will be the first hotel with a day-care centre for the children of its employees and guests.' -- Ian Lloyd-Jones The Atlanta-based hotel company planning to lease a derelict East End hotel from Government will end up sinking more than $30 million into renovations.

Camberley Hotel Company president Ian Lloyd-Jones said the plan to take over the former Club Med property in St. George's would be more expensive than originally anticipated.

"Our investment will be considerable. We are considerably north of where we thought we would be,'' he said.

What was originally thought to carry a $24 million price tag will actually be more than $30 million, he continued, noting that this highlighted the long term confidence the company had in the Island and the industry.

Everything is on schedule for the September 30 wrap-up of the due diligence phase Camberley is presently involved in.

The company has completed the three primary studies of the hotel property which closed in 1988.

And the initial results from the engineering, electrical and structural studies -- which were done with the help of UK expertise and the local architectural firm Entasis -- are promising.

"The initial review shows there are no warts or bugs,'' said Mr. Lloyd-Jones.

The company is now proceeding full steam ahead with its plans for the property -- which it hopes to lease and open by the year 2000 -- and a variety of designers are working together on the project .

Mr. Lloyd-Jones said the company has also had a series of encouraging discussions with Government representatives on how the sewage from the hotel and its water supply would be treated.

"I think we have started down a path that is really exciting,'' he said.

Camberley will participate financially in the construction of a sewage treatment plant at the property and with retro-fitting the 2 million gallon water storage tank which is already on the site.

Government will then oversee these two operations.

"The business of supplying the water and treating the sewage is being handed over to Government. This gives us the guarantee of quality control and takes us out of the utility business. We are a hotel operator.'' These discussions follow meetings with the Bermuda Industrial Union which led to the signing of a key labour agreement.

Mr. Lloyd-Jones was confident that things would continue smoothly up until September 30 although he admitted the signing of the lease might not take place until a few days after that date.

"These sort of things are never without their challenges,'' he noted.

"However we expect no surprises and we expect to sign the lease at the end of the month. We are on target and very excited about it.'' Over the next 25 days the company will be examining the hard copies of the studies' findings, pull in the bids for all the work the property will need, wrestle with its budget to make sure it's in line and finalise lease negotiations with the Tourism Department.

"Then, hopefully, we can move forward,'' he said.

Mr. Lloyd-Jones stressed Camberley believed strongly in the project and its future in St. George's and he hoped the public would also as it would serve to benefit them.

"In the big picture, it's not just 300 guest rooms, it's a couple hundred new jobs. It will be the first hotel with a day-care centre for the children of its employees and guests.'' Camberley will also be redoing staff quarters at the property and is in discussions with a number of local businesses about running the concessions the hotel plans to operate.

"We want everyone to participate in this venture. It is open to all,'' he said.