[?]re Hotel Plans for Suva

Ercoming The

Ttleneck

NEW move to produce another hotel to overcome the Suva hotel bottleneck has been made the Ragg chain, Northern Hotels L. although it has also been ted that the South Seas Hotel y never eventuate. !ver since the Club and Donald Hotels disappeared after hurricane and earthquake a ■ years ago there has been talk, little action, about the best :hod of overcoming the accom lation problem in Suva, ack of good hotels is hampering tourist industry which could elop rapidly. he history of the attempts to uild on the Club Hotel site at corner of Victoria Parade and •don Street, has been told many es in PIM, but the gaunt grey crete structure that was to have n the South Seas Hotel remains ground floor level where the iders left it four years ago. [orris Hedstrom, Ltd., which is the relic, has called for ders to complete the building ire passing the lease over to them Hotels. However, Morris Istrom has been coy about flng a public statement on the ire of the building, igh building costs have several es already turned the big firm y from resuming building opera iS. he Ragg chain has secured a ditional certificate to operate Club as a bar, when the work ts again, and while waiting for , prospecticve licensee, Mr. Max ell, marks time running the chcomber Hotel, at Deuba, erhaps the Ragg chain has be e impatient at continual delays; any event, an additional hotel Suva will not go amiss, orthern Hotels has now taken first step in what will )ably be a long march to have ther hotel built. It will be at a mile from the centre of 7a— on Waimanu Rd. near >ital. be Suva City Council has ited an application by the pany to have an area in manu Road rezoned as “light mercial” instead of residential, arrister John Falvey told the ncil that Northern Hotels med to build a 20-bedroom hotel the Site, at a cost of £50,000. is to be known as the Hotel 'au. lot remains to be done, how ', before tourists can move in. tie City Council has to advertise iecision to rezone the area, and it possible objections, then has to pass these, if any, to the Town Planning Board, i its recommendation.

Assuming all rezoning hurdles are overcome, Northern Hotels then have to see about getting a licence for the hotel. First step is to apply for a conditional certificate recom mending the issue of a publican’s licence.

Northern Hotels Ltd. has already advertised that it will seek a con ditional certificate. This will be dealt with on November 27.

At this and subsequent hearings another type of objection can be made —against the granting of a licence.

Finally the Governor-in-Council can “veto” the whole idea, provided objectors can show good and sufficient reason why he should.

Twenty bedrooms may not seem many, but in Suva 20 bedrooms are

20 bedrooms, and any step to over come the existing situation is deserving of support.

Overseas organisations have been sounded out to invest money in the hotel industry in the Colony, and investigations have invariably shown that the return on the outlay at present is insufficient to warrant coming into the field. There have been numerous local proposals also, but none of them have produced one more hotel room to date.

Mr. Falvey told the Council that he would not be revealing any secrets if he said it was possible that the building on the Club Hotel site might never be completed as an hotel.

Whether the building went ahead depended on the cost.