Category Archives: Hotels

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened the doors to the first Kimpton outside of the Americas, with the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Sudeep Jain, Vice President-Development, South West Asia, IHG, says, “The concept of lifestyle hotels is about stimulating a diverse, innovative environment enhanced by a sense of belonging and style. It is encouraging to see the signature Kimpton experience being introduced to Europe. Lifestyle hotels have been trending for over 20 years, and now is the right time to accelerate our growth in India through the lifestyle segment.” Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants was acquired by IHG in 2015. IHG announced the further expansion of the brand across Europe with its second Kimpton hotel set to open in Paris in 2020. There are currently over 60 Kimpton hotels and more than 70 Kimpton restaurants, bars and lounges in 33 cities across Europe and the Americas. The hotel, which is in the heart of Amsterdam’s vibrant city centre and near the city’s Centraal Station, marks a milestone for IHG as it brings the Kimpton brand to Europe for the first time. This is IHG’s 20th hotel in The Netherlands and is an addition to the 675 IHG hotels across Europe. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants introduced the boutique hotel concept to the United States when it opened in San Fransisco in 1981. “Europe was the original inspiration behind Bill Kimpton founding the brand and now we’re bringing the brand home again. Opening in Amsterdam, gives us the perfect opportunity to indulge in the playful, creative and innovative approach to luxury that the city inspires in Kimpton’s unique and special way,” comments Angela Brav, IHG’s CEO, Europe.  “Amsterdam as a city …

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has announced the opening of The Fern Silvanus Resort, Alibaug, offering 34 cottages. The cottage rates start from an average Rs. 3000 plus taxes. The Resort is located in the coastal town at a distance of 9 km from the Nagaon Beach while the Kolaba Fort is 40 mins away. Other tourist attraction includes Akshi Beach, Varsoli Beach and Kihim Beach which are in close proximity to the resort. All cottages are spacious and offer a view of the surrounding hills and are equipped with all modern amenities required for a comfortable stay. On-site amenities at the resort includes all day dining at multi-cuisine restaurant ‘Vista’ , Swimming Pool and Games Room where leisure and relaxation becomes top priority which makes it an ideal place for a relaxed holiday or a corporate getaway. The unit is owned by Silvanus Resort and managed by Concept Hospitality, part of CG Hotels and Resorts.

Royal Orchid Hotels announced the launch of its third hotel in Mysore with Regenta Central Herald. The hotel is located on Nelson Mandela Road, Bannimantap in Mysore which is approximately just 4 kms from Mysore Railway Station. The hotel offers 70 rooms, fitness centre, mini bar and a multi cuisine restaurant. One can also enjoy MICE facilities with multi-functional banquet spaces which can accommodate up to 300 guests making it an ideal venue for social and corporate events. With this launch, the Royal Orchid chain of hotels stands proudly today with 43 hotels in 28 different cities in India and ready to add 5 more hotels in its portfolio for coming months. This is Royal Orchid’s third hotel in Mysore and adds to Royal Orchid Brindavan Garden & Royal Orchid Metropole in Mysore, Karnataka, which opened a decade ago. With the addition in Mysore, Royal Orchid hotels will have an attractive offering of the Mysore City attractions i.e. Mysore Palace, Brindavan Gardens, Chamundi Hills etc. Moreover, the Royal Orchid Hotels will be looking for more properties to manage untapped areas across India and other countries. The Royal Orchid Group of hotels is in a strategic alliance, with the owners of Regenta Central Herald for managing the operations of the hotel, which is also a part of an identified plan for their growth in India. On the occasion of the launch, Chander Baljee, Chairman & MD, Royal Orchid Hotels Limited stated, “As we embark on this expansion drive, we are very particular in identifying strategic, high value markets that present a unique fit for our time-tested services and ambitious growth plans. We are in a consolidation mode & are looking at …

India remains one of the strongest markets for Carlson where they have 84 hotels in operation and 140 hotels in the pipeline. The brand will soon be launching its new brand- Radisson Red in the Indian Market. Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, says, “Radisson Red is the newest addition in our portfolio. The first flagship property is under construction in Mohali, Chandigarh. It’s a beautiful hotel and we expect that to open in the first quarter of 2018. We believe that it will be a very successful brand because the cost of investment in building a Radisson Red is less than a typical upscale hotel and also it has been planned in such a way that the cost of operating the hotel is also lesser. For example, F&B services are all on a single plate and there is no concept of multi-kitchens. A lot of planning has done to make sure ease of operation and therefore better margins for the investors and good success for us.”

OYO has launched OYO Townhouse in Hyderabad. This is the first launch of OYO Townhouse – a brand-new category of “friendly neighbourhood hotel” – outside Delhi-NCR. This will be the 5th hotel in the Townhouse portfolio since it was launched in January this year. After Jubilee Hills, the company plans to introduce OYO Townhouse hotels at other popular locations in the city such as Banjara Hills, Hitech City, Gachibowli and Panjagutta. The rooms will be priced at INR 2,500 and upwards. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO – OYO, said “This is our first Townhouse offering outside Delhi NCR and we are excited to choose Hyderabad for our debut outside home turf. Hyderabad has transformed into a cosmopolitan city representing a millennial outlook towards experiences and expectations. OYO Townhouse’s efficient hospitality and multi-utility concept fits perfectly into this millennial lifestyle. It delivers a seamless experience through a format that operates as 25% hotel, 25% home, 25% cafe and 25% merchandise store in one place, providing a perfect complement to our guests’ lifestyle. OYO Townhouse represents our ongoing commitment to innovate and create world-class hotel experiences from India.” Elaborating on the philosophy behind Townhouse, Ritesh added, “Townhouse will deliver an all-encompassing experience to guests. We are excited to showcase and deliver this proposition in Hyderabad today. We are confident that our guests will love the experience of these tastefully done hotels staffed with Managers trained to deliver authentic and unique Townhouse service.” The hospitality industry in India suffers from a major disconnect between demand and supply of quality living space, forcing travellers and city-dwellers to compromise on decision variables of location, comfort and pricing. OYO Townhouse addresses this gap by creating a …

