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The super-deluxe Four Seasons Hong Kong hotel, part of the International Finance Centre development at the Airport Railway's Hong Kong Station, has won a larger than usual concession for extra floor space from the government.

Now under construction, the hotel will contain 1,031 guest rooms and suites, becoming the SAR's largest six-star property when it opens in mid-2004.

According to the Buildings Department, the hotel will consist of a 47-storey tower and a 35-storey tower on an eight-level podium, with two basement levels - a total developable area of 1.11 million square feet.

The taller tower will house conventional guest rooms while the other will contain suites with separate bedrooms and sitting rooms.

The developers, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and Henderson Land Development, persuaded the Buildings Department to exempt about 94,000 sq ft of back-of-house space, equivalent to 8.42 per cent of total buildable area, from the gross floor area calculation.

The concession means the owners will get the extra space without having to pay additional land premiums to the government.

Under the usual incentive programme for hotels, developers are entitled to ask for back-of-house facilities to be left out of the gross floor area calculation.

But on this occasion the government is exceeding its normal limits by exempting as much as 8.42 per cent of buildable area.

'Usually, the maximum limit for exemption will be less than 5 per cent of the total buildable area,' a Buildings Department official said.

'Permission has been granted in this case because the applicant demonstrated that overseas hotels with the same grade can get an even higher percentage of exemption. Overseas examples could exceed 10 per cent.'

In support of the application, the developers submitted a letter from the hotel operator, Canadian-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, stating it needed extra space to provide the impeccable guest services essential to its success.

Four Seasons said the extra space would accommodate its larger than usual staff and help meet the needs of VIP guests.

The hotel chain, which has 55 properties worldwide, said its staff-to-guest ratio was 2 to 1, compared to less than 1 to 1 for average hotel companies.

Staff training rooms, locker rooms and extra storage area were required, it said.

Extra storage space was necessary because its many guests were long-stayers with a lot of luggage they would often leave at the hotel while making side trips to other destinations.

With the MTR and Airport Railway stations beneath the development, the hotel will have only two basement levels, and a large part of the basement will be occupied by the chiller rooms. Therefore, the back-of house areas needed to be located on upper floors, Four Seasons said.

Moreover, plans call for an in-house printing shop to produce personalised cards and stationery for patrons.

The 4.7 million-sq ft Hong Kong Station development is located on the Central waterfront.

It also comprises an 800,000-sq ft shopping mall and two office towers - One International Finance Centre (IFC) and Two IFC.

Phase one of the mall and One IFC are already occupied, while the 88-storey Two IFC, now under construction, will be the SAR's tallest building upon completion.

Besides SHKP and Henderson, other partners in the development are Hong Kong and China Gas and Sun Chung Estate Co, part of the Bank of China Group.



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Sun Hung Kai Properties

Four Seasons wins extra floor area at IFC