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Thirteen floors above Kowloon Station earmarked for world's highest hotel

Ritz-Carlton is planning to operate what will be the world's highest hotel - above Kowloon Station on the Airport Express rail line.

In a statement yesterday, the company confirmed a report in the South China Morning Post last month that it would open a 300-room hotel above Kowloon Station.

The hotel, owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and due to open in 2009, will occupy the top 13 floors of a 480-metre high tower being built by SHKP.

Ritz-Carlton also said it had signed a letter of intent to manage another SHKP-owned hotel, on Century Boulevard in Pudong's Lujiazui financial district.

No further details were released about the proposed project, which will be the chain's second in Shanghai.

'Asia continues to provide the best strategic growth opportunity for [Ritz-Carlton],' said Simon Cooper, the company's president and chief operating officer.

'The [Kowloon] location offers significant advantages because of planned development in the area, as well as access to vital transportation links.'

Ritz-Carlton's Hong Kong hotel, in Central, would continue to operate, the statement added.

Competition for hotel-management contracts at Kowloon Station has been fierce, with other upscale hoteliers such as Regent International and Hilton International vying for a renewed market presence in the territory.

A second hotel at Kowloon Station is to be managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, the world's biggest hotel owner.

Starwood is due to open W Hotel, a 383-room boutique-style property, in 2008.

With the growth in mainland tourism and the general economic rebound, there has been a shortage of luxury hotel rooms in Hong Kong.

This paucity has been exacerbated by the loss of the Furama and Hilton hotels, whose sites were redeveloped in 2002 and 1995, respectively.

Next year, the six-star, 1,000-room Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong and Four Seasons Suites will open for business above Hong Kong Station, while a 118-room, boutique-style Mandarin Oriental hotel will open its doors in the Landmark, Central.

Going up in the world

The hotel will occupy the top 13 floors of 480-metre high tower

It will be the second hotel run by Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong

The hotel, owned and built by SHKP, will open in 2009



Ritz-Carlton confirms its lofty ambitions for HK