BUKIT HARAPAN CHARITY HOME RESIDENTS FETED

KOTA KINABALU (17 December 2013) – The residents of Bukit Harapan charity home were treated to some Christmas cheer from the staff of Hyatt Regency Kinabalu in their annual holiday visit last Tuesday.

The home that accommodates some residents ranging from 7 to 54-year olds was treated with lots of fun filled activities the whole afternoon from Christmas carols from the hotel’s caroling group, five- star catering, games and prizes and Christmas goody bags filled with daily necessities like body lotion and toiletries.

Happy face upon receiving Christmas gift from Paul Lajumin

Kids were having fun playing the "POP the Balloon" game

 The visit was led by the hotel’s Director of Human Resource, Mary Susan Johnson and Director of Engineering, Paul Lajumin along with 24 staff of Hyatt Regency Kinabalu.

The visit began with the staff receiving a warm welcome from the residents, followed by Christmas songs by residents of Bukit Harapan and hotel’s own dedicated caroling group. The hotel bonded with the residents over games like balloon-popping and musical statues.

“Our annual visit here is something we greatly look forward to every year. Connecting with the community and giving back is one of the pillars of the Hyatt brand and we want to ensure that the people around us are happy too,” said Lajumin in his address during the event.

Hyatt's Carolers singing carols to residents of Rumah Bukit Harapan

Bukit Harapan is a self-funded non-governmental organization founded in 1988 by Anne Keyworth also known as ‘Mama Anne’. Currently, there are 41 residents in Bukit Harapan, taken care by 14 staff. The home is open to orphans, the mentally-disabled, abused and the homeless.

Bukit Harapan provides speech therapy and physiotherapy in the form of classes to the residents which help to reduce difficulties they face in their daily lives. These classes are conducted from Monday to Friday. Bukit Harapan operates solely on donations from the public.

“No matter how severely handicapped a body is, as long as the heart beats, we have a duty to respect and preserve their life, and this is the mission and principle of our home, ” said Keyworth.

Hyatt’s corporate social responsibility initiative, THRIVE’s mission is to develop locations where our associates are proud to work, our guests want to visit, our neighbors want to live and owners want to invest.

As part of Hyatt Regency Kinabalu’s community project, the hotel visits and maintains relationships with several charities initiatives throughout the years.

Group Photo of Hyatt Team and residents of Bukit Harapan

Contact:

Julia Chan

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu

Public Relations Manager

+60 88 22 1234

julia.chan@hyatt.com

About Hyatt Regency Kinabalu

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, a 288-room hotel, is located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu’s business, shopping and entertainment hub, overlooking the beautiful coral islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and the South China Sea.   Hyatt Regency Kinabalu offers newly renovated guestrooms, exceptional service, modern comforts, and a dazzling choice of local and international cuisine.   Reservations for Hyatt Regency Kinabalu can be made by calling +60 88 22 1234 or visiting www.kinabalu.regency.hyatt.com

About Hyatt Regency Hotels

Hyatt Regency offers a full range of services and facilities tailored to serve the needs of meeting planners, business travelers and leisure guests. Properties generally range in size from 200 to over 2,000 rooms and are conveniently located in urban, suburban, airport, convention and resort destinations around the world. Hyatt Regency convention hotels feature spacious meeting and conference facilities designed to provide a productive environment. Hyatt Regency hotels in resort locations cater to couples seeking a getaway, families enjoying vacation together and corporate groups seeking a relaxed atmosphere in which to conduct business and meetings

General Manager Gerard Tan Back In Patong at Millennium

PHUKET: Old Phuket hotel hand Gerard Tan has been appointed General Manager of the Millennium Resort in Patong’s Jungceylon shopping and hotel complex.

Mr Tan, originally from Singapore, is a versatile and seasoned hotelier with extensive experience in Thailand, fluent in the Thai language and with a solid understanding of the Thai culture.

Mr Tan graduated from the American Hotel & Motel Association and is a Certified Hotel Administrator. While he started work in F&B in Singapore, he has spent decades in Thailand.

