Meeting News - November 19, 2007 - (Page 30)

International ASIA-PACIFIC New Spaces in Shanghai Shanghai—The Bund, Shanghai’s historical and business road, received new meetings infrastructure in recent months, including a nearly 11,000-sf event space with skyline views and 33,000 sf of facilities at the new Hyatt on the Bund. The seventh Hyatt hotel in mainland China, Hyatt on the Bund has 631 rooms situated on the Bund’s northern end and sports two ballrooms, as well as nine meeting rooms with a total 1,800-person capacity. The two-tower hotel has a 12-room spa and a 25-meter (82foot) swimming pool. Like Hyatt on the Bund, Three on Bund—a building integrating a 10,700-sf event space and restaurants, high-end shops, a spa, and an art gallery—offers views of the futuristic Pudong skyline across the Huangpu River. The events facility, Space by Three, is outfitted with a wood floor plus stone, white marble, and metal accoutrements—all said to help distinguish the space from the city’s other ballrooms. Space by Three holds up to 800 standing. It has been hosting product launches and corporate celebrations. Bangkok Gets First HQ Hotel Bangkok—After years of climbing the ladder to become one of the top five meeting cities in Asia, Bangkok is finally getting its first headquarters hotel. The Centara Grand will open in May 2008, with 505 rooms towering above the largest meeting and convention space in the city center. The Centara Grand Convention Centre unveiled its 561,000 sf of indoor space and 10,000-plus sf of outdoor function space at Incentive Travel & Convention Meetings Asia in October. “We used IT&CMA to introduce our convention space to buyers, and we’ll use IT&CMA 2008 to show off our hotel,” said Ferry Tjahjono, Centara’s convention center sales director. “Event planners are a tough audience. But when we meet their needs, there’s no question we can keep their clients happy.” The hotel will open with a room rate of $120 a day, Tjahjono said, undercutting Bangkok’s average daily rate of $160. The hotel, along with the convention center, is part of the mixed-use CentralWorld development that includes offices, entertainment, a large shopping mall, and outdoor plazas. An elevated walkway links CentralWorld with two subway stations. Several major meeting properties, including Grand Hyatt, InterContinental, and Four Seasons, are nearby. —Fred Gebhart AFRICA Exotic Incentives Lurk On The Old Continent New York—Africa is getting attention from hotel and resort operators, with unconventional properties geared for incentives in both Kenya and Mauritius, the island nation off the eastern coast of the continent. Fairmont Hotels made its Africa debut with the Mara Safari Club, a stylized camp nestled along the Mara River in southwestern Kenya, with 50 tented accommodations and a main lodge with a restaurant and bar. Accommodations have pillowtop beds and verandas, plus full baths. Select units have outdoor showers. Incentive-winning guests can partake in safaris and balloon trips over the plains and into the Masai Mara preserve inhabited by big cats, zebras, gazelles, and other animals. Also, at the base of Mount Kenya, Fairmont will soon open the 100-acre Mount Kenya Safari Club, comprised of 120 cottage and villa rooms and suites and a nine-hole golf course. Safaris and other wildlife activities are offered by the property, as well as an eco-tourism opportunity at a nearby animal orphanage. In northern Kenya, the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille lodge also stresses ecotourism, as guests are encouraged to get involved in community projects of the local Masai, from livestock husbandry to bursary programs. The recreation roster is led by helicopter and air trips, safaris, camelback and horseback riding, motorized excursions, and adventure sports. The Sanctuary at Ol Lentille has four houses, each with a butler/cook and a valet/housekeeper. It has a spa and a pool, as well. Meanwhile, Starwood Hotels will launch the 193-room Grand Maurit- ian Resort & Spa within the first half of 2008, complete with 4,500 sf of meeting space. On 20 acres of beachfront, the property, part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection, will feature three restaurants and a luxury spa. The resort comes on the heels of Starwood’s 265-room Le Meridien Isle Maurice resort three miles north. CARIBBEAN Aruba Marriott Renovation Has Guests Firmly Rooted Aruba—The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino has split up its $40million renovation into two phases to minimize guest disruption after beginning the project in early July. The first phase has been revamping the South Tower guest rooms from top to bottom, along with lobby and atrium room modifications and the addition of a Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The second phase will commence in spring 2008 to upgrade the La Vista restaurant and pool area by summer. There are no plans to renovate the property’s 11,600 sf of meeting space among the two phases. The move was made to minimize interference with groups and leisure guests during the busy holiday season. “Our guests’ experience is our number one concern,” said Rick Zeolla, the property’s general manager. “[The splitting into two phases] will enable us to guarantee that quality standards are being met.” Rooms in the South Tower, which have been closed and undergoing transformation since early July, are getting new paint, bathroom fixtures, flooring, furniture, bedding, and amenities. In the North Tower, an executive lounge will be added, replacing two guest rooms and lowering the property’s total room count to 411. The hotel began work on the lobby and atrium rooms at the beginning of October. After all the renovations, the hotel will also be smoke-free except for the casino. H www.meetingnews.com Both Space by Three (left), an events facility, and Hyatt on the Bund (right) are located on Shanghai’s Bund road. 30 MeetingNews November 19, 2007 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - November 19, 2007

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