The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle will be “freshened” through minor renovations as property syndicator and developer Primewest is set to officially become the owner of the iconic building tomorrow.
Settlemet of the $88.5 million purchase of the hotel and land will be concluded tomorrow, marking the end of more than two decades of ownership by Perth businesswoman Marylyn New.
Primewest director David Schwartz told WA Business News the Esplanade was a good hotel with a good reputation.
“It’s worked well over the years but we will be freshening it up,” he said.
“We’ll maintain the good parts of it but we will be freshening it up, especially the rooms and the look.”
Primewest will use the Rydges Hotel group to manage the Esplanade on its behalf, and Mr Schwartz said the group was already looking into alternative designs for the rooms, with the potential to introduce the ‘Rydges Dream Bed’ into the suites.
Primewest also owns the Rydges Hotel in Kalgoorlie, which it bought in late 2007.
The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle has 300 guest rooms, and there are no plans to expand, Mr Schwartz said.
Also on the agenda was to bring more activities to the Esplanade Hotel, including conferences, business meetings, entertainment and weddings.
Mr Schwartz said the hotel would also be promoted as a quick weekend getaway.
“We want to create and help Fremantle re-establish itself as an entertainment hub,” Mr Schwartz said.
Finalisation of the settlement comes some six months after a deal between Camelia Holdings, the former owner of the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle, and a Singaporean company fell through. That deal was rumoured to be valued at around $90 million.