28 December 2004
By Yahoo.com

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore hoteliers Monday reported damages to their resorts in Phuket in Thailand and the Maldives, though the impact appeared relatively minor.

Hotel Properties Ltd. (H15.SG), which owns hotels and resorts across Asia, said its Four Seasons Resort Maldives and Rehiveli Resort in the Maldives suffered damages to their mechanical and electrical equipment.

There was also damage to furniture at several of the Four Seasons' 106 bungalows and villas, and Rehiveli's 48 villas, it added.

Hotel Properties said it has comprehensive insurance policies for the resorts covering property damage and business interruption.

The company didn't provide monetary estimates of the damages.

There have been no reports of death or injury as a result of the tidal wave, it said.

Separately, Banyan Tree Group, an operator of spas and resorts, said three of the five resorts at the Laguna Phuket development that it owns and operates had been hit.

One of the resorts, Dusit Laguna, has reported one missing guest, the group added.

"Laguna Phuket has been spared the full force of the Tsunami, being protected by the headland in the South. Damage has been caused by wave swell and is much less in comparison to the extent of impact suffered by Phuket island as a whole," Banyan Tree said in a statement.

All five hotels are now open and operational, it said.

Laguna Phuket is a 45 minutes' drive from Patong Beach, which was bore the brunt of the tidal waves that hit the Thai resort island.

Banyan Tree, which is said to be planning a listing on the Singapore Exchange this year, also said Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru and Angsana Maldives Ihuru suffered minor damages and are operational, while its Deer Park Hotel in Sri Lanka was unaffected.

Nearly 21,000 people have been reported dead after a massive undersea earthquake damaged roads and buildings in Indonesia's Aceh province and dispatched tidal waves that struck Sri Lanka and parts of India, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Maldives and Bangladesh.