Lhasa to get 5-star hotel

In Lhasa, a new hotel is being constructed by the Lhasa Yungao International Hotel Company and should be ready by the end of 2008. The hotel will be officially named the St Regis, Lhasa and room prices will probably be around $400 a night so it is not for the backpacker set.

The hotel will be managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. It will have 175-rooms at international five-star standards, and will be the first five-star hotel in China’s vast western regions including Tibet, Xinjiang and Qinghai. The illustration is NOT of the hotel but gives a wonderful feeling of Lhasa which is why it is a little larger than the normal illustration.

The region reported 110,000 visitors to Tibet in the first quarter of 2007, up 15.8% year-on-year, and is expected to receive more than three million tourists this year. The region will also start building its fourth airport in Ngari. There are now airports in Lhasa, Qamdo, and Nyingch.
Sources: Opodo and The Hindu