Hotel Tower is currently undergoing major rehabilitation as efforts are being made to remodel the establishment, thus making it more marketable.
The hotel was sold in February to Canal Hospitality Inc. This company has as its directors US-based businessman James Manbahal, as well as Guyanese Varendra Shiwratan and Bharti Persaud Misir.
General Manager of the establishment Nicola Pierre told this newspaper on Monday that the hotel “is in the middle of extensive renovations to the ground floor and entertainment facilities.” She also disclosed that work is ongoing to construct a new bar, café and poolside. Pierre added that management hopes to finish work on the ground floor of the hotel by November.
Meanwhile, when asked if the hotel’s management was considering establishing a casino at the hotel, Pierre’s response was “we have no plans for a casino as yet.”
The hotel had run into difficulties in the 1990s when it invested too heavily with the aim of becoming a five-star hotel. The investment decision was taken when the economy was booming, but the momentum was not maintained and the occupancy level fell in the face of political turmoil. As a result, the lack of returns did not allow for money to be reinvested because it was diverted to paying crippling debt.
The establishment went into receivership to the Bank of Nova Scotia on April 12, 1999 and while under receivership paid $3.5 million monthly to the bank.
On September 2, 2002 this newspaper reported that the hotel had moved from a loss-making situation to making operational profits, and that it had doubled its available rooms by over 100 per cent, from 30 rooms in 1999 to around 62 rooms at that time.
The managers had sought to raise the sum of $250 million to lift the hotel out of receivership.
In mid-2003, the Bank of Nova Scotia ceased its receivership hold on Hotel Tower Limited in an equity transaction which saw businessmen RL Singh, Amarnauth Muneshwer and Ashoka Singh of Canada as the new majority shareholders of the company.
