New hotels project 60% occupancy rate

Good hospitality awaits: (From left) St Giles Wembley Hotel and Cititel Express Penang sales and marketing director Mark De Souza, general manager Tony Goh, Lim and communications manager Karen Chee posing in front of the newly opened St Giles Wembley Hotel in Magazine Road, Penang.

THE new four-star St Giles Wembley Hotel and three-star Cititel Express Penang located in the heart of George Town are expecting about 60% occupancy rate at both hotels in the first 12 months of operations.

Cititel Hotel Management Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Eric Lim said the hotels built at a cost of RM250mil, took three years to be completed and built on land that used to house the Wembley Park, a popular amusement centre in the old days.

“Our operations’ philosophy is simple, clean and smart,” he said.

He said St Giles Hotel had seven branches worldwide and the St Giles Wembley Hotel in Penang is the eighth.

The next St Giles will be in Australia. We are looking into more outlets in the future,” he told a press conference at the hotel after its soft launching recently.

The 33-storey St Giles Wembley Hotel in Magazine Road comprises 415 rooms with a grand pillarless ballroom that can accommodate about 1,000 people.

It has 10 meeting rooms, a cafe that operates round-the-clock, lobby lounge, swimming pool, gymnasium, health centre, tennis court, executive lounge and a sky bistro.

It also has a helipad, believed to be the first in the state and in the northern region.

The 22-storey Cititel Express Penang, which is connected to St Giles Wembley, offers 234 rooms and a Japanese restaurant named Enoshima.