Gold Coast fund manager MFS is rolling out its
new Mirage resort brand after signing the management rights to a US$47 million
Queensland development, the Pavillions on 1770. The hotel is located on
a beachfront site in the coastal enclave between the Queensland regional
cities of Gladstone and Bundaberg. Currently under construction, the development
will comprise 78 luxury units, of which roughly 70 have already been presold.
MFS snared the management rights to the Pavillions complex for US$1.3 million
and plans to brand it under its new Mirage chain, targeting the four- to
five-star market. Anchoring the brand will be the existing Sheraton Mirage
Resorts at Port Douglas as well as the Gold Coast, acquired by MFS and the
Ray Group in a US$160 million deal in May. MFS targets to have a total of
10 resorts in the chain within the next 12 months. |
The West Australian government has approved a US$43
million Hilton resort at Coral Bay, near Ningaloo Reef, about 1,000
kilometres north of Perth. The resort is to be built after a controversial
marina project, Mauds Landing Marina, was rejected in 2003. Two Oceans has
formed a joint venture with the owner, Deligo, and Ryan Capital Advisors
to develop the five-star luxury spa resort on the existing Ningaloo Reef
Resort site in Coral Bay. Hilton Group will manage the 130-key resort, which
is expected to open by early 2007. Though Hilton's focus has been on its
US$305 million flagship hotel in Sydney, it is looking at more sites around
Australia. |
Leela Hotels has acquired a 190-room resort at
Kovalam, Kerala, currently owned by the UAE-based construction major Mfar
group, for about US$13.8 million. The 75-year-old palace is considered a
heritage building and the acquisition of the resort is the latest addition
to the hospitality business of Leela Hotels. The group, besides its flagship
property, The Leela in Mumbai, also includes the Leela Palace in Bangalore
and the Leela Palace, Goa. This is the Leela group's first entry into the
hospitality business in Kerala. |
Opened on 18 July 2005, the Swissôtel Krasnye
Holmy Moscow will be the tallest hotel in the city at 34 storeys. The hotel
will be positioned positioned at the top end of Moscow's domestic and international
hotel scene and joins the growing portfolio of Swissôtel Hotels &
Resorts, a brand managed by Raffles International Limited. The hotel will
be Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts' first foothold in Russia and Eastern
Europe. The 235-room property will offer both business and leisure travellers
spectacular views of downtown Moscow as well as a total of 28 suites, amongst
them, one of the largest Presidential Suites in the city (154m²). |
The opening of InterContinental Financial Street
Beijing marks the establishment of the first InterContinental hotel in Beijing
and the first international premium hotel in the new civic and financial
hub known as Financial Street. The hotel is the latest addition to InterContinental
Hotels Group's Greater China portfolio, which now stands at 48 operating
hotels. The 332-key hotel is located along the famous Financial Street,
in the Xicheng District, West Beijing, where key government agencies, as
well as 70% of China's top 100 companies and over 300 financial institutions
are headquartered. A major growth centre, this stretch of prime real estate
also represents more than 50% of the country's total financial assets, with
a capital flow exceeding US$1.2 billion daily. |
Property and investment firm Guoco Group, controlled
by Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan, has been keen to reinvent itself as
a hotel and gaming player since selling Dao Heng Bank for U$6 billion in
2001. It is believed that its US$595 million takeover bid for the Singapore-listed
hotel investment firm, BIL International, indicates a keen focus on the
tourism and leisure industry. Guoco and Mr Quek have a stake in Hong Kong's
first casino play, K Wah Construction, and a BIL deal is expected to expand
its presence in the region's tourism and leisure market. |