Onyx, Winil Holdings to develop second Sri Lankan Amari hotel

Through a partnership with Winil Gems Group's subsidiary, Winil Holdings, Onyx Hospitality Group will bring its Amari brand to Sri Lanka’s capital city. In the Kollupitiya commercial district of Colombo, Amari Colombo will have 180 guestrooms and suites once it is complete in mid-2019.

The 24-story hotel will be developed near the official residence of the prime minister, the U.S. embassy, the Kollupitiya bus and train stations, the National Museum of Colombo, Gangaramaya Temple and Park, shops and restaurants and Kollupitiya Market. As the second Amari hotel in Sri Lanka, the development of Amari Colombo follows the late-2016 opening of Amari Galle Sri Lanka on the southern coast of Sri Lanka near the Galle Fort. The group manages the beachfront hotel with 172 guestrooms and suites while Sino Lanka Hotels owns the property. 

Onyx Hospitality Group's Sri Lankan portfolio also includes Ozo Colombo, its first Sri Lankan hotel that launched in 2014, and Ozo Kandy—both of which Sino Lanka Hotels also owns. Throughout 2017, Onyx expanded its Thailand-based Amari brand to new locations, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia and China. Amari is just one brand included in the Bankok-based hospitality group's 44-property regional portfolio expansion in eight countries. Onyx's current development pipeline has more than 20 new properties in Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia. The group’s goal is to operate 99 hotels under its Amari, Shama and Ozo brands by 2024.

Onyx teamed up with UK-based Yoo Hotels & Resorts in mid-October 2017 to manage and expand the Yoo Collection and Yoo2 brands throughout Asia. As part of the management agreement, Onyx will launch the two Yoo brands across key city and resort destinations in Asia Pacific. The first of these Asian properties will operate in Phuket and Bali once their development is completed in 2019. 

Prior to these additions to the group's construction pipeline, Onyx invested $100 million into the redevelopment of North Pattaya, Thailand site, which is set for completion in early 2019, in partnership with Orion Hospitality. The joint venture between Onyx and Singapore Hospitality Holdings agreed to develop the 406-room Ozo Pattaya hotel next to the existing 20-story Amari Pattaya Ocean Tower and the 49-guestroom Amari Pattaya Ocean Suites' wing, which is connected to the Ocean Tower. The Ocean Tower will also undergo a renovation of its current guestrooms and suites. Onyx and Singapore Hospitality partnered for the JV to kick-start the expansion of the Ozo and Shama brands across the Asia Pacific.