Regal plans $100m facelift at Sha Tin hotel

Regal Hotels International Holdings will invest about $100 million to add 300 rooms to its Sha Tin hotel in a facelift that is intended to turn the building into an entertainment centre.

The plan involves adding three floors to its 830-room Regal Riverside Hotel by the middle of 2008, when Hong Kong will host the Olympic equestrian events in Sha Tin. A land premium might be needed for the extension plan, the company said.

Meanwhile, 100,000 square feet of space on the four-star hotel's lower floors has been renovated to cater for upmarket food and beverage outlets.

Dubbed 'Sha Tin Soho', it expects to see a threefold jump in annual rental revenue to $30 million when it is fully leased - eight of the 15 retail outlet spaces are still vacant.

Asking rent is at about $30 per square foot.

'The influx of mainland tourists and the recovery of long-haul travel will bring tremendous business opportunities to the hotel and catering industries,' Regal executive director Poman Lo Po-man said.