THE FÉNIX Hotel Group has embarked on a 30 million euro investment programme to spruce up four of its five hotels. The major refurbishment plan includes a 14 million euro face-lift for the famous Hotel Fénix in Lisbon, which dominates the Marquês de Pombal. The hotel, the first to be acquired by the Fénix Group in the ‘80s, has already been enlarged by incorporating 69 extra rooms, seven conference rooms and a three-storey underground car park.
Owned by Portuguese entrepreneurs based in Brazil, the group operates in Portugal under the name of Imorey Holdings, based in Vameca. Imorey Holdings’ manager for the hotel sector, Luís Soeiro, said: “The group is open to, and aware of, new opportunities for expansion, although our current priority is to consolidate and upgrade our present portfolio of hotels.”
In 1999, the Fénix Group bought the Ipanema Hotel in Porto and, in 2000, added two more hotels to its portfolio – the Tuela Oporto Hotel and Fénix Oporto Hotel. In 2002, it bought the Ipanema Park Hotel, bringing the total of hotel rooms in Porto to 775 divided between three, four and five stars, representing 25 per cent of the hotel rooms available in that city.
The modernisation programme, which began in 2001, should continue until the end of 2005. Presently, the Ipanema Park Oporto is being renovated at a cost of 13 million euros, following a three million euro makeover for the Hotel Tuela.
“The difficulties in filling rooms in Porto and Lisbon, caused by the recent expansion of hotels in those cities, haven’t had an adverse effect on us. In fact, we’re looking at a 15 per cent increase on the 17 million euro receipts generated by our hotels,” said Luís Soeiro.
