Mutiara Beach Resort slated to reopen in 2012

THE Mutiara Beach Resort in Penang will finally reopen in 2012, some six years after the closing down of its operations.

The hotel, located at Jalan Teluk Bahang in Tanjung Bungah, is owned by Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB).

TCB chairman Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas said that the 21-year-old hotel is set to undergo a RM100m million renovation and refurbishment.

"We just started work on the hotel recently," Megat Najmuddin told Business Times.
"Cost (of renovation) is estimated at RM100 million and we are at the design stage," he said, adding that rooms and large suites are being planned.

When asked about likely date for the hotel opening, Megat Najmuddin said: "Opening would depend on many factors, maybe (we will open) in 2012," he said.

"We are confident of doing well, otherwise we won't be refurbishing it. Batu Feringgi hotels are doing okay now," he said.

TCB, whose hotel portfolio includes Hotel Istana and Mutiara Johor Baru, has decided that it will manage Mutiara Beach Resort on its own.

While he said it will be difficult to predict the likely average room rate (ARR) and occupancy the hotel will garner when it opens, he said that the hotel will be in the five-star category.

The hotel was to be renovated as a an InterContinental Resort Penang. However, early last year, both the hotel owner and the international hotel operator decided to mutually terminate the contract.

Its chief executive officer Shahrul Farez Hassan then said that it was relooking at its options as there were some weaknesses in the market and when the weaknesses will abate.

The hotel scrapped its initial plans to halve the room inventory and build luxury residences there.

TCB had at that time planned to reduce the inventory of the 438-room property to 220 rooms and include 80 units of luxury residences.

The residences were to be sold at around RM500 per sq ft and leased back. The hotel was supposed to reopen at the end of 2008.

The re-opening date was then changed to mid-2009.

TCB also owns the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur and Hilton Petaling Jaya but is managed by international hotel chains.


Source : Btimes
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