SHANGHAI: Shanghai's oldest luxury hotel, Peace Hotel, has been closed for a US$65m restoration and is expected to reopen in 2010.

The century-old hotel may become more luxurious, more sophisticated and definitely more modern after its restoration.

But the authentic character of the German suite, where Charlie Chaplin stayed in in 1936, will be retained.

International hotel operator Fairmont Hotels & Resort, the new management of the hotel, has promised to preserve the rich heritage of the famous hotel while providing world-class hospitality to its guests.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has joined hands with Jin Jiang International Group - China's largest hotel operator and Peace Hotel's owner - to refurbish and manage the iconic Shanghai landmark.

Chris J. Cahill, President & COO of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, said: "There's only one Peace Hotel in Shanghai and so we already start with a great address and a great location and a great hotel in terms of its physical status; that will always be upper most on our minds as we balance the importance of that heritage and the character as well as the importance of making sure it is the best hotel in Shanghai."

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is part of Fairmont Raffles International which also operates the oldest hotel in Singapore - Raffles Hotel.

Fairmont is known for its expertise in preserving heritage buildings.

New York's famed Plaza Hotel will reopen later this year following an extensive renovation programme by Fairmont.

It will cost 500 million yuan or about US$65 million to refurbish the 12-storey 77-metre high Peace Hotel, while keeping its facade largely intact.

Chris J. Cahill said: "You want to keep the character as much as you can, and even inside, you want to keep the character and just restore it. But obviously it'll require some modification in order to be more reflective of today's needs. There's a lot of infrastructure work which will be required in terms of heating, electrical, fire safety and those kinds of things; we'll work with our partners to ensure that we're capturing the essence of what the hotel has been and hopefully will be again."

The century-old south wing of Peace Hotel will also be transformed into a cultural arts centre to be managed by Swiss watch group - Swatch.

The refurbishment will be the largest in scale in the history of Peace Hotel.

The new management aims to restore the hotel's past glory of being the "No.1 Building in the Far East".

Peace Hotel will reopen by 2010, in time for the opening of the World Expo in Shanghai. - CNA/ir