Many old hands in Phuket will remember his time as the GM of the Patong beachfront BanThai Resort, which he ran with a particularly personal flair. He now returns to Patong from a spell on Racha Yai Island, south of Phuket, where he was GM of The Racha.

Under his leadership, The Racha earned three distinguished international awards including being listed as one of the Top 10 Best Beach Resorts in South East Asia by Asian Tatler Magazine last year.

Read more at https://www.thephuketnews.com/gm-tan-back-in-patong-at-millennium-43302.php#O1GoUdfw7r3TgXfe.99

HYATT REGENCY KINABALU EMBARKS ON MULTI MILLION RINGGIT RENOVATION PROJECT TO REDEFINE MODERN DINING.

KOTA KINABALU, SABAH, MALAYSIA : Since its opening in 1979, Hyatt Regency Kinabalu has earned a reputation in the city for providing authentic Sabahan hospitality and top notch cuisine with five-star service.

To keep up with the ever-changing needs and lifestyles of the new traveler, the property will be embarking on a major renovation project beginning December 2013, to upgrade its main restaurants and lobby.

Well - know Japanese designing firm, Tofu, has been engaged to give the hotel’s restaurants and lobby a makeover to epitomize the Borneo aesthetic and complement the hotel’s positioning as Kota Kinabalu’s preferred business and leisure city hotel. The new stylish upgrade will pay tribute to Sabah’s natural eco-treasures and provide guests with a truly Malaysian Borneon ambience and dining experience.

The renovation will involve the main coffeehouse Tanjung Ria Café, The Chinese Restaurant, The Atrium, the pool deck and the lobby. The restaurants will be closed in stages during the renovation period from late December 2013 and for approximately 12 months.

The first phase from January to June 2014 will involve the Atrium, main coffeehouse Tanjung Ria Café and the pool deck, followed by The Chinese Restaurant in July to October while the third and final phase will see the lobby being renovated from November to January 2015.

Once it re-opens, the new flagship restaurant will be the only restaurant of its kind in the city, and the talk of the town.

“The renovation is something we’ve been planning and looking forward to for awhile now,” said Hyatt Regency Kinabalu General Manager, Arifin Darmawan.

“We have every confidence that once completed, it will be the new restaurant destination of choice and add new life to the city’s burgeoning dining scene,” he said.

This will be the first time its legendary coffee house, Tanjung Ria Café will be undergo renovation since the Hyatt was established in 1979. The coffee house has served Ministers, visiting dignitaries and celebrities over the decades since the hotel became the first 5-star franchise in the city, and a landmark of sorts.

Its signature dish, the oxtail assam pedas, or spicy and sour oxtail stew, remains as popular as it was back when the coffee house first opened, being the most frequently ordered dish by far, and a highly prized takeaway souvenir for food – lovers.

The hotel completed a full RM44 million renovation of its 288 hotel rooms and suites and poolside in 2011.

About Hyatt Regency Kinabalu

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, a 288-room hotel, is located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu’s business, shopping and entertainment hub, overlooking the beautiful coral islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and the South China Sea.   Hyatt Regency Kinabalu offers newly renovated guestrooms, exceptional service, modern comforts, and a dazzling choice of local and international cuisine.   Reservations for Hyatt Regency Kinabalu can be made by calling +60 88 22 1234 or visiting www.kinabalu.regency.hyatt.com

About Hyatt Regency Hotels

Hyatt Regency offers a full range of services and facilities tailored to serve the needs of meeting planners, business travelers and leisure guests. Properties generally range in size from 200 to over 2,000 rooms and are conveniently located in urban, suburban, airport, convention and resort destinations around the world. Hyatt Regency convention hotels feature spacious meeting and conference facilities designed to provide a productive environment. Hyatt Regency hotels in resort locations cater to couples seeking a getaway, families enjoying vacation together and corporate groups seeking a relaxed atmosphere in which to conduct business and meetings.