Construction of the US$20M Lakeview Hotel will get underway in another two months and be completed by the first quarter of 2006.
The proposed five-star hotel will be located west of the Chinese-funded convention centre, and the new Caricom Headquarters, Basil Punit, adviser to the consortium of investors said at a press briefing hosted by the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) yesterday at the hotel site, Pattensen, East Coast Demerara.
Punit said a feasibility study had been done and the hotel project is viable. He added "we believe that we can make it a success."
The hotel will be run by Lakeview Hotel Inc, an overseas-based management team, which according to Punit is new to the hotel industry. The investors in the consortium were not identified.
According to a fact sheet distributed to the media, the hotel would include 142 rooms in a four-storey structure that would incorporate Guyanese and West Indian architectural features. The hotel building is being constructed with a lobby, restaurant, bar, ballroom, shopping, banking, beauty salon and other modern facilities. The main building will overlook a large swimming pool, adjacent to the health club and spa and also feature a large pool deck and dining terrace.
Rates at the hotel are likely to range between US$135-US$200 he said, though the rate for the suites would be higher. The five-star rating, Punit said was applied if international standards were met and based on the number of rooms along with a combination of different features.
Local Public Relations Officer David Mohamad pointed out the drains, which have been dug around the 12-acre site and said that as soon as the water is drained more work would be done to prepare the site.
He said when complete the hotel would boast a banking facility, hair salons and places for shopping. The accommodation to be offered includes presidential and luxury suites, in addition to regular, single and double occupancy rooms.
Mohamad informed the media that the executive body of Lakeview Hotel Inc has been working on the project for the last two years.
Manniram Prashad, adviser to the President on Investment, said that at present there is a lot of confidence in Guyana with many developments ongoing, among which is the construction of the new arrivals section at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
Managing Director of Go-Invest Geoff DaSilva emphasised the various areas Canadians have been involved in recently. He mentioned a proposed call centre in Georgetown, a polyethylene bagging plant, Cambior and CGX among others. He noted that the trade shows and other events Guyana has been attending have resulted in new investxments here.
Guyana Consul General in Toronto, Danny Doobay said he thought Guyana certainly had the market for a five-star hotel. The feedback from Guyanese-Canadian expatriates is that Guyana needs decent accommodation, he said.
Doobay was of the opinion that this was a good avenue for promotion of Guyana's tourism and added that he knew the hotel management plans to aggressively pursue markets.