Shangri-La opens 6th RP hotel at The Fort

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia Ltd., a leading upscale hotel group in Asia Pacific, broke ground yesterday on its sixth hotel project in the Philippines – Shangri-La at the Fort – estimated to cost about $250 million.

Slated for opening in 2012, the Shangri-La at the Fort will have more than 60 storys, housing 500 guestrooms and 234 apartments. It will also feature a total of 4,660 square meters of meeting and banqueting facilities including a grand ballroom, junior ballroom, 11 function rooms, a boardroom, business center, individual teleconferencing room and a 350-square meter outdoor event area.

Edward Kuok, president and chief executive officer of Shangri-La Asia Ltd., said the new hotel reinforces the group’s strong confidence in the Philippines despite of the prevailing difficult business environment.

“Our presence and confidence in this market continues to grow with an expanding portfolio of business and leisure properties,” Kuok said.

The group is also set to open its hotel in Boracay in November this year in addition to its five existing hotels – EDSA Shangri-La, Makati Shangri-La, Shangri-La Mactan and the rebranded Manila Traders Hotel.

The guestrooms at Shangri-La at the Fort will range in size from 52 square meters for a deluxe room to 260 square meters for the presidential suite.

To date, Shangri-La Asia owns and operates 55 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands with a room network of over 28,000 in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.