Park Regis exits Subiaco hotel before opening

International hotel chain Park Regis has pulled out of operating a just-built Subiaco hotel prior to its opening, with the developer behind the project seeking a new operator.

Development group Dradgin Pte Ltd today launched a campaign to find an operator for the hotel, where construction was recently completed at 500 Hay Street.

The Park Regis logo was installed on the building midway through last year, and it was expected to be operating by early 2020.

Features of the four-star, 168-room hotel include 14 suites, a function space, restaurant and bar overlooking a rooftop pool.

Dradgin representative Graham Murdoch said the developer was confident of finding an operator through the tender process.

“We are committed to bringing Subiaco a premium hotel offering that will service the western suburbs business and leisure market,” he said.

Mr Murdoch said discussions with operators to run a multi-screen cinema as part of the 500 Hay Street development would not be affected.

The developer said it could make no further comment regarding Park Regis’s decision to pull out of the project.

The hotel’s opening will be determined by the tender process.

Park Regis brand owner Staywell Hospitality Group is being sought for comment.

The hotel operator’s exit adds to a challenging history for Dradgin at the $100 million 500 Hay Street development, with the project’s original construction contractor, Cooper & Oxley Builders, experiencing financial difficulties midway through the build and replaced by Doric in 2018.

Dradgin's campaign follows Singaporean developer Fragrance Group announcing in December that Novotel had been signed as the operator for a 431-room hotel on Murray Street, as part of the $200 million NV complex.

Fragrance Group, which has a large portfolio of residential and hotel developments in Singapore, Australia and the UK, typically operates its hotels under its Global Premium Hotels banner, which comprises 22 hotels branded Fragrance and another property branded Parc Sovereign.