Hotel Lietuva

completed

The proposed project consists of the refurbishment and repositioning of Hotel Lietuva. The hotel, which targets the conference market currently underdeveloped and underserved in Vilnius, will be operated by Reval Hotel Group, a leading mid-market hotel operator in the Baltics. Opened in 1982, Hotel Lietuva was originally designed as a landmark hotel with 324 rooms on 18 floors, but has suffered from insufficient maintenance and a lack of upgrading. The refurbished hotel will have approximately 275 rooms, as well as restaurant, bar, conference and banquet facilities. The sponsor plans to renew all of the internal infrastructure and upgrade all common areas and the façade. The renovation is expected to start in the second quarter of 2002 and to be completed within 12 months.The renovation of Hotel Lietuva will create high quality mid-market accommodation for business and tourism development in Lithuania, fostering a conference market that will support related industries such as restaurants, retail, and transport, as well as suppliers to the hotel. The project is also expected to bring social and economic benefits in the surrounding area, which the city of Vilnius has targeted for extensive commercial development.IFC''s role in the proposed project is to provide long-term financing which is not currently available in Lithuania at a reasonable cost, and to mobilize additional capital, fostering foreign direct investment flows into the country. IFC’s presence will help ensure that the environmental and fire and life safety standards of the refurbished hotel conform to World Bank Group guidelines.