The Star casino aims to put on the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain
Luxury international hotel company Ritz-Carlton is firming as the likely operator of a planned $500 million hotel to be built on The Star casino complex at Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
The US-headquartered hotel group is expected to re-enter the Sydney hotel market as it holds advanced discussions with The Star Entertainment Group about running its planned 200m-high hotel in Darling Harbour.
The Weekend Australian revealed that The Star was in discussions with the NSW government to build a hotel on the northern end of the site, with hopes to add another 360 hotel rooms to the Sydney skyline.
The new tower will be located across the harbour from the 275m Crown Sydney hotel that James Packer is planning to build as part of his $2 billion Barangaroo casino project.
It would join a rush of luxury hotel projects in Darling Harbour, with private developer Grocon considering a 550-room hotel for The Ribbon project to be built on the site of the IMAX theatre.
Private hotelier Jerry Schwartz, meanwhile, in 2014 paid $360m for the International Convention Centre Hotel that Lend Lease is developing, while rising room rates also allowed Singapore’s M&L Group to expand its Four Points by Sheraton Sydney.
A spokesman for The Star Entertainment Group confirmed that discussions with the Ritz-Carlton were in progress.
“Discussions are under way to progress with Ritz-Carlton branding of the hotel tower,” the spokesman said.
Securing the Ritz-Carlton brand would be a boost for The Star as it seeks to compete with Mr Packer’s high-profile Barangaroo project, due to be completed in 2019.
Ritz-Carlton had exited its two Sydney hotels over the past decade, but recently flagged its intention to regain a foothold in Australia due to the increase in Chinese tourism.
The hotel operator last year agreed to open in Perth and Melbourne, through apartment and hotel projects being built by Hong Kong-backed giant Far East Consortium. The Perth and Melbourne projects are expected to be completed in 2019 and 2020.
Ritz-Carlton also agreed to set up shop in the $3bn Queens Wharf development in Brisbane, jointly developed by The Star, Far East Consortium and Hong Kong conglomerate Chow Tai Fook.
The Queens Wharf consortium is in active discussions to also join forces on The Star’s Sydney hotel, which would reduce the development risk for the casino operator.
The timing of the Sydney hotel, aimed for 2019, may mean it would be among the first hotels to be branded Ritz-Carlton in its local re-emergence, with the Brisbane hotel not scheduled to be finalised until 2022.
A spokeswoman for the NSW department of planning confirmed The Star had requested an environmental assessment for its plans.
Stuart Ayres, NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, said the hotel would be good for Sydney.
“The impact this hotel will have on jobs and opportunities for Sydney cannot be underestimated,” Mr Ayres said. “This surge of new hotel developments is another sign of Sydney’s status as a true global city.”
The Australian reported in October that Ritz-Carlton, which has a growing presence in China, was looking for a Sydney site as it sought to take advantage of the rise in Chinese tourism.
“Over the past couple of years the market has been shifting in that you have seen an influx of capital from other areas of Asia looking to invest in the market and a dramatic increase in visitation from Asia. These two things have sparked the necessity for luxury hotels in the (Australian) market,” said Paul Foskey, Ritz-Carlton’s executive vice-president of hotel development for the Asia-Pacific.
Addditional reporting: Sarah-Jane Tasker
Source: The Australian, Greg Brown, 4th January 2016
