President will open Mustika Sheraton Hotel
President will open Mustika Sheraton Hotel
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto will open Sheraton Mustika
Yogyakarta Hotel next week, the first hotel owned by the Mustika
Ratu Group.
Mooryati Soedibyo, president of PT Mustika Princess which owns
the hotel, said Soeharto would be accompanied by several
ministers, foreign ambassadors, Chamber of Commerce members and
other businesspeople during his visit to Yogyakarta.
"A grand opening ceremony will be held to officially open the
hotel which has been operating since April," Mooryati said.
Sheraton Mustika is owned by PT Mustika Princess Hotel, a
joint venture between PT Mustika Ratu Investama, the holding
company of Mustika Ratu Group and PT Kusuma Propertindo
Development of the diversified Drassindo Group.
Under a profit sharing scheme, international hotel chain ITT
Sheraton will manage the hotel for 10 years.
Mustika Ratu manufactures traditional cosmetic and medicine
products.
The company invested about US$75 million to build the hotel,
about US$31.5 million of which was financed by a loan from Bank
Duta and US$43.5 million was from the company's equity, Mooryati
said.
She said the company expected to breakeven in three years and
obtain the return on investment in less than 10 years.
"If things continue to go well, I'm optimistic we can reach
the target," she said, adding that the hotel's occupancy rate
since April's soft opening was well above 60 percent.
The hotel, designed for conventions and conferences, will
target foreign and local tourists as well as businesspeople.
The hotel's current occupancy rate was about 90 percent, 60
percent of whom were foreign tourists, she said.
Mooryati said she was optimistic the hotel could compete with
other hotels in the area as it was unique and featured
traditional architecture.
The hotel, built on 5.6 hectares, is about two kilometers from
the Adisucipto Airport and 10 kilometers from Yogyakarta.
It has eight floors, 213 standard rooms, 16 deluxe and 17
suites.
Adopting the traditional style and design of the Yogyakarta
palace, the hotel offers facilities ranging from leisure to
business.
Its convention hall is able to house 3,000 people, while its
spa offers traditional health and beauty treatments using modern
equipment.
Local handicraft products are sold on the hotel's ground
floor. The area is called the "ramp shop area", resembling
Yogyakarta's Malioboro street which is known for its street
vendors, said Mooryati.
The hotel's outdoor swimming pool was inspired by the pool
used by the Yogyakarta sultan, the Taman Sari Garden, she said.
The hotel lobby is uniquely located on the seventh floor
overlooking Mount Merapi and an aviary is located between the two
wings of the hotel. (das)