Bruce Whitfield
Le Petit Hotel has two on-site resident Hosts – Martine & Bruce. With ancestral origins in both Nth Ireland (Cullybackey) & the Scottish Borders town of Ecclefechan, Bruce, a 3rd gen. New Zealander, was born and raised in Temuka, South Canterbury. From 10 early years as a Radio & TV technician, followed then by a period with the now defunct Govt science agency – DSIR/PEL, his extended career until retirement was with NZ Police, as an Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Manager. Apart from his day-to-day involvement with Le Petit Hotel and The French Company NZ Ltd., Bruce manages Personal Communications Systems NZ Ltd., a company currently importing a range of PV Solar Power system hardware from China. More recently, Bruce has developing interests in ECO passive house designs and materials, and is also involved in the importation of domestic hydraulic scissor car lift/stacker units.
From an ECO/renewables perspective, a small 3 kW on-grid PV Solar installation provides a useful contribution to the hotel’s energy requirements. The hotel encourages all guests to contribute to the in-house recycling programme. for stiff plastics, paper/cardboard, and organics.
Martine Marshall-Durieux
Martine comes from France, and in particular, Tourcoing, a small town very close to the Belgian border and near the northern French city of Lille. A passionate professional and private teacher of the French language in New Zealand for more than 30 years, Martine maintains regular links to France and together with her hotel managerial role, she has also, until recently, been the Hon. French Consul in Christchurch, and the Dean of the Consular Corps, with her office located at Le Petit Hotel. Post Note: Martine retired in 2019.
A substantial past contributor to the success of the Alliance Francaise organisation in Christchurch, Martine is the holder of the Decoration of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite.
Both of us enjoy travelling and meeting people of all nationalities. Thus the creation and establishment of Le Petit Hotel has been the realisation of a shared dream – to establish a special touch of France, in Sumner, in the form of our genuine French-styled hotel/Bed and Breakfast accommodation .
PS. Kara our resident very gentle Scottish Terrier, cannot be forgotten. She has performed an irreplaceable meet / greet / icebreaker role in the hotel. And, for no extra cost, she has also been Le Petit Hotel’s security manager. Like in all families though, the unexpected can strike, and around Christmas 2019 she became diabetic and blind with immediate cataracts. However recent surgery has been successful and she has regained her sight.
