A fire at Carteron's old Belvedere pub, previously called the Club Hotel, has badly damaged the building, the Fire Service says.
Eleven fire crews from around the region were called to the scene at 2am on Saturday.
Richard Epplett, a senior station officer with the Carterton Fire Brigade, said a police officer saw smoke from the fire in the 30-room building as he drove past.
"He said that before he got round to the front of the building it blew out the front, so it was obviously burning a little while inside and then it flashed over," he said.
"It was quite fortunate he saw it, otherwise it probably would have burned to the ground."
Mr Epplett says the building was empty and nobody was
injured.
The Club Hotel on Belvedere Road is thought to have been up to 110 years old.
Alison Underhill, the president of the Carterton District Historical Society, says another hotel on the same site burned down in 1898.
Fire safety officers have been examining the scene.
