MELIÁ Hotels International will open the 249-key Gran Meliá Bintan in 2017, which will comprise a resort and residences.
The hotel company last week signed a contract with owning company Berakit Resorts in Jakarta to operate the property, which will be the first to open in Berakit, eastern Bintan. It marks the second Gran Meliá hotel in Indonesia after Gran Meliá Jakarta that was launched 20 years ago.
Berakit is a new coastal resort enclave, which will see other international brand luxury hotels joining Gran Meliá Bintan in future.
On the timing and choice of destination, Meliá Hotels International CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, said: “(While) Indonesia has a lot of potential as a high-end destination among destinations worldwide, to have a Gran Meliá there is not something easy because you need to find the right location with ready infrastructure, and the right partner. We have found both now.
“Bintan has a lot to offer. It has the proximity to Singapore, Malaysia, China, some the key feeder markets, and the potential to grow the European arrivals is there.”
Michael Yong, COO of Berakit Resorts, said: “A new Berakit Ferry Terminal is under construction near the property and will open in 2016 for direct services from Singapore.
“Bintan’s airport is also under construction and will open in 2016. The airport will be able to accommodate Boeing 747 aircraft and the terminal will be able to accommodate 3.5 million passengers a year.
“(By the time the hotel opens), Bintan will be more accessible to domestic and international travellers,” he added.
Escarrer said Meliá is accustomed to opening up properties in new destinations such as the opening of Melia Bali 30 years ago in Nusa Dua, the first five-star international hotel in the area.
“Customers and tour operators are always looking for new destinations and I am sure Bintan will be on the radar in the next three years as a top luxury destination,” Escarrer said.
Apart from the Bintan property, Meliá International will also manage the 131-room Sol Legian, 300-room Meliá Surabaya, 258-room Innside Yogyakarta and 130-room Innside Makassar, all to open in 2016.
Escarrer said the company’s next priority was to manage a property in Lombok.
