Hilton International have confirmed they are interested in building a hotel at the City of Hamilton's Par-La-Ville car park, which is now available for development.

American region president Howard Friedman said Hilton's development manager had looked at the site and met with developers this week.

And last night a spokesman for the local developer Pembak Ltd. told The Royal Gazette that several international chain hotels were interested in the site which only became available six weeks ago when he signed a memo of understanding with the Corporation of Hamilton.

He said: "It's very good they are looking at it. Everyone we have shown it to is very interested, but no one has got back. The are all doing their due diligence."

He said assessing the market would mean it would be a while before anyone made a decision.

Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt said the site had a lot of potential and noted the city and Bermuda as a whole had not had a major new hotel development for years.

Previous plans called for an underground car park with a business hotel built over it. An underground walkway would take pedestrians into the heart of the city, coming out at Queen Street by the library.

"We have received very positive information about the need for a first class business hotel," said Mr. Sherratt.

"This would be literally next door to many of the major businesses."

The development would also have condominiums as the Corporation moves ahead with its plan to reinvigorate the capital by getting more people living there.

Mr. Friedman explained why Hilton international were interested in getting a property in Bermuda.

He said: "It's not a market we have focused on until now. It's a fabulous place. I came here 11 years ago and fell in love with it.

"If there was an opportunity for a hotel and it made sense economically and financially, we'll look at it."

He said Hilton properties were diverse but leisure hotels tended to be 200-250 rooms while combined corporate and leisure hotels were 350-400 rooms.

"I think Bermuda could take another 400 rooms. It could be a Hilton with a nice convention business."

He said in the Caribbean Hilton ran business resorts. "It's a good hedge in life. You have a corporate clientele and you have a leisure clientele."

But he said flight access to the Island was a worry.

"It's sometimes a little bit difficult to access from various parts of the US. That's a factor.

"Coming up from Miami took an inordinate amount of time.

"Unless you are on the east coast of the US, you are going to have to connect from somewhere. That's a problem."

He said Hilton would need a sound financial partner to build here as well as a sound forecast that the investment would pay off.

Asked about Hilton's interest, Acting Tourism Minister Randy Horton told: "If he is thinking that, it means we have an environment which is encouraging to think about investments.

"It's very positive."

He said The Hotel Concessions Act 2000, which gave tax breaks for developers, could be used to speed the development.

"We would have to take a good look about what they are needing to invest."