KUALA LUMPUR: Kuching’s Damai Beach Resort will soon begin its RM4.9 million refurbishment plan which will see it coming up with the country’s first “ballroom by the sea”.
The 25-year old beachfront resort, nestled at the foothills of Sarawak’s famed Mount Santubong, will also undertake the refurbishment of its rooms, main coffee house, kitchen, as well as its central lobby areas under the plan.
“We are aiming to get it all ready before next year July’s Rainforest World Music Festival here although the refurbishment of rooms is expected to be completed even earlier by October this year,” said Damai Beach Resort’ Director of Business Development Caroline Yeo.
The ballroom which will feature long, glass windows, giving the impression of being in the ‘middle of the sea’ to patrons, will be able to seat 700 people theatre-style and 500 people dinner-style, Yeo told journalists from Peninsular Malaysia on a familiarisation trip to Kuching organised by the Sarawak Convention Bureau recently.
Plans for the ballroom had been submitted and some revisions are being made for improvement in various areas, she said.
The hotel will also retain much of the natural flora and fauna around the beach area when building the ballroom.
“We do not cut any trees unless it is really necessary,” Yeo said.
The Damai beach resort is just five minutes’ walk from the Sarawak Cultural Centre which is the grounds for the annual Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival.
Also only 35 minutes away from Kuching town, the resort is a major ‘place to stay’ during the event which brings both artistes and music lovers from around the globe to this part of the world to celebrate the diversity of music and sounds amid the lush rainforest settings.
“Our hotel has been fully booked for this year’s event,” informs Yeo, adding that the hotel, on an average, enjoyed 45 per cent occupancy rate.
Most visitors are return guests but the hotel also gets a good share of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism market.
Among the MICE events that will be organised at the resort this year is the International Conference in Conservation and Management of Pollinators 2011 in September.
“For Damai Golf and Country Club, a neighbouring golf club which the resort manages, it will be the venue for the prestigious World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Competition, an international event featuring golf teams from all over the world.
“It will also be the venue for a ladies golf event called “East Meets West”, comprising golfers from West Malaysia and East Malaysia,” Yeo said. — Bernama