Mantra to operate Atzemis' new city hotel

Hotel and resorts operator Mantra Group has been confirmed as the partner for a new property at 900 Hay Street by local developer George Atzemis, following the opening earlier this month of Mantra's new Peppers Hotel opposite Kings Square.

Mantra announced today that the hotel at 900 Hay Street would be one of five new properties to be developed across Australia and New Zealand under its various hotel brands, which include Mantra, Peppers and BreakFree Hotels.

Last year, Business News reported that Mr Atzemis was behind the proposal, which will comprise a 26-level building containing 250 rooms.

The hotel is expected to be constructed in a modular fashion, similar to Mantra Group’s Peppers Kings Square hotel, which opened in November and is the nation’s tallest pre-fabricated hotel.

Mr Atzemis told Business News earlier this month that the Hay Street proposal was his top priority, following the completion of a $25 million refurbishment of the Holiday Inn on Hay Street which he owns jointly with long-time business partner Con Berbatis.

Mantra, which operates three hotels in Perth, is also in line to manage a $30 million, nine-storey, 126-room hotel on Walker Avenue in West Perth.

The West Perth hotel will be a joint venture with Tribe Hotels Group, a Melbourne-based firm with the backing of Salta Properties and Victor Smorgon Group.

Tribe Hotels Group founder Mark Peters said construction contractor Probuild put the hotel’s last module in place today, with the property scheduled to be open in April 2017.

Mantra’s other new properties are located in Melbourne’s Southbank, Queenstown New Zealiand, Airlie Beach in Queensland and Port Macquarie in NSW.

Mantra Group chief executive Bob East said the company was Australia’s fastest growing hotel group in 2016, developing 11 new properties and adding more than 3,000 rooms to its portfolio.

“This latest group of acquisitions reinforces the strong momentum in our growth strategy and highlights our ability to convert our pipeline,” Mr East said in a statement.