Pullman Putrajaya to open doors in November

The long abandoned hotel project in Precinct 5 Putrajaya will finally open its doors on November 1 - some seven years after the project started.

Previously known as Alam Warisan, the hotel is now rebranded as Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside. The hotel is owned and developed by Putrajaya Holdings, while French hotel and services group Accor SA will operate it.


SIBOURG: The hotel, which is an upscale hotel with business people in mind, will open in phases between November 2008 and January 2009.

General manager Patrick H. Sibourg said the hotel, which is an upscale hotel with business people in mind, will open in phases between November 2008 and January 2009.

"Originally, there were four different blocks with four different hotels - the China Block, the Indian Block, the Borneo Block and the Malay Block. However, it is difficult to have four different hotels in the same compound.

"So the direction was changed to have one hotel, but to keep the identity of the hotel and the unique experience of Malaysia's multicultural background," Sibourg told Business Times.

Accordingly, the four blocks, which have also had a name change to Lotus Wing (China), Bunga Tanjung (Malay), Jasmine Wing (Indian) and Rafflesia (Borneo), will be run by a single operator.

This hotel has 283 rooms, including 34 serviced apartments and 24 suites. Each block portrays the respective ethnicity in the architecture and ambience.

The hotel's target group is the meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) market. For a start, it will be ready to accommodate delegates of the International Water Skiing Festival to be held at the Putrajaya Lake.

"On November 1, we plan to open the Jasmine Wing and the Rafflesia with a total of 165 rooms. The opening will be in time for the International Water Skiing Festival to be held between November 7 and 9 at the lake in front of the hotel," Sibourg said.

Meanwhile, Sibourg is positive on the performance of the hotel despite adding to the number of rooms already available in the Putrajaya.

In 2009, he expects the hotel to achieve 65 per cent occupancy and an average room rate of RM230.

When asked where the confidence on its performance stems from, he said: "We are the only large international hotel in Putrajaya."

Pullman Putrajaya expects to attract a huge corporate and government crowd predominantly from Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur while a smaller number of leisure travellers is expected on weekends.

The hotel has 21 meeting rooms and five food and beverage outlets called The Village (a floating restaurant), China Bar and Lounge, B's (a 220-seat restaurant with a show kitchen), The Deli @ Pullman and Bar On Third.

It also has a 250-seater lakefront and open-air amphitheatre as well as team-building facilities.

By New Straits Times (by Vasantha Ganesan)