HONG KONG (Bloomberg) ? Mandarin Oriental International Ltd. today reopened its 43-year-old Hong Kong flagship hotel after a $140 million facelift that added entertainment systems compliant with iPods and bigger bathrooms now common at its rivals.

The hotel, in the heart of the city?s Central district, reopened with 100 rooms, which will gradually rise to 502 by year?s end. Its Mandarin Cafe, Captain?s Bar and Chinnery bar reopened yesterday, with the Mandarin Grill and a new top-floor restaurant opening next month, the company said.

?They did a pretty good job in retaining the atmosphere of the old Mandarin,? said Alain Evrard, director of Edwin Chiu, a jeweller that formerly had a shop in the hotel. ?Some frequent travellers to Hong Kong wouldn?t notice that the hotel had been renovated. Mandarin should be able to retain the clientele.?

Mandarin, which runs luxury hotels in Asia, the Americas and Europe, faces increased competition in Hong Kong?s Central district. The city had 16.7 million visitors in the first eight months of 2006, ten percent more than the same period in 2005, as economic growth in Asia drives leisure and business travel. In August, tourist arrivals rose 11 percent to a record 2.36 million.

A new Four Seasons hotel offering rooms from $3,800 ($487) opened last year and the Mandarin has also opened a super-luxury Mandarin Landmark hotel in Central, with discounted room rates starting at HK$2,500 ($321) a night.

The renovation is the biggest since Mandarin opened the 25-storey hotel in a converted office building in 1963.

Mandarin Oriental is based in Hong Kong and incorporated in Bermuda, where it also manages the Elbow Beach Hotel.