Nusa Dua Beach Hotel reopens after renovation
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel reopens after renovation
NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, the first luxury
property at the island's well-planned Nusa Dua tourist resort,
has reopened to the public after undergoing a US$22 million
renovation over the last two years.
The hotel, first established and owned by PT Aerowisata, a
subsidiary of the country's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, was
inaugurated in May 1983 by President Soeharto. After operating
for a decade as a leading hotel, the hotel started in December
1993 a refurbishment program to restore its originally authentic
Balinese palace-style design.
In 1990, Aerowisata sold Nusa Dua Beach Hotel to PT Sejahtera
Indoco, a Brunei-Indonesian joint venture company which is 95
percent owned by the Brunei Investment Agency and 5 percent by a
domestic firm controlled by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, a daughter
of President Soeharto. Aerowisata still manages the hotel.
The hotel was officially reopened on Sunday by Indonesian
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad and Brunei's Minister of
Development Ismail Damit.
Informed sources at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel said that the
Indonesian and Brunei ministers were actually in Bali to discuss
plans on financial and investment cooperation. The reopening
ceremony on Sunday morning was set to coincide with talks between
the two ministers, while the reception was held in the evening.
In his speech, Mar'ie said Indonesia and Brunei need to
improve bilateral relations.
"In addition to this five-star diamond hotel, I would like to
encourage Brunei to invest in various fields in Indonesia. To
speed up the process of investment, don't hesitate to contact me
anytime," he said. He refused to answer any questions raised by
the media.
Meanwhile, the hotel's general manager, Kevin O'Hagan, said
that as a pioneer property in the self-contained resort complex,
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel now offers a wide range of new facilities.
One of the new facilities is the spa and health center which
offers aromatic massages and herbal wraps which may become a
pioneer for such services in the Nusa Dua area.
The hotel's director of marketing, Wilie Ooi, said the hotel
targets to gain a 70 percent occupancy rate this year.
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel is one of the six hotels managed by
Aerowisata. The other hotels are Sanur Aerowisata Hotel in Bali,
Preanger Aerowisata in Bandung, West Java, Pusako Aerowisata in
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Senggigi Aerowisata in Lombok, West
Nusa Tenggara, and Biak Aerowisata in Irian Jaya.
Later this year, the company will also manage Biliton Hotel on
Belitung Island, South Sumatra.
Aerowisata, which was founded in 1973, also has an associate
hotel in Jakarta, the Ambhara Hotel. (icn)