Great Eagle $40M Rehab Brings Taste Of NYC To Hong Kong

NEW YORK— Nigel Roberts, the general manager of Hong Kongs Great Eagle Hotel told HOTEL BUSINESS® the 487-room property has added a genuine New York-style delicatessen to its roster of restaurants after completing a $40 million renovation. Why the mix of cheesecake and chop suey in an independent luxury hotel? “Were still building our positioning,” said Roberts of the Summit Hotels & Resorts member property. “Weve just finished an enormous refurbishment that cost nearly $40 million. Its a complete makeover of the hotel, bedrooms, public facilities and the inclusion of this new restaurant. The last couple of years weve been building the name and awareness of Great Eagle from its previous life, which was under the Renaissance banner.” In 1998, the Renaissance franchise agreement expired, said Roberts, and it was decided to put the name of the parent holding company on the property and reposition it. “We get an incredible amount of guest traffic from New York City— were very popular with the fashion and garment industry. Its a market that we find— although they can be competitors— they know each other very well and they like to stay around each other in the same hotel. So as a captured market for us its been wonderful, and its one of the reasons we have the Main Street Deli, so they could enjoy something from back home,” said Roberts. Jack Lebowohl, owner of NYCs famous Second Avenue Deli, teamed with Great Eagles executive chef for Western cooking Alan Yu to produce a raft of deli specialties ranging from chopped liver to pizza and pasta to three-decker BLTs and pastrami on rye, among others. All are being served in the 70-seat Main Street Deli, which will be visible from the street, with entrance through the hotel, located in the center of Kowloons Tsimshatsui district. Roberts expects the move will help the hotel as it continues to build its Big Apple market, taking share from surrounding competitors. “Its the first authentic New York-style deli for Hong Kong,” said Roberts. “In Hong Kong everybody expects good service, but we try and add something which is a warmth and a friendliness of the staff, which our customers seem to like.” He added occupancy— always good in Hong Kong— has “been great,” even through recent torrential downpours caused massive flooding in the Asian city and outlying areas.