Hotels in the region have unveiled an impressive collection of refurbished executive floor products, views and technology included. Julian Tan and Margie T Logarta check out the latest offerings
www.crowneplaza.com.au/terrigal
The 318-room hotel completed its first-phrase renovation of guestrooms, including Premier Rooms, Continental Club Rooms and Suites. The exclusive Continental Club is spread over the hotel’s seventh and eighth floors, with a choice of nine room categories: Continental Club Superior, Continental Club Deluxe City View, Continental Club Deluxe Lake View, Club Studio Suite, Club Junior Suite, Club Lake Suite, Club Deluxe Suite, Club Suite and Bay Suite. Rooms on these two exclusive floors range between 30sqm and 108sqm. Sporting a new look, the Continental Club Floor Lounge has been opened since August. Those staying in Premier Rooms also enjoy benefits on the Continental Club Floors, including access to the lounge for breakfast and all-day beverages and the boardroom.
www.marcopolohotels.com
The hotel’s redesigned Executive Lounge was ready in early September. Sporting a contemporary look, the two-level facility features versatile seating with food and beverage areas, where guests of the premier room category are served continental breakfast, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and nightly sweets. Also in the lounge, they will enjoy services including check in and check out and concierge assistance.
The lounge has also been technologically enhanced with a cinema room with 5.1 Dolby surround-sound system, Mac and PC computers with LCD monitors and wireless internet connection. Individually equipped workstations boast views of the harbour. A flexible executive boardroom is fitted with an “intelligent” glass wall that switches between see-through and frosted for different uses.
www.marriott.com/hkgdt
Stepping off the busy streets of Tsimshatsui, one will appreciate a respite from the sweltering heat (during the summer months, of course) and into the air-conditioned lobby of this hotel. As part of a series of renovations, two guest floors have been converted to Regal Club Executive Floors, offering 102 of a total 193 rooms in the category.
The new contemporary-style guestrooms are furnished with wall-mounted LCD TVs, wireless broadband internet, iPod speaker and direct in-room fax. Privileges for guests include access to the Club Lounge, personalised check in and check out, late check out, complimentary breakfast, free pressing services, discounted laundry and dry clean fees and use of a conference room.
www.regalhotel.com
A four-month renovation and expansion has transformed the Horizon Club Lounge into a spacious 660sqm interactive area, opened since June. Located on level 23, the lounge provides 145 people with four meeting rooms seating six to 10, 65-inch flat-screen TV monitors and high-definition video-conferencing equipment. Particularly useful for business presentations are interactive smart boards that combine the functions of a computer, digital projector and a touch-sensitive whiteboard.
There is also an internet corner comprising five workstations and an Apple iMac with individual printers and scanners. Guests who need a puff can make use of the separate smoking section in the lounge.
www.shangri-la.com/jakarta
The unveiling of its Club InterContinental Lounge in February was the talk of town. Refurbished and expanded, the lounge measures 600sqm, which is more than three times the size of the old one. Perched on the 35th floor overlooking downtown Tokyo, the view from the facility is breathtaking, with Mount Fuji, the Imperial Palace and Roppongi Hills laid out before the spectator. Sudare (bamboo blinds) and andon (paper lanterns) are used in the design of the lounge, based on a “residential comfort” concept. There are six distinct areas – a welcome reception, library, relaxation space, dining room, bar and meeting space. For guests, who arrive early or are departing late, shower suites are available as well.
In addition, all 198 guestrooms on the Club InterContinental Floors were also renovated, featuring enlarged bathrooms, artworks (lacquer ware and woodblock printing) and an interior design using Japan’s five traditional colours of red, black, gold, silver and blue.
www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp
This all-suite hotel has enhanced 110 of its 610-unit inventory to cater to corporate clients. Occupying levels 21 to 25, the new Club Suites – which are categorised as Studio (51.8sqm), Superior (56.8sqm), Deluxe (58sqm) and Brooklyn (99.4sqm) – offer occupants private check in and an exclusive breakfast venue among other benefits. Room features include a sitting area, en-suite bathroom with tub and separate shower, 29-inch TV providing cable programming, mini stereo with CD/VCD functions, mini refrigerator, Wi-Fi capability and a laptop-size safe.
From these floors, it’s a quick elevator ride down to the Manhattan Ballroom for your event and the adjoining Berjaya Times Square Shopping Complex with its plethora of dining and retail attractions.
www.berjayahotels-resorts.com
SINGAPORE
Since its rebranding from a Le Méridien in October last year, Concorde Hotel completed its first-phase renovation in June. The result: 125 newly designed Premier Rooms and Suites, mostly located on top floors of the hotel, and a Premier Lounge on lobby level. Guests of these rooms look out to Orchard Road below or lush greenery and the swimming pool.
