Kuala Lumpur to welcome first 'dry' hotel from UAE - Star Points

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

UAE investor ETA Star Enterprise, which manages the Star, Hallmark and Sahara brands of hotels and serviced apartments in UAE, is expanding overseas with its first hotel, the Star Points Kuala Lumpur, scheduled to soft launch in Kuala Lumpur end-June.

A three-star business-class hotel with 140 rooms, the property will be the first 'dry' hotel for the city, which means it will not serve alcohol, according to senior general manager, area manager Malaysia, Mr Adil Anwar. In keeping with the brand's image, there will also not be any noisy entertainment such as discos, night clubs and fun pubs.

Located on Masjid India Road, a busy shopping area mainly for Indian textile and merchandise, the hotel hopes to attract Indian merchants and business travellers from Iran and the Gulf.

Mr Adil said the company was also looking to lease and manage more hotel properties in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Sabah. "We are looking at a minimum of five hotels and hotel serviced apartments within the next three to five years in Malaysia," said Mr Adil. All the properties will not serve alcohol.

Malaysian inbound operator World Avenues executive director, Mr Ally Bhoonee, said a dry hotel was a new concept in Malaysia but it might work, especially if the targeted clientele was Indians and Middle East nationals.

Source : TTG