Waterfront Apartments celebrates 30 years of continuous operation this year – 2026. These stylish apartments facing the waters of Mercury Bay, right on Buffalo Beach Road, are as popular as ever for international and New Zealand holiday makers. The view is spectacular and as the name says, the water is right out front.
Chris and Gina Sloan, who manage the Waterfront’s eight apartments for their different owners have had a good summer and feel they are very fortunate to live where they do in Whitianga.
After coming to Whitianga once a year for many years for their annual break, Chris and Gina finally made Mercury Bay their home. “We were looking for a way we could manage something together,” says Gina. They lived on Waiheke working in the tourism and hospitality industry. “We had wanted to move from the island and started looking at other places,” says Chris. “Gina has extended family in Whitianga, and we had been coming to the peninsula once a year to spend time with them and have a break. We were very much in favour of a beachside town.”
They had passed the Waterfront Apartments many times and thought what an iconic building it was and wondered what it would be like to work there.
“We became the Managers in 2021, and the owner Michael very kindly taught us a lot about the business. We liked it so much that when in 2024 he wanted to sell we took up that opportunity to purchase. So now we manage the eight apartments. We love it,” says Gina. “This is a quality lifestyle. There are beautiful scenes everywhere. We don’t need to go anywhere else for a holiday. This is our work, but it often feels as if we’re on vacation.”
Waterfront Apartments is a quality and relaxed accommodation experience. “We really enjoy working together with Anika our manager, our relief manager Marie and our excellent housekeeping team.” says Gina. “Anika has been in Whitianga even longer than Chris and I and really knows the area well.”
“I have been a traveller too,” says Anika. “After living in Australia for a couple of years I came to New Zealand in 2011 – and never left. I’ve been in Whitianga for the last 13 years and now have an eight-year-old son who has grown up here.”
“I have spent a lot of time working in different places and have learned new skills. I love the different nationalities and enjoy chatting with our many German and Spanish-speaking guests in their native language.”
“We want to understand what our guests are looking for and show them the best of Whitianga and Mercury Bay. If they are travelling all around the Coromandel, we can point them to the great places to experience.”
“A lot of our visitors go to The Thermal Pools at The Lost Spring and Hot Water Beach,” says Gina. “Along with Cathedral Cove these places are the top attractions that bring people here as a destination in the Winter time, and of course the views from Waterfront are spectacular and it is only a few metres to walk before you are part of the view.”
It is easy to see that this is much more than room servicing and reservations for Chris, Gina and Anika. “We share our skills in hospitality. I am definitely the fix-it maintenance person,” says Chris. “We all love the people aspect and we like dealing face to face with our guests. This business can have its ‘ups and downs’ but the ups far outweigh the downs.”
”This is a good vocation for Chris and me. Waterfront Apartments is our home,” smiles Gina. “Particularly so when the office closes at 6.00pm.”
Thirty years as a top hospitality place on the waterfront ls an excellent milestone. The Waterfront Apartments team is ready to welcome a host of Winter visitors.
Contact them direct for the best winter deals. Waterfront Apartments, 2 Buffalo Beach Road, Whitianga.
