Page 25 - Sphere No.14 (Jul 2005)

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A P

LACE TO

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OME

C

APTAIN ROGER CARMICHAEL

is a flight opera-

tions inspector with Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation

Department (CAD) and has long called the

Harbour Plaza home. He shares his story with

Sphere

.

“I was a fighter pilot with the Australian air force and

went on to work with Qantas for 33 years. In 1964 I start-

ed flying to Hong Kong. Then in 1996, I took a job with the

CAD and suddenly my wife Helen and I were looking for a

more permanent residence in the city.

We chose the Harbour Plaza in Whampoa Garden,

Hunghom, and have never looked back. The hotel had been

open just a year when we moved into a serviced suite, so

we are now among the hotel’s longest staying guests.

I’ve never come back from overseas and not wanted to

be here. I travel regularly for business, and also keep a

home in Sydney, where my two children and four grandchil-

dren live. But I just need to walk in the door of the

Harbour Plaza and it lifts my spirits. This hotel is a breath-

ing space in Hong Kong.

The service is superb and it is anticipatory. The staff will

attend to your needs before you have to ask. I have never

had to make a complaint, and we have had an instant

response to anything we have ever asked for.

In fact, two of my most precious memories involve this

hotel. The first is of the Hong Kong handover, where we

and other guests were able to enjoy the fireworks from the

hotel’s unique vantage point, and then watch the royal

yacht Britannia sail past, marking the end of British rule.

Then there was my 65th birthday. My wife and I were

whisked to the hotel’s prestigious presidential suite by the

general manager, where we enjoyed dinner with friends,

watching a typhoon lash the city from the suite’s full-length

windows. It was an amazing experience and a memory I

will always treasure.”

hotel portfolio go from strength to strength.

“Ten years from now we would like to be an

established hotel chain with a strong reputation in

the market,” says Ms Koh. “Our plan is to contin-

ue to support the growth in the group’s portfolio

and, with our hotels becoming popular destina-

tions for travellers, we are making an increasing

contribution to the property group’s overall prof-

its. We know our strengths and at the moment

our strengths are in Asia.”

However, the group does not plan to limit its

activities to Asia and the Bahamas alone. “The

team is looking at various places around the

world,” Mr Chow confirms. “We have submitted

bids for a few hotels in London and in Paris, but we

have not yet been successful. If the right opportuni-

ty comes up, we don’t mind expanding our inter-

national hotel operations. It all depends on oppor-

tunity. The hotel division has a bright future.”

As the Harbour Plaza Hong Kong begins its

second decade in operation, the signs of future

success have never been better.

Mexan Harbour Hotel

Tsing Yi, HK

800 rooms

Great Wall Sheraton Hotel

Beijing

Beijing, PRC

850 rooms

Horizon Suite Hotel

Ma On Shan, HK

831 rooms

Sheraton Hong Kong

Hotel and Towers

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, HK

782 rooms

Harbour Plaza Kunming

Kunming, PRC

299 rooms

Grand Hyatt Beijing at

Oriental Plaza

Beijing, PRC

839 rooms

The Westin at Our Lucaya

Beach & Golf Resort

Grand Bahama Island,

The Bahamas

749 rooms

Sheraton at Our Lucaya

Beach & Golf Resort

Grand Bahama Island,

The Bahamas

522 rooms

U

NDER

HPHR M

ANAGEMENT

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HIRD

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ARTY

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ANAGEMENT