Say goodbye to Pan Pacific and hello to Trump’s ultra luxury, 6-star project.
While there’s been chatter aplenty with little to no developments for the past couple of years about Donald Trump expanding his hotel empire’s reach to Bali, things really do seem to be moving forward now.
The closure of Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort under the seven-year management of Pan Pacific Hotels, has been announced for July 31 to make way for the new Trump resort, writes Ian Jarrett of Travel Weekly Asia.
The Trump Hotel Collection is working in partnership with Indonesia’s MNC Group, an investment group founded by billionaire Trump ‘pal’ Hary Tanoesoedibjo, to redevelop Pan Pacific into its vision of luxury, erect a Trump tower, and update its 18-hole golf course.
According to MNC’s website, the new Trump 6-star resort will boast “360 degrees of sheer cliff glamour.”
The Bali resort is one of two projects under the Trump-MNC partnership, which is supposed to cost MNC a reported $1 billion.
Though all the money in the world seems to be flying around, it hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing for Trump’s entrance into Bali. Pan Pacific encompasses 103 hectares of a Tabanan cliff top with views of the Indian Ocean, and just happens to be overlooking an extremely sacred Balinese temple, Tanah Lot.
Having a Trump Tower casting a shadow on the temple is not something a lot of Balinese are vibing with, so to speak.
In January, Bloomberg published a thorough exposé on the topic.
“I would strongly recommend against any new developments that impact the temple,” Bloomberg quoted I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, as saying. Sudiana is the local chief of The Indonesian Hindu Religious Council’s (PHDI), the country’s leading authority on Hinduism.
“These things are sensitive in Bali. The Balinese don’t tend to speak up, but these things related to the sacredness of the temple are very sensitive, only the enforcement is too weak.’’
Construction in Bali is slated for early 2018, according to the Bloomberg report.
