Cosmos Hotel & Resorts Group (天成飯店集團) last week launched a luxury resort in Hualien County, expecting NT$800 million (US$25.98 million) in revenue this year with an occupancy rate of 70 percent.
The Taipei-based hospitality firm spent NT$6 billion turning a massive plot of land in Hualien County’s Ruisui Township (瑞穗) into a hot-spring facility that features 198 guest rooms and villas.
The Grand Cosmos Resort Ruisui (瑞穗春天國際觀光酒店) aims to become a travel destination itself, modeled after a European town with a mansion, castle, chapel, cottages and gardens, a Cosmos Hotel & Resorts executive said.
“Grand Cosmos Resort Ruisui aims to be a new landmark and the most fun place to visit,” Cosmos Hotel & Resorts chief executive officer Mike Chang (張東豪) said last week.
It would attract tourists from Taiwan and abroad, and boost tourism revenue in Hualien as a whole, Chang said.
The hotel, which sits on 20,000 ping (66,116m2) of land five minutes’ drive from Ruisui Railway Station, offers travelers a total escape from urban life “without a shred of boredom,” group executives said.
The group has set the maximum daily room rate at NT$9,000 until June 30, with the maximum to rise to NT$15,000 after that, making it the most expensive resort in east Taiwan, it said.
The group remains upbeat about the hospitality industry, especially in Hualien, which is blessed with rich and natural tourism resources, it said.
The resort aims to push occupancy rates to 90 percent next year with a 25 percent increase in revenue to NT$1 billion, the firm said.
The group plans to rejoin the market in central Taiwan after ending a partnership with ICASA (回行旅) in Taichung last year, executives said.
Cosmos Hotel & Resorts Group owns 10 hotel and restaurant brands in Taiwan, including Cosmos Taipei (台北天成大飯店), Taipei Garden Hotel (台北花園大酒店), Hua Shan Din (華山町) and the Sun Dialogue Hotel (繪日之丘) in Chiayi County.
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