The rooms have an earthy palette and boast spacious workdesks, sleek finishes on the bed headboards, consoles holding a 32-inch LCD TV and marble bathrooms. In-room internet is complimentary as well. Suites measure 40sqm, complete with separate work, living and sleep areas as well as bathrooms twice the size of those in Premier Club and Premier Executive Rooms.
Services in the lounge include breakfast and private check in and check out, and facilities such as a workstation with two computers, high-speed internet and a 12-person meeting room (an eight-hour use is complimentary for Premier guests).
www.concordehotel.com.sg
The Westin Chosun Seoul has withstood the march of time, having opened in 1914 as the nation’s first Western-style hotel. It recently underwent a major facelift, revamping the guestrooms and adding three restaurants among other touches. On the Executive Floors, the lounge – unveiled in July – is located on the 20th floor, next to the upscale Sushi Cho Japanese restaurant. Previously, guests of this premium category made use of the old lounges on the ninth and 17th floors, which the hotel plans to transform into rooms. The new Executive Lounge measures 330.58sqm and has three private rooms – two of which can accommodate up to seven people, while the third is a meeting room for eight people.
www.westin.com/seoul
ROYAL ORCHID SHERATON HOTEL AND TOWERS BANGKOK
Refreshing the Towers Executive Rooms, located from 25th to 28th floor, was part of the THB14 million (US$412,515) makeover completed in October last year. The Towers Lounge, which was moved from the 26th floor to the 27th, continues to enhance the “hotel within a hotel” concept that management has always sought to achieve. In this new facility – exuding the ambience of a stylish café/restaurant – the following services are available: personalised check in and check out, a business centre, Wi-Fi capability, a workstation, boardroom, complimentary breakfast, high tea and evening cocktails.
Views of the colourful Chao Phraya River are promised in all of the hotel’s 734 guestrooms through floor-to-ceiling windows – also a feature of the Towers Lounge. Another plus point is the plush Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds.
www.sheraton.com/bangkok
The cylindrical Executive Tower, Hilton Beijing’s latest pride and joy adjoins the main hotel building in Chaoyang district. Costing a whopping US$32 million to build, the nine-floor tower was unveiled in July 2008 just in time for the Beijing Olympics.
The new executive product consists of 126 rooms and suites ranging from 41sqm to 165sqm, as well as an Executive Plus Lounge on level three, a ballroom and several meeting rooms. Hirsch Bedner Associates is responsible for the room interiors, featuring the Hilton Serenity beds and ergonomically designed furniture like the large workdesk and chair. Tech-savvy travellers will rejoice that the Executive Tower is Wi-Fi enabled, and rooms are equipped with LCD TVs in the living area and bathroom and BOSE CD players with alarm clock and MP3 compatibility.
www.hilton.com
The Taj hotel group has four properties in its home base of Mumbai, India’s financial hub – the most famous of which, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower partially gutted in a sensational terrorist attack last December. At press time, the affected wing is undergoing major refurbishment and has scheduled a reopening early next year. However, Taj Lands End, close to the business districts of Bandra-Kurla, Andheri and Worli, deserves serious consideration, especially with Mumbai’s notorious gridlocks.
The 493-room hotel, featuring a John Portman-designed atrium lobby, also enjoys proximity to the city’s newest landmark, the Bandra-Wurli Sea Link, which is supposed to cut travel time for residents of South Bombay wanting to reach the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport with less hassle.
Capitalising on the Sea Link’s arrival, Taj Lands End is unveiling this month the new Taj Club product, consisting of 143 rooms and suites occupying the 21st to 25th floors, all enjoying vantage view of the state-of-the-art bridge. Club Room sizes range from 40sqm to 220.8sqm. The Executive Lounge on the 21st floor welcomes guests for buffet breakfast and evening cocktails.
