Asia's best hotels

Business Asia, Sept 21, 1998

The following hotels are the individual country winners in the Business Asia Best Business Hotels in Asia Awards

AUSTRALIA The Ritz-Carlton Sydney

The Ritz-Carlton overlooks the Royal Botanic Gardens and is close to Sydney's financial district and historical Rocks area. The hotel is a 20-minute drive from Sydney's International Airport and a five-minute walk from the Sydney Opera House. It has 106 guestrooms, a restaurant, bar and gift boutique.

FEATURES:

* Business centre.

* Telephones with modem and separate fax line.

* 24-hour room service.

* The Ritz-Carlton Club. Guests on this floor have access to a lounge where complimentary breakfast, light lunch, afternoon and evening cocktails are served.

* Outdoor rooftop swimming pool, sauna and training room.

* "Jetlag Recovery Program" includes specially tailored food and beverages, use of the fitness centre and sauna, in-room therapeutic massage, and a selection of rejuvenating bath amenities.

CHINA The Palace Hotel Beijing

The hotel is located in the city centre, within walking distance of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. It has 530 rooms and suites, five restaurants, two lounges, a shopping arcade, hairdressing salon, bank and newsstand.

FEATURES:

* 24-hour business centre.

* Office and conference rooms, as well as computer and office equipment, is available for rental.

* Multilingual staff with translation service.

* The Palace Club. Guests get private check-in and checkout, the use of an exclusive lounge with privileges such as complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, cocktails and canapes in the evening.

* A satellite business centre is located next to the lounge.

HONG KONG Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

The hotel has 572 guestrooms and suites and is adjacent to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is located three minutes from the Central Business District. The hotel has multi-lingual staff, a hair salon and florist, as well as eight restaurants and bars.

FEATURES:

* Business centre has video conferencing, printing, secretarial facilities, information on local commerce and industry, and a reference library.

* Office equipment, private offices and access to the Internet is available for rental.

* Regency Club. Offers complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and canapes, all-day tea and coffee as well as a laser compact disc player and discs in each guest room.

* Hong Kong's largest outdoor hotel swimming pool.

INDIA Taj Palace Hotel New Delhi

The hotel is located 10 minutes from the city centre and the airport. It has 461 guest rooms and suites, four restaurants, a nightclub, shopping arcade, beauty parlour/hair salon and a barber shop.

FEATURES:

* The business centre offers three meeting/board rooms and two office rooms. 24-hour access to email and Internet.

* Taj Club Rooms. Guests receive a range of privileges, including access to the Club Lounge.

* Fitness centre and swimming pool.

* Eleven banquet halls with conference aids, including simultaneous translation in five languages.

INDONESIA Grand Hyatt Jakarta

The hotel is located in Jakarta's business district, adjacent to the Plaza Indonesia shopping centre, 45 minutes from the airport by car. It has 450 rooms, including suites, and has multi-lingual hotel staff.

FEATURES:

* 24-hour business centre offers secretarial and courier services, photocopying, telefax, telex, translation, an information library on local commerce and industry, as well as rental of equipment.

* Portable telefax units are available for guest room installation.

* Regency Club. Free breakfast, evening cocktails, all-day tea and coffee, magazines and daily newspapers.

* The "Club Olympus" fitness centre has a gymnasium, aerobics room, massage and steam rooms, jacuzzis, squash courts, saunas, plunge bath and a juice bar.

* Outdoor lagoon swimming pool with swim-up bar, six tennis courts, a jogging track and golf putting green.

JAPAN The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka

Located in the heart of the Nishi-Umeda district. Within walking distance of the Kita district and convenient to Osaka Station. Offers some of the largest guest rooms in Japan. It's 15 minutes from Shin-Osaka Station, and 50 minutes from the new Kansai International Airport.

FEATURES:

* 64 Ritz-Carlton Club rooms and suites.

* Indoor pool, indoor and outdoor whirlpools.

* Fitness centre and spa with steam, sauna, massage, workout room, Japanese bath, separate men's and women's lounges, lockers and spa services.

* Two ballrooms and smaller meeting rooms.

* Executive business centre, a chapel and a Japanese wedding hall.

MALAYSIA The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur

Provides a gateway to the casinos of Genting Highlands, the coastal town of Port Dickson and the mountain resort of Cameron Highlands. It's centrally located on the west side of Golden Triangle on Jalan Imbi and is easily accessible to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport and the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

FEATURES:

* 14 suites, 14 Ritz-Carlton Club rooms and one Ritz-Carlton suite.

* Fitness centre with separate men's and women's steam, sauna, whirlpool and massage. Outdoor pool. Fullservice spa.