The 117-key hotel, the Holiday Inn Male', owned by Male' Hotel Associates and managed by InterContinental Hotels Group IHG, has been bought by the Shangri-la Group of Hong Kong. The hotel staff had been notified of the sale. The building now known as the Holiday Inn Male' would likely be rebranded by Shangri-la to a brand of hotels owned by the company.
The landmark Holiday Inn hotel, located in the busy administrative and business district of Male', opened its doors for business in the last quarter of 2009. Built on land leased for 27 years, with loan funding of US$17 million from Barclays Bank and the Bank of Maldives, Shangri-la reportedly paid a cash sum of US$42 million to acquire the assets and the business for the remaining period of the lease. Male Hotel Associates have confirmed the sale of the hotel, but would not confirm, nor deny the sale price, stating only that Shangri-la had made "an excellent offer" to buy the hotel.
Shangri-la operates a super-luxury class resort at Villingili in Addu Atoll. Shangri-la also secured a bid from the government in 2007 to build and operate a 100-key hotel at the southeast corner of Male. The project had since made little progress and have been stalled for the past years. With their purchase of the of the Holiday Inn Male, it is not known what would become of this project.
Holiday Inn Male' was opened in September 2009 and has become a landmark of the Maldives capital.
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