www.tajhotels.com
Julian Tan and Margie T Logarta
AUSTRALIA
CROWNE PLAZA TERRIGAL
A 90-minute drive north of Sydney, this Crowne Plaza hotel completed an A$11 million (US$9.5 million) overhaul early this year, including all of its 199 rooms, the addition of three rooms and four more Junior Suites among others. The layout of Executive Rooms, in particular, was redesigned to make the most of the ocean-facing hotel. A new colour palette featuring earthy tones and finishes were chosen to reflect the coastal surroundings, from the paint and carpet to the soft and hard furnishings.www.crowneplaza.com.au/terrigal
CHINA
MARCO POLO XIAMEN
The 318-room hotel completed its first-phrase renovation of guestrooms, including Premier Rooms, Continental Club Rooms and Suites. The exclusive Continental Club is spread over the hotel’s seventh and eighth floors, with a choice of nine room categories: Continental Club Superior, Continental Club Deluxe City View, Continental Club Deluxe Lake View, Club Studio Suite, Club Junior Suite, Club Lake Suite, Club Deluxe Suite, Club Suite and Bay Suite. Rooms on these two exclusive floors range between 30sqm and 108sqm. Sporting a new look, the Continental Club Floor Lounge has been opened since August. Those staying in Premier Rooms also enjoy benefits on the Continental Club Floors, including access to the lounge for breakfast and all-day beverages and the boardroom. www.marcopolohotels.com
HONGKONG
JW MARRIOTT
The hotel’s redesigned Executive Lounge was ready in early September. Sporting a contemporary look, the two-level facility features versatile seating with food and beverage areas, where guests of the premier room category are served continental breakfast, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and nightly sweets. Also in the lounge, they will enjoy services including check in and check out and concierge assistance. The lounge has also been technologically enhanced with a cinema room with 5.1 Dolby surround-sound system, Mac and PC computers with LCD monitors and wireless internet connection. Individually equipped workstations boast views of the harbour. A flexible executive boardroom is fitted with an “intelligent” glass wall that switches between see-through and frosted for different uses.
www.marriott.com/hkgdt
REGAL KOWLOON HOTEL
Stepping off the busy streets of Tsimshatsui, one will appreciate a respite from the sweltering heat (during the summer months, of course) and into the air-conditioned lobby of this hotel. As part of a series of renovations, two guest floors have been converted to Regal Club Executive Floors, offering 102 of a total 193 rooms in the category. The new contemporary-style guestrooms are furnished with wall-mounted LCD TVs, wireless broadband internet, iPod speaker and direct in-room fax. Privileges for guests include access to the Club Lounge, personalised check in and check out, late check out, complimentary breakfast, free pressing services, discounted laundry and dry clean fees and use of a conference room.
www.regalhotel.com
INDONESIA
SHANGRI-LA JAKARTA
A four-month renovation and expansion has transformed the Horizon Club Lounge into a spacious 660sqm interactive area, opened since June. Located on level 23, the lounge provides 145 people with four meeting rooms seating six to 10, 65-inch flat-screen TV monitors and high-definition video-conferencing equipment. Particularly useful for business presentations are interactive smart boards that combine the functions of a computer, digital projector and a touch-sensitive whiteboard. There is also an internet corner comprising five workstations and an Apple iMac with individual printers and scanners. Guests who need a puff can make use of the separate smoking section in the lounge.
www.shangri-la.com/jakarta
JAPAN
ANA INTERCONTINENTAL TOKYO
The unveiling of its Club InterContinental Lounge in February was the talk of town. Refurbished and expanded, the lounge measures 600sqm, which is more than three times the size of the old one. Perched on the 35th floor overlooking downtown Tokyo, the view from the facility is breathtaking, with Mount Fuji, the Imperial Palace and Roppongi Hills laid out before the spectator. Sudare (bamboo blinds) and andon (paper lanterns) are used in the design of the lounge, based on a “residential comfort” concept. There are six distinct areas – a welcome reception, library, relaxation space, dining room, bar and meeting space. For guests, who arrive early or are departing late, shower suites are available as well. In addition, all 198 guestrooms on the Club InterContinental Floors were also renovated, featuring enlarged bathrooms, artworks (lacquer ware and woodblock printing) and an interior design using Japan’s five traditional colours of red, black, gold, silver and blue.
www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp
MALAYSIA
BERJAYA TIMES SQUARE HOTEL AND CONVENTION CENTRE KUALA LUMPUR
This all-suite hotel has enhanced 110 of its 610-unit inventory to cater to corporate clients. Occupying levels 21 to 25, the new Club Suites – which are categorised as Studio (51.8sqm), Superior (56.8sqm), Deluxe (58sqm) and Brooklyn (99.4sqm) – offer occupants private check in and an exclusive breakfast venue among other benefits. Room features include a sitting area, en-suite bathroom with tub and separate shower, 29-inch TV providing cable programming, mini stereo with CD/VCD functions, mini refrigerator, Wi-Fi capability and a laptop-size safe.From these floors, it’s a quick elevator ride down to the Manhattan Ballroom for your event and the adjoining Berjaya Times Square Shopping Complex with its plethora of dining and retail attractions.
