Grand Pacific Hotel (Fiji)
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The Grand Pacific Hotel is located on the main sea front, on Victoria Parade in Suva, Fiji. It was built by The Union Steamship Company in 1914 to serve the needs of passengers on its transpacific routes. The design of the hotel was to make the passengers think they had never gone ashore, for rooms in the GPH were like first-class staterooms, complete with saltwater bathrooms and plumbing fixtures identical to those on an ocean liner.
It has been a popular place to stay for famous guests such as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Somerset Maugham, James A Michener and Queen Elizabeth II.
Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith landed his plane, having flown from California, into Albert Park. His plane was transported to another place for take-off, to complete the flight to Australia.Thus completing the first trans pacific flight from the U.S.A. to Australia.
All rooms were on the second floor, and guests could step outside on a 15-foot (4.6 m)-wide veranda overlooking the harbor and walk completely around the building — as if walking on the deck. When members of the British royal family visited Fiji, they stood atop the wrought-iron portico, the "bow" of the Grand Pacific, and addressed their subjects massed across Victoria Parade in Albert Park.
The hotel was built on the landing spot for the original Suva village, called Vu-ni-vesi after the trees nearby. There was a hotel on the site previously called Hotel Suva, which was little more than a shack.
Restoration
The hotel closed in 1992 and changed hands several times. It was restored to a five-star hotel with the help of the government-run Fijian Investment Corporation Ltd (FICL) and re-opened on 24 May 2014, in time for the hotel's 100th anniversary.[1] The 'Grand Old Lady' was reopened as a joint venture between Papua New Guinea's Superannuation Fund, or NASFUND, Fiji National Provident Fund and Lamana Developments of Papua New Guinea. NASFUND has a 50% stake while FNPF and Lamana have 25% stakes each.[2]
Management
New management executives have been officially announced to run the rebuilt iconic GPH. These include:
- General Manager - Eugen Diethelm (Switzerland)
- Executive Chef Georges Ringeisen - (French)
- Executive Pastry/Bakery Chef - Peter Grubben (Netherlands)
- Food & Beverage Manager - Thomas Gunkelmann (Germany)
- Restaurant Manager - Jonatha Ranaccioni (Italy)
- Maintenance Manager - Ekundayo Alabi (Nigeria)
- Butler - Sanath Kumar (India)
- Training Manager - Christian van Dijken
- Gym & Spa Manager - Amina Diethelm (Philippines)
- Room Service Captain - June Malsi (Philippines)
- Property Consultant - Leonard Francis (Malaysia)
External links
- Official website
- Pictures of the Grand Pacific Hotel
- Pictures and notes on Fiji Audio Visual
- Frommers walking tour of Suva
- About Suva at Hibiscus.com.fj
References
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