RIGA - Hotel Riga, one of the largest hotels in the Latvian capital, will come under management of international hotel operator Kempinski Hotels and, after a facelift, will strive to become a five-star hotel.
The owner of Hotel Riga, Mira-G company, signed a management agreement with Kempinski Hotels, Hotel Riga spokeswoman Inga Tomase said.
She added that reconstruction plans for the hotel were being developed in cooperation with Kempinski. Reconstruction work will begin next fall, and the project - worth 25-30 million euros - is to be completed at the end of 2007.
After reconstruction, Hotel Riga hopes to get the status of a five-star hotel.
Tomase said that Kempinski Hotels had chosen to cooperate with Hotel Riga because of its prime downtown location.
Hotel Riga was built in 1956 on the spot where the popular Roma Hotel used to operate from the second half of the 19th century until World War II, when it was destroyed.
Kempinski Hotels owns 45 hotels across the world and operates dozens more. In Latvia, Kempinski Hotels already has agreed to operate Kemeri spa hotel in Jurmala. The resort is currently being renovated by Italian-owned Ominasis Latvia.
