Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas Group will take over the management of Mercure Johor Palm Resort and Golf from February 1 2011- Sinar Mas will rebrand the Palm Resort Bhd-owned hotel in Senai as Le Grandeur Palm Resort- Eka Tjipta Widjaja founded Sinar Mas and is ranked by Forbes as Indonesia's third richest- Asia Food & Properties Ltd has a 40 per cent stake in Palm Resort, based on the company's 2009 annual report- Asia Food is a Sinar Mas group company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange- Le Grandeur will take over the management from French hospitality management group Accor, which has been operating the property for 17 years- Accor's management contract ends on January 31 2011- Palm Resort, which includes the 330-room hotel and 54-hole championship golf course, was established in 1994- In a press release, Le Grandeur said that the hotel will be repositioned to meet the demand for lifestyle-incorporated vacations- General manager Farrock Ebrahim said the upgrading and improvement will enable it to maintain its price, services and add value to guests- It will upgrade its room and food outlets in phases over a 12-month period- Le Grandeur hotels are also locatedin Jakarta and Balikpapan in Indonesia- The brand has been around since 1996- Accor, which manages brands like Sofitel, Novotel and Pullman, started operating the property under the five-star Sofitel- A few years ago, the resort was rebranded as Mercure to better fit the property which had aged- ...

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