Gran Melia plans to operate 24 hotels in Indonesia by 2000

JAKARTA (JP): Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia plans to operate 24 hotels in Indonesia by 2000 up from 12 hotels this year, Hotel Grand Melia's general manager Ricardo Castaneda said over the weekend.

Castaneda said with such an expansion plan, Sol Melia hoped to strengthen its position as a leading hotel operator in Indonesia.

"We established our first operation in Indonesia in 1985 -- Melia Bali -- which was our first operation in Asia," Castaneda was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia as saying.

Sol Melia's group has a portfolio of 205 city and resort hotels in 25 countries under the brand names of Melia, Sol, and Paradisus Hotels and Resorts.

In Indonesia, it currently operates 11 hotels, including Gran Melia in Jakarta, Melia Bali, Melia Benoa, Sol Inn Legian Bali, Sol Elite, Sol Lovina Bali, Sol Elite Marbella in Anyer, West Java, Melia Purosani Yogyakarta, Melia Comfort Pusako Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, Sol Inn Pusako in Sikuai island, and Melia Panorama Batam in Riau.

Its 12th hotel in Indonesia -- Sol Elite Bintan -- was scheduled to open this year.

The five-star Gran Melia Hotel, which is located in the prime diplomatic and business district of Kuningan, South Jakarta is Sol Melia's first flagship in Asia.

The 428-room hotel was launched early this year.

Sol Melia operates five other hotels elsewhere in Asia, including Melia Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Melia Hua Hin and Sol Trin Towers in Bangkok and Melia at Scotts in Singapore and another hotel in Vietnam.

Forty-seven hotel chains are now in operation in Indonesia.

Among the hotel chains which are considered aggressive in their expansion are Accor Asia Pasific, which currently operates 32 hotels of three-star to five-star classes; and ITT Sheraton which currently operates 14 hotels across the country, the group's third largest operation after North America and Italy. (jsk)