Omni opens first hotel in downtown Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Omni Hotels Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of Wharf Holding of Hong Kong, opened yesterday its first hotel in Indonesia.

The four-star hotel, called the Omni Batavia Hotel, is located in the Chinatown area in West Jakarta and has a strong Dutch influence in its architectural design.

Omni Batavia is owned by PT Wahana Andamari, a subsidiary of the Tamara Group, which has invested some US$60 million in the hotel.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who marked the hotel's opening, praised Tamara Group yesterday for its pioneer step in establishing a luxury hotel in such an area.

"I hope the hotel will be the starting point for the development of the tourist sector in Jakarta's older part. I also hope that facilities in the surrounding areas, including the Kota railway station, will also be developed as tourist-related facilities."

"Several banks, which are in old buildings, have also committed to letting the buildings be used as tourist attractions," he said.

The new hotel is expected to bring back the charm of the Dutch colonial era. Even it's name harks back to past times, using the ancient name of Jakarta -- Batavia.

"Let's invite the Dutch and Portuguese people to come here again. But now they have to pay," Joop said.

Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific currently operates five hotels in Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, while its principal Omni Hotels Group owns, operates and franchises more than 40 first-class hotels in the United States, Mexico and China.

In addition to Omni Batavia, the hotel chain will also manage another four-star hotel in Jakarta, to be called Marco Polo, which will be 75 percent owned by PT Danayasa Arthatama 15 percent by PT Aneka Bumi Prasidha and 10 percent by Omni. The latter will be located at the Sudirman Central Business District in South Jakarta.

Director of development of Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific Harold Wentworth told reporters yesterday that his company plans to manage other hotels in Surabaya, East Java, and Medan, North Sumatra, within the next few years.

"Negotiations with our partners are still underway. Each of the planned hotels will need an investment of about $60 million," he said.

He said that Omni focuses on commercial cities in expanding its business. (icn)