Shanghai Portman Ritz-carlton Hotel is one of three nominees in China striving for the credit of platinum five-star hotel, a local morning post said today.

Two years ago, the National Tourism Administration issued the country's criteria for evaluating hotels, which was put into effect on July 1, 2004.

"The requirements to make the grade are very strict," said Chen Xueyu, a director from the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission. This might be the reason why the four nominee hotels were built two years later, said the Oriental Morning Post.

A platinum hotel must first be a five-star hotel for at least two years. It also has to be located in the city's downtown or central business district and have yearly revenue per available room that ranks in the top three of all the hotels in the city for three consecutive years, Chen said.

"Its architecture should boast some eye-catching features and be considered one of Shanghai's attractive tourist destinations," he said. The hotel's standard room can be no smaller than 36-square-meters. The hotel should also be equipped with a grand western-style restaurant, a bar as well as a ballroom with a capacity of more than 500 people.

"At least one feature in the hotel must be unique to the city," Chen added.

To better cooperate with the country's tourism administration and get a good result from the evaluation, the Portman Ritz-carlton Shanghai has launched a complete renovation, including interior decoration, furniture renewal and extensive room cleaning, said the report.

The other three nominees in China are the China World Hotel in Beijing, the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou and the Shandong Hotel. The final result will be publicized by the administration early next year, said the report.

The Portman Ritz-carlton Shanghai, with 598 guest rooms, opened in 1998.

The country till now has 12,024 star-ranked hotels, among which 279 are five-star hotels. It has become the most significant year for the domestic tourism industry.

(Shanghai Daily August 4, 2006)