Ed Brea named General Manager of new Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, Cairns

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is to open its second hotel in Australia in August 2004 when the former Radisson Plaza Hotel at the Pier is reflagged the Shangri-La Hotel, the Marina, Cairns. The hotel is currently undergoing a more than A$25 million renovation.

Ed Brea has been named the general manager of the hotel, promoted from his current position as hotel manager of the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, where he oversaw daily operations of the hotel and assisted in the renovation and relaunch of the property's famed Valley Wing. Brea joined the group in 1999 as hotel manager of the Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.

"I look forward to bringing Shangri-La's distinctive style of hospitality to Cairns. The revitalized waterfront areas and Pier Shopping Centre, together with the new Shangri-La hotel, will offer an ideal location for business and leisure travellers," comments Brea.

Joining Brea's management team as director of sales and marketing, Agnes Pacis will lead the hotel's sales and communications staff. Pacis moves from the Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, where she currently oversees the marketing efforts of the group's properties in Jakarta and Surabaya. Previously, Pacis was the area director of marketing for the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok and the Traders Hotel, Yangon.

To coincide with the reflagging of the property, the 256-room hotel is being transformed by Sydney-based Watermark Architecture and Interiors. The Shangri-La Hotel, the Marina, Cairns' new guest rooms and facilities will be unveiled upon completion of the renovation in August. Among the enhancements will be the addition of 36 newly constructed contemporary Marina View Rooms measuring over 50 square metres and featuring 3.3-metre ceilings, wooden floors, luxurious furnishings, ocean-view bathrooms and terraces overlooking yachts and mountains. These guest rooms will be exclusive Horizon Club rooms.

A new restaurant will be located on the Pier's boardwalk in the marina and will feature round-the-clock international cuisine, al fresco seating and open kitchens. Recreational facilities will include an outdoor swimming pool situated in over an acre of lush tropical gardens, a fitness centre and a 250-square-metre spa. Conference facilities will include a 400-seat ballroom, three private boardrooms and two breakout rooms with seating capacity for 150 guests.

Located in the new heart of Cairns, the Shangri-La Hotel, the Marina will adjoin the fully refurbished Pier Shopping Centre with open-air restaurants overlooking a new waterfront boardwalk, a 400-square-metre swimming lagoon and world-class marina. The hotel is only 10 minutes drive from Cairns International Airport and an ideal base for visits to the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. Shangri-La will operate the hotel under a management agreement with the Australian property investor Huntercorp Pacific.