Indonesian runs plush hotel in Tashkent

Indonesian runs plush hotel in Tashkent

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian businessman Jay Abdul Alatas has taken over and
relaunched the plush Le Grande Plaza Hotel situated in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan.

The hotel was previously known as the Bumi Tashkent
International Hotel and was run by the Bakrie Group, also from
Indonesia.

Jay took over the hotel last October but the price he paid was
not revealed.

"We are continuously renovating the hotel without disturbing
our services to guests," said Le Grande corporate secretary Sally
A. Sudrajat on Monday. She added that the new management had
achieved a high occupancy rate, but she refused to give any
figures.

Jay was present at the renaming ceremony but did not make a
statement.

The hotel's general director, Abu Bakar Yakob, said the
management was also targeting Indonesian visitors.

"Jakarta is a big market. We hope Indonesians will want to
visit Uzbekistan and stay at our hotel," he said.

Le Grande Plaza Hotel is located in downtown Tashkent, about
10 minutes from Tashkent Airport. The luxurious hotel's most
expensive room is the Presidential Suite, which costs US$1,900
per night.

Apart from doing businesses, Abu said, Indonesians could also
visit various tourist attractions and catch cultural performances in
Uzbekistan. There are several ancient sites in the country,
including those in the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva.

The city of Bukhara, which was built 2,500 years ago, is
located around 700 kilometers from Tashkent.

Ruslan Hasyim, the hotel's managing director of destination of
the world, hoped more people from eastern Asia would visit
Uzbekistan, which could serve as "the gateway to Europe".

So far, there are no direct flights from Jakarta to Tashkent
but the city can be reached twice a week from either Kuala Lumpur
or Bangkok.