Jul. 8, 2003 - The 20-year-old five-star Regent Bangkok on Ratchadamri Road is undergoing an extensive facelift and getting a new name. 

The exercise is part of an effort by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the Toronto-based hotel group that manages the property, and the owner, Rajdamri Hotel Plc, to refresh the aged but graceful hotel to stay competitive with other deluxe properties in the neighbourhood. 

The facelift is taking place amid a slow recovery in the tourism and hospitality industry following the Sars outbreak and fears of terrorist attacks in Thailand. 

The 356-room hotel has spent 74.9 million baht to build five additional function rooms and modernise its seven deluxe suites, according to Didier Picquot, regional vice-president of Four Seasons Hotels and general manager of the Regent Bangkok. 

Management is also looking at options to revise its 313 deluxe rooms and redecoration may start in the second quarter of next year at a cost estimated to run into the hundreds of millions of baht. 

The last major renovation at the hotel took place seven years ago. 

Another substantial investment in the pipeline is the addition of a full-scale spa treatment facility. 

The more immediate change is the renaming of the hotel as the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, expected to take place in the near future at the same time as the rebranding of its sister resort in Chiang Mai -- the Regent Chiang Mai Resort & Spa. 

The Chiang Mai property, which has 80 suites and is owned partly by Minor Group boss Bill Heinecke, will be called the Four Seasons Chiang Mai Resort & Spa. Mr Heinecke, who controls Royal Garden Resorts Plc, is also the largest shareholder of Rajdamri Hotel Plc. 

Mr Picquot, who moved to Bangkok less than a month ago, said the name change of the two properties in Thailand was aimed at capitalising on the Four Seasons brand which was better-known worldwide, especially in Europe. 

Recognition of the Regent name was strong only in Asia, explained the French-Canadian executive who has 30 years' experience in hotel management. 

Mr Picquot said the fact that the Four Seasons group had based a regional vice-president in Thailand for the first time, reflected the importance the group had placed on the Thai hotel and tourism industry. 

Four Seasons Hotels is exploring opportunities to expand in Thailand, in particular managing more deluxe hotels, especially in Phuket and Ko Samui, as well as other "traditional destinations" such as Chiang Rai and Krabi, according to Mr Picquot. 

At the moment, 18 properties throughout the world are in the development stage and will be managed by the group. Two are in Asia: Hong Kong and Langkawi Island in Malaysia. 

As of May, Four Seasons Hotels managed 58 properties in 27 countries. 

Mr Picquot said he envisaged a "swing back" in both corporate and leisure guests to the Regent Bangkok with more reservations for guest rooms and function rooms as well as overseas arrivals. 

But it might take "a little while" before the traffic returns to normal as concerns over Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome seemed to be lingering, he said. 

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(c) 2003, Bangkok Post, Thailand. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. FS,