I overnighted there, I never brought a beer in the bar. Why?, because I was overnight resident there. and as such.,I could invited "Friends"to enjoy an ale or three for an hour or two. Geez thëy were good times. And when iI thought it was time for bed, all my "guests" went home... So much for the 6 oclock swill...
29 December 2014 at 12:32 · Like · 2
Allison Riding I waitressed there in the mid-80s, when they had a Cobb&Co restaurant.
29 December 2014 at 14:55 · Like · 2
Allison Riding Was a great place to work.
29 December 2014 at 14:57 · Like · 1
Paul Agnes Smith They still put on a feed mid week? Visiting Coast , Feb '15.
29 December 2014 at 18:59 · Like · 2
Don Hutton Graeme Barrow and I had a few beers here 1955 - 58!
29 December 2014 at 20:11 · Like · 2
Brenda Brown Tainui St entrance was used to acsess Harleys for unloading of goods.
1 January at 19:27 · Like · 1
Jason Mather was a lot of coast stuff in this as well as Revvy's http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/never-say-die-1988
5 January at 11:37 · Like · 1
Graham A Kyle The first time I stayed at Revingtons, I checked in at the same
time as another "Sales Representative" he was from Ch Ch. He asked me my
room number. I told him, and he just smiled. I was in the South West wing,
and about 6.55am the bloody train left for Ch Ch. Well it was so close and noisy that I felt I had to open my window to let it in, and then open the
door to my room to let it out.... Damn, so much for a good nights
sleep...I can relate more "Revingtons Story´s" if anyone is interested...
Just say the word... Greetings from Sweden, about as far away as one can
come from the "Coast"...
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West Coast New Zealand History (2nd Jun 2018). Revingtons Hotel, Greymouth.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 26th Mar 2026 17:32, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/330