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EBRD to finance refurbishment of Bucharest hotel
Bucharest will gain a 275-room first class hotel when the Athenee Palace Hotel is refurbished with help from a US$ 14.3 million (ECU 12.5 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed today in London.
Ron Freeman, Vice President of the EBRD, said: "The EBRD's first hotel project in Romania will enable the city of Bucharest to meet the needs of an expanding international business community and to promote foreign investment and tourism in Romania".
Located in the heart of Bucharest, the prestigious Athenee Palace Hotel was built between 1912 and 1914, and restored between 1935 and 1937. A second wing built in 1965 increased its capacity to 300 rooms, but serious damage during the 1989 revolution reduced this to 125 rooms. The hotel, due to reopen in 1996, will provide 275 rooms (including suites), restaurants, a business centre, conference and health facilities, and a shopping arcade.
Athenee Phenix Group S.A., the owner of the Athenee Palace Hotel, has two Romanian shareholders, S.C. Athenee Palace S.A. and C.M.C International, and three French shareholders, Compagnie Immobilière Phénix, Feal International and Etudes Générales Constructions Internationales.
Athenee Phenix Group S.A. will refurbish the Athenee Palace Hotel through a construction contract with Feal International. Once renovated, the hotel will be operated by Hilton International through a management agreement, which will also include technical assistance during the renovation period to refurbish, equip and decorate the Athenee Palace to the internationally recognised standard for a first class hotel.
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