Park Plaza Noida has announced its rebranding as Radisson Noida, the first Radisson hotel to be inaugurated in Delhi-NCR. Strategically located, within proximity of Noida’s corporate hub as well as the central business districts of Ghaziabad and New Delhi, the hotel has completely reinvented itself to better serve its discerning guests with its signature Yes I Can!  service. “I am delighted to welcome this hotel to the Radisson brand family. Delhi NCR is a key market for us and Noida remains a promising destination due to its thriving corporate suburb. We appreciate the investment that our strategic partner, Bestech Group have made in upgrading this hotel and the trust they have demonstrated in the Radisson brand” said Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. “We have enjoyed working with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group for 15 years where a high level of dedication and expertise is demonstrated in managing brands and hotels successfully. We are confident that the rebranding of Park Plaza Noida to Radisson Noida with new facilities and services would be greatly appreciated by our guests” said Dharmendra Bhandari, Managing Director, Bestech Hospitalities.

The Lemon Tree Hotel Company opened its twin properties in Gurugram—Lemon Tree Hotel, Sector-60 and Red Fox Hotel Sector-60, taking the count to 6 properties by the brand in the city. The 3.2 acre property follows the accessibility criteria to the T and offers specially designed rooms and suites for people of all abilities. Targeting the business sector in the area, the property boasts a separate convention centre spread over 20,000 sq. ft, which actually is one of the largest accessible MICE destination in Delhi NCR. In fact, 70 per cent of the work force in Lemon Tree Hotel, Sector-60 will be Opportunity Deprived Individuals (ODI), which are either differently-abled or come from economically and socially marginsalised sections of the society. Vikramjit Singh, President, Lemon Tree Hotels, said, “It is out sixth property in Gurugram, which continues top attract business and leisure travellers throughout the year and the twin property launch, along with the Convention Centre, proves how successful our brand has been in this market.”

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the initiation of the process of disinvestment of hotels/properties of the India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC). In the first stage of the disinvestment process, three hotels have been taken up for disinvestment—Hotel Lake View Ashok, Bhopal Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati, Hotel Bharatpur Ashok, Bharatpur. In all three cases, the hotels/properties are being given back to the concerned states. In the case of Bhopal and Guwahati, ITDC is divesting its share of 51 per cent in the Joint Venture Company formed for operation of the hotels whereas in the case of Bharatpur, the unit which was only managed by ITDC is being returned to the State Government. The decision on disinvestment has been made, keeping in view that running and managing hotels on professional lines is not the work of the Government or its entities. Further, there has been considerable development in the hospitality sector in the country in past years, with world class hotels and all leading international chains of hotels present in the country and providing services and facilities of highest standards. As part of the disinvestment policy, it has been decided to lease/sub-lease the hotels/properties jointly with the concerned states or return the properties to the states, after fair valuation. The states would then have the option to upgrade and operate the Hotels by involving the private sector or to utilize the properties as per their requirements. States have exercised their options accordingly, in each case going forward with the option best suited to their needs, in line with the overarching principle that it is not the business of Government to run or manage hotels.

Absolute Hotel Services India has announced the opening of Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling, the first International four-star deluxe resort hotel in Kurseong Darjeeling. The hotel has opened its door to guests on April 15, 2017 with special opening rates starting from Rs. 4,999++ per room per night. Located on the foothills of the Himalayas, Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling will offer 35 rooms under Deluxe, Executive and Suites with views of the Himalayan mountain range, green woods and tea estate. Other recreation activities include star gazing sightseeing, local dance and music, trekking, bird watching and tea tourism. Facilities include a signature all day dining multi-cuisine restaurant, specialty vegetarian restaurant, lounge bar, terrace café to relax and admire the scenic beauty, banquet and meeting centre, wellness spa,, gym, meditation and yoga. It will also feature first of its kind teahouse which will offer finest Darjeeling tea and spiced up creative tea mocktails/cocktails to the guest.  The contemporary wooden interiors will provide guests a warm cosseting atmosphere reminding them of the colonial era. The resort hotel has easy access to attractions like Eagle Craig, Dow hill, Giddapahar View Point amongst many, along with tea estates, temples, churches, museums, as well as famous historic schools that were setup during the British colonial days.

RARE has taken on board, Pepper Trail, located in 200 acres of spice plantation in Wayanad, north Kerala. A part of the plantation heritage, Manglam Carp Estate founded by Colin Auley Mackenzie, Pepper Trail is a sliver of dense land that is visually fenced in by flat paddy lands, large swathes of forests and a road leading up from Sultan Bathery. Accommodation in the tree houses, bungalows and pool villas are designed as intimate abodes to relax, play, walk, read, cycle or indulge in a spa till city life claims you or your itinerary urges you ahead. Thoughtfully plated meals, serving Kerala’s delicacies with a hint of surprise, cater to well-travelled palates. ‘Pazhey Bangala’ – the beautifully restored Mackenzie colonial home offers two suites. Soon, two beautiful pool villas will be ready within the plantation Wayanad stretches across the Western Ghats, ranging between 700m to 2100m. The higher regions induce a kind of misty romanticism intensified as the sun goes down and dusk turns its head to the sun at dawn. Picture this on a continually farmed, active plantation of tea, coffee and spices from the high grounds of a 200 acre plantation and you are in nature’s idyll.