www.berjayahotels-resorts.com
SINGAPORE
CONCORDE HOTEL
Since its rebranding from a Le Méridien in October last year, Concorde Hotel completed its first-phase renovation in June. The result: 125 newly designed Premier Rooms and Suites, mostly located on top floors of the hotel, and a Premier Lounge on lobby level. Guests of these rooms look out to Orchard Road below or lush greenery and the swimming pool. The rooms have an earthy palette and boast spacious workdesks, sleek finishes on the bed headboards, consoles holding a 32-inch LCD TV and marble bathrooms. In-room internet is complimentary as well. Suites measure 40sqm, complete with separate work, living and sleep areas as well as bathrooms twice the size of those in Premier Club and Premier Executive Rooms.
Services in the lounge include breakfast and private check in and check out, and facilities such as a workstation with two computers, high-speed internet and a 12-person meeting room (an eight-hour use is complimentary for Premier guests).
www.concordehotel.com.sg
SOUTH KOREA
THE WESTIN CHOSUN SEOUL
The Westin Chosun Seoul has withstood the march of time, having opened in 1914 as the nation’s first Western-style hotel. It recently underwent a major facelift, revamping the guestrooms and adding three restaurants among other touches. On the Executive Floors, the lounge – unveiled in July – is located on the 20th floor, next to the upscale Sushi Cho Japanese restaurant. Previously, guests of this premium category made use of the old lounges on the ninth and 17th floors, which the hotel plans to transform into rooms. The new Executive Lounge measures 330.58sqm and has three private rooms – two of which can accommodate up to seven people, while the third is a meeting room for eight people. www.westin.com/seoul
THAILAND
ROYAL ORCHID SHERATON HOTEL AND TOWERS BANGKOK
Refreshing the Towers Executive Rooms, located from 25th to 28th floor, was part of the THB14 million (US$412,515) makeover completed in October last year. The Towers Lounge, which was moved from the 26th floor to the 27th, continues to enhance the “hotel within a hotel” concept that management has always sought to achieve. In this new facility – exuding the ambience of a stylish café/restaurant – the following services are available: personalised check in and check out, a business centre, Wi-Fi capability, a workstation, boardroom, complimentary breakfast, high tea and evening cocktails. Views of the colourful Chao Phraya River are promised in all of the hotel’s 734 guestrooms through floor-to-ceiling windows – also a feature of the Towers Lounge. Another plus point is the plush Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds.
www.sheraton.com/bangkok
NEWLY BUILT
HILTON BEIJING
The cylindrical Executive Tower, Hilton Beijing’s latest pride and joy adjoins the main hotel building in Chaoyang district. Costing a whopping US$32 million to build, the nine-floor tower was unveiled in July 2008 just in time for the Beijing Olympics. The new executive product consists of 126 rooms and suites ranging from 41sqm to 165sqm, as well as an Executive Plus Lounge on level three, a ballroom and several meeting rooms. Hirsch Bedner Associates is responsible for the room interiors, featuring the Hilton Serenity beds and ergonomically designed furniture like the large workdesk and chair. Tech-savvy travellers will rejoice that the Executive Tower is Wi-Fi enabled, and rooms are equipped with LCD TVs in the living area and bathroom and BOSE CD players with alarm clock and MP3 compatibility.
www.hilton.com
TAJ LANDS END
The Taj hotel group has four properties in its home base of Mumbai, India’s financial hub – the most famous of which, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower partially gutted in a sensational terrorist attack last December. At press time, the affected wing is undergoing major refurbishment and has scheduled a reopening early next year. However, Taj Lands End, close to the business districts of Bandra-Kurla, Andheri and Worli, deserves serious consideration, especially with Mumbai’s notorious gridlocks.The 493-room hotel, featuring a John Portman-designed atrium lobby, also enjoys proximity to the city’s newest landmark, the Bandra-Wurli Sea Link, which is supposed to cut travel time for residents of South Bombay wanting to reach the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport with less hassle.
Capitalising on the Sea Link’s arrival, Taj Lands End is unveiling this month the new Taj Club product, consisting of 143 rooms and suites occupying the 21st to 25th floors, all enjoying vantage view of the state-of-the-art bridge. Club Room sizes range from 40sqm to 220.8sqm. The Executive Lounge on the 21st floor welcomes guests for buffet breakfast and evening cocktails.
www.tajhotels.com
Julian Tan and Margie T Logarta
