RAFFLESInternational Hotels and Resorts has won the management contract for a property under development in Bangkok.
The 411-room hotel will be named the Merchant Court Hotel at Le Concorde and will join four other properties under Raffles’ Merchant Court brand.
The hotel is owned by C. Thong Panich Group of Companies which is the sole distributor of watch brands in Thailand and has various property, hotel and manufacturing interests in the country.
It is part of a two-tower development which also contains offices including those of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The first 220 guest rooms, restaurants, pool, fitness centre and conference rooms will open in the fourth quarter of this year with the remainder due for completion over the following 12-18 months.
The first of the group’s Merchant Court hotels opened in Singapore in 1997 and a second comes on line in Sydney in October.
A further two, in Shanghai and in Westminster, are due to open over the next few years.
The chain also operates five hotels under the Raffles brand, including Brown’s Hotel in London. The Raffles Resort Majorca at Colinas d’Es Trenc, Spain, is due to be completed in 2002.
Raffles chairman and chief executive officer Richard Helfer said:”Many exciting opportunities are beginning to surface in our Asia Pacific marketplace and Raffles is actively pursuing hotels which fit into our brands, Raffles, Merchant Court and Raffles Resorts.”