Construction work has accelerated on the 150 room Aiden boutique styled Arima Hotel by Best Western Hotel with the steel structure, preliminary plumbing and electrical works of the nine story building already completed.
Its developers, Arimu Investments Inc., will soon commence erecting walls and structural partitions. At present, eight of the floors are already casted and workers are preparing to cast the final floor that will house an elevated lounge and bar. The 74,000 sq. ft. facility, which is the first Aiden brand to be constructed in South America and the Caribbean, is being developed by Arimu Investments Inc., a local company that acquired two hotel franchises (the other is SureStay Plus also by Best Western).
Director of Arimu Investments Inc., Geraldo Alphonso, told Sunday Stabroek that even as work at its Lots 88/89 Robb and Oronoque streets, George-town, site has accelerated, challenges in the supply chain have forced a revision of their original April 2023 completion deadline to December 2023.
Providing a description of the hotel’s design, Alphonso explained that the ground floor will consist of a conference room that caters for up to 120 persons, a restaurant and bar that can accommodate approximately 170 persons, and a coffee shop. The second to seventh floors will consist of rooms while the eighth floor will house a gym and sauna area, four executive suites all equipped with open terraces, an executive boardroom equipped with a bar, modern technology services and a terrace with privacy screens.
In addition to its modern amenities, the hotel will contain a swimming pool and outdoor bar along with tiered parking to enhance its guests’ experiences. “We… acquired lands to the west of the structure and we are in the process of drawing the design for pool and outdoor bar. This is in addition to the amenities of what we had and I would say it was the only missing element in our hotel.” The new amenities will see the developers investing an additional US $5 million approximately. Alphonso explained that the additional amenities were not part of the original design of the hotel, however, the directors made a decision to integrate these after acquisition of additional lands proved successful. The new amenities will be constructed in phase two of the development stage, as Alphonso explained that they are focused on completing the hotel first before focusing on the additional amenities. “This was not an easy task… getting the lands was a challenge. We had to engage in negotiations with 14-15 different parties to acquire this parcel of land… Land is something that is very hard to find in the city and for this type of investment.”
With works progressing, the developers currently have 60 persons in their workforce. However, Alphonso stated that they do have vacancies for skilled workers in masonry and carpentry. During the sod turning event back in March, Alphonso noted that the company’s agenda was very pellucid that “every inch” of the Guyanese workforce be utilized, whether skilled or unskilled, before outside skills were sought. Thus far, he said, the company has contracted several Guyanese engineers, pile drivers, steel fabricators, quality control officers, among other servicemen. Alphonso encourages other investors to do the same and “think Guyana first.”
He said that the long-term vision and expectation of the company is to further invest in the “ever growing” tourism and hospitality sector in Guyana. He said once the Arima hotel is completed, a 200-room SureStay Plus hotel will be constructed. A location has not yet been identified. On its working relationship with key agencies,
Alphonso described these as “excellent,” and highlighted “timely acquisition of permits and approvals” as benefits from that working relationship. On this note, Alphonso expressed gratitude towards the agencies for their working relationship and timely responses. While it is widely agreed that Guyana’s oil and gas industry will be responsible for increases in the demand for hotel rooms, analysts have questioned whether each of the new developments undertook feasibility studies to determine the market demand and saturation, and consequently, whether those studies factored in periods of low demand.
Along with the Aiden Hotel, a Sleepin Hotel on Brickdam with 195 rooms located also in the city and Marriott Courtyard at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, and a hotel being developed by Surinamese Group Pasha Global at Liliendaal are already in the construction phase. The hotel being constructed by Pasha Global at Liliendaal, Sunday Stabroek was told, will not carry an international brand but a name unique to the group.
