The Ritz-Carlton in Melbourne and the one in Perth are being sold for about $500 million, according to various Australian news sources. The Australian Financial Review predicted ultra-high net worth Australians and offshore investors are expected to bid for the hotels after Far East Consortium put them on the market with price expectations of about $500 million. This follows the opening of the 257-room Ritz-Carlton Melbourne not even five months ago atop the tallest tower in Far East Consortium’s $2.4 billion West Side Place development. The 205-room Ritz-Carlton Perth opened in 2019, marking the return of Marriott’s most famous luxury brand to Australia after 25 years. Far East Consortium said their decision to sell has to do with having their own hotel brand, Dorsett Hotels. They recently opened properties under that brand in both Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Far East recently was part of the consortium selling the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort on the Gold Coast. CBRE Hotels is handling the sale of the two Ritz-Carlton hotels. Marriott International will continue to manage the two hotels under the Ritz-Carlton brand.
Salter Brothers has exchanged contracts to buy the Sofitel Adelaide Hotel for $154 million. CBRE Hotels, together with Savills, negotiated the sale of the 251-key hotel on behalf of South Australia’s development and construction firm Palumbo Group. The Sofitel Adelaide, the first internationally branded five-star hotel to be built in Adelaide in 30 years, is located in the heart of the CBD, part of a 32 story mixed-use tower with two flexible retail tenancies included. The sale represents Adelaide’s most significant single asset hotel transaction with a record price per key achieved for a CBD asset. CBRE said this sale joins a raft of other major institutional transaction including the Waldorf Astoria Sydney, Novotel & ibis Melbourne Central and the Sofitel Brisbane, together exceeding $1.2 billion.
Melbourne, Australia has become home to the urban retreat The Interlude, officially opening its doors in what was once the prison in Pentridge. The Interlude is in Pentridge’s billion-dollar lifestyle precinct and is the world’s first urban wellness retreat set in a converted prison. The centerpiece is a subterranean swimming pool. The air conditioning is under the beds instead of the ceilings as the rocks in the roof to prevent inmate escapes made the design very challenging. The Interlude has 19 suites, created by linking four or five cells together. It took nine months to create just one suite.
Cebu, Philippines-based AppleOne Properties said its new five-star hotel development in Panglao, Bahol is expected to begin construction by next year. The JW Marriott Panglao Island Resort & Spa is in the early stages of planning and development. This will be the first five star hotel in the area. And is the company’s third partnership with the Marriott brand after its Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resortand the Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Mactan.
Philippines leisure developer Boulevard Holdings said they are investing P2.72 billion to expand the operations of Fridays Boracay Resort and to develop a new Fridays Siargao. P2.6 billion will be spent in two phases to build a brand new hotel. The new Boracay hotel will triple the number of keys at the old hotel at 50 rooms. Phase 1 will cost between P1.6 billion to P1.8 billion without the cost of land. The capital structure to pay for the project is all equity with no bank debt. The strategy for Siargao is to place a modest sized, 20 to 40 key Fridays property as soon as possible at a low budget cost of P50 million to P120 million.
Indian Hotels Company Ltd announced the signing of its first hotel in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India, under the Ginger brand. The 100-key hotel is a new project in partnership with the Jeswani Group. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have 31 hotels in Maharashtra, including 11 of them that are currently under development.
Sarovar Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of Citadel Sarovar Portico in the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru. The Group currently operates five successful hotels in the city under their Sarovar Premiere and Sarovar Portico brands. The new hotel is located in the heart of the city on Seshadri Road, Racecourse Gandhi Nagar, a driving distance from Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru. The hotel offers 125 rooms and suites including Deluxe rooms, Executive rooms and Executive Suites. There are multiple meeting and board rooms for small and mid-size gatherings and conferences. For large weddings and conferences, they offer 10,000 square feet of divisible banquet space. Lobby level 44 includes a multi-cuisine restaurant and a contemporary bar.
Indonesian property firm Ciputra Development Tbk plans to build a housing estate, a hotel and a golf course in the country’s new capital city on Borneo island. The new capital city of Nusantara is being developed to replace an overcrowded Jakarta. Indonesia has been having trouble attracting foreign investors into the US$32 billion project, despite issuing incentives and promoting it heavily at international events. The firm will develop a convention center alongside residential areas, a hotel and a golf course over an area of up to 300 hectares.
Construction on the first phase of a new international airport to serve Vietnam’ssecond metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, is to start in August. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam said the facility, at Long Thanh in Dong Nai province, is the next hope for what has been a massive failure for the Grand Ho Tram Strip casino resort southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. The airport is supposed to halve the current airport transfer time for international visitors to the resort. It will be located 78 kilometers northwest of the H Tram Strip. The current air hub, north of Ho Chi Minh city center, is about 112 kilometers from Ho Tram. The first phase of Long Thanh International Airport will take 39 months to construct.
Personnel Moves
The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced Raymond Chan, regional director of Southeast Asia, will be relocating back to Hong Kong to assume the position of general manager, events & product development. This became effective as of July 1st. Martin Gwee has been appointed director, Southeast Asia, to lead the development and implementation of the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s marketing strategies in the Southeast Asian markets. Gwee joined the HKTB in 2016 and is currently director, marketing for Southeast Asia, responsible for PR and consumer marketing in the region.
