Cannot complete renovations by target date
The Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel in Taipa, previously known as the New Century, may close for good. The property was shut down last July on what was supposed to be a temporary basis as the owners completed renovations and settled other issues of concern cited by the government.
With the temporary closure term about to expire and the work still undone, Macau Hotel Developers Ltd. stated it is “forced to return its current hotel license to the Macao Government Tourism Office.”
The firm’s new management under Amax Chairman Ng Man Sun defended the decision to surrender the license, saying it was made because of “the severe problematic irregularities caused by and inherited from the former management of Macau Hotel Developers Ltd., namely Chen Mei Huan and Xu Jiaoji.”
According to the Macau Daily Times, the company said that while it can’t meet the current deadline to complete renovations, it plans to “redevelop, renovate, and reapply for the hotel license” when the matter is resolved.
The 599-room hotel closed after the MGTO noted “serious administrative irregularities which constitute threats to public safety,” including fire code violations. The property includes the Greek Mythology casino, which operated until the end of 2015 under SJM’s gaming license. The casino has been closed for more than a year for supposed “renovation works,” the Times reported.
The hotel was also under attack for fraudulently overbooking rooms in September 2016. The incident involved more than HKD250 million (US$32.2 million) in advance payments. The case has gone to the Public Prosecutions Office for investigation.
According to GGRAsia, a dispute between Ng and former paramour Chen Mei Huan is part of the larger soap opera. In 1996, Ng acquired the New Century, and in 2012, “temporarily” transferred 80 percent of the property to her. She declined to return the stake after the couple parted.
