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New Luwansa hotel finally opens in Manado
After a delay of nearly eight months due to COVID-19, Santini Group has opened the doors to its first hotel property in the North Sulawesi capital.
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Santini Group director Wandi Wanandi (left) hands a plate of ceremonial yellow rice to North Sulawesi Deputy Governor Steven Kandouw (right) on April 28, 2021, during a ceremony to open the Luwansa Hotel and Convention Center in Manado, the provincial capital. (The Jakarta Post/Tribun Manado)
B
anking on a quick rebound in tourism from the pandemic's impacts, Santini Group has decided to stick to its plan and opened the doors to the Luwansa Hotel Manado in North Sulawesi.
The hotel was initially scheduled to open in September 2020.
Located on a 5,000-square-meter plot along Jl. Pomorouw, the four-star hotel has 134 rooms that can accommodate up to 800 guests, a ballroom and seven meeting rooms. It is also the first hotel in the diversified conglomerate has developed in the provincial capital, which is frequented by both domestic and foreign tourists.
“We are determined to open the hotel, despite the fact that the hospitality industry has not fully recovered from COVID-19. We fully believe, though, that the economic condition will recover, especially the tourism industry,” the Luwansa hotel management said in a statement made available on April 28.
North Sulawesi Deputy Governor Steven Kandouw officially opened the hotel at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.
The conglomerate invested Rp 200 billion (US$14.2 million) in the project, which began construction in July 2019.
“East Indonesia has tremendous potential. Development must not be centered on Java,” Santini Group president director Lukito Wanandi said at the groundbreaking ceremony two years ago.
The North Sulawesi administration recorded 150,000 tourist arrivals in 2019, a significant jump from 10,000 arrivals in the previous year, primarily due to increased interest among Chinese tourists.
