Category Archives: Hotels

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts continues to expand its luxury portfolio with the opening of its eighth hotel in India, JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata. This is Marriott International’s first hotel in Kolkata and East India and is located in the heart of the city, minutes from the old central business district. Comprising of 281 rooms, JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata, boasts the largest ballroom in the city and features a unique bridal room, offering brides an exclusive, private space available for pre-wedding preparations. In addition to 38,370 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces measuring, the hotel offers five intimate studios for meetings, each one equipped with cutting-edge facilities. The hotel is also home to India’s largest in-built video wall measuring 32 feet x 18 feet and comprising 64 LED panels. “The opening of the first JW Marriott hotel in Kolkata marks a great milestone for Marriott International. It was a matter of time before we presented one of our luxury brands –JW Marriott – to the city of Kolkata. JW Marriott is globally renowned for its intuitive service and commitment to providing guests with truly enriching luxurious experiences,” says Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President, South Asia, Marriott International. The other facilities include a range of premium F&B and entertainment options, a roof top lounge on the 24th floor, wellness facilities including the brand’s signature spa, an outdoor infinity pool with Jaccuzzi and private cabanas for guests to unwind and relax and a fully-equipped 24-hour Fitness Centre. “We look forward to presenting our discerning guests with signature JW Marriott experiences where they leave feeling enriched. Our team is confident the hotel will be recognised as the most stylish and sought-after …

Lemon Tree Hotels has announced the opening of two new hotels – the Lemon Tree Hotel, Candolim in Goa and the Lemon Tree Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. The Lemon Tree Hotel Candolim is the group’s second property in Goa. The hotel offers 34 rooms, with base category rooms measuring around 27 square meters. It also features an all-day dining restaurant, a terrace-top bar, a rooftop swimming pool and a conference room of approximately 800 square feet. The Lemon Tree Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh is located in close proximity to Tala Gate, the most tiger inhabited zone of the Bandhavgarh National Park, and marks the group’s entry into the wildlife resort segment. Spread over five acres, the hotel features 11 cottages measuring approximately 34 square meters, an all-day dining restaurant, a swimming pool and a 480-square-foot conference hall.

AccorHotels has joined hands with LinkedIn to enrich its mobile app with an unprecedented new service for travellers. All AccorHotels guests can use this new feature ‘Business Check powered by LinkedIn’ to create and facilitate business opportunities. By allowing travellers to identify people in their professional network who are based in the city they are in and suggesting relevant profiles to connect with, this new feature enables professionals to stay connected on the move. Romain Roulleau, Senior Vice President for E-commerce & Digital Services at AccorHotels commented, “This partnership between AccorHotels and LinkedIn is a world first in the hospitality industry. It will enrich the services we already offer on our mobile app which is used before, during and after the stay, notably by business travellers, who represent 60% of the app’s users. This new feature creates business opportunities, and our app will therefore facilitate and foster seamless, instinctive business travel sharing, thus generating guest engagement and visibility for our hotels.” Joshua Graff VP Marketing Solutions EMEA at LinkedIn commented, “There are over 26 million business travellers on LinkedIn and by partnering with one of the world’s leading travel groups, these professionals can now be even more informed, connected and productive while on the go. We all like to get the most out of our business trips abroad and this new feature will make it even easier to connect with clients, prospects, suppliers and colleagues old and new.”

The iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore will embark on a careful and sensitive restoration programme. The restoration of this heritage hotel, owned by Katara Hospitality, will be conducted over three phases to ensure every detail of the programme is approached with careful consideration. Phase one of the programmes will begin in January 2017 and see the Raffles Hotel Arcade undergo restoration works while other areas of the property operate as normal. The Raffles Hotel Arcade houses 40 regional and specialty shops, indoor and outdoor function areas including The Ballroom and The Lawn and a variety of restaurants and bars including well-known Long Bar, home of the iconic Singapore Sling. Phase 2 will begin in mid 2017 when restoration efforts will commence on the main hotel building and Lobby as well as a portion of the hotel suites. Following that, Raffles Hotel Singapore will close for the final phase near the end of 2017 before a grand reopening in the second quarter of 2018. “Raffles Hotel Singapore has always evolved to stay distinctive and relevant, moving with the times and adapting to the changing needs of today’s traveller. We have a rich and colourful history and are about to begin a new chapter in our ongoing story – a sensitive restoration that will enable us to continue to offer what our guests expect and value,” said Diana Banks, Vice President, Raffles Brand, Raffles Hotels and Resorts. The last restoration was conducted from 1989 to 1991 where the hotel closed for two and a half years.  The luxury hotel has 103 individually designed suites – 84 Courtyard and Palm Court Suites, 12 Personality Suites, 5 Grand Hotel Suites and 2 Presidential Suites. Raffles …

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) celebrated the completion of 50 years at a gala event at The Ashok, New Delhi. The event was graced by the presence of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Umang Narula, Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC. The who’s who of the travel and hospitality industry joined the celebrations and raised a toast to ITDC.

Ginger Hotels has announced the opening of 90-room Ginger Vapi. Strategically located 7 kms from the railway station on the Mumbai-Surat highway, Ginger Vapi is in close proximity to the GIDC industrial area and provides convenient access to the city’s thriving industrial sector. The hotel offers free Wi-Fi, a multi-cuisine restaurant, a well-equipped fitness center, reliable security and efficient meeting facilities. The hotel is also a great option for travelers visiting the Daman and Jampore beaches. Sharing his thoughts on the opening, Rahul Pandit, MD & CEO, Ginger Hotels, said, “We are proud to expand our presence in Western India with the opening of Ginger Vapi, our fourth hotel in Gujarat. Ginger is the pioneer and the largest chain of branded budget hotels in India with a resilient promise of safety, cleanliness, relaxing sleep experience, refreshing shower experience, a hearty breakfast and seamless Wi-Fi. We assure travelers of a consistently pleasant experience with us.”

AccorHotels has come back with its Super Sale, offering up to 40 per cent off plus free breakfast at more than 2,800 hotels and resorts across five continents – including over 500 in Asia Pacific. Guests can enjoy 40 per cent off plus free breakfast for members of Accor Plus or 30 per cent off plus free breakfast for Le Club AccorHotels’ members and the general public. From cycling through South America to relaxing on the beaches of Thailand or Indonesia or touring the majestic cities of Europe to enjoying a scenic drive along the coast of Australia, the AccorHotels Super Sale promises more value for holiday. Bookings must be made directly at www.accorhotels.com and with rates from as little as $20 per room night, there is almost no excuse not to book yourself a getaway. The sale applies to selected hotels across AccorHotels’ Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, The Sebel, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, ibis, ibis styles and ibis budget hotels worldwide. Bookings can be made online from 10 to 21 October for members of Accor Plus and Le Club AccorHotels’ members from 12 to 21 October. The general public can book from 17 to 21 October, for stays from 1 December 2016 to 30 April 2017.

The Leela Goa will be hosting the prestigious BRICS-BIMSTEC joint summit on October 15 – 16, 2016, that will see the convergence of 11 distinguished world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 75-acre resort, will be hosting the joint summit at the Riverside lawns which overlook the tranquil River Sal and the lofty Betul mountains, and organizing a one-of-a-kind beachside state banquet hosted by the Indian Prime Minister. The resort is also poised to receive the heads-of-state of all seven BRIMSTEC countries as in-house guests during the two-day summit in Goa. “We have taken great care to ensure that every detail of the dignitaries visit and stay with us are attended to in a manner that reflects the best of traditional Indian hospitality. Our team of highly talented chefs have been researching and curating the “perfect” seven course meal for several months for this important closing state banquet. Our effort is to showcase India’s rich culinary heritage to our international guests while having all ten national delegations appreciate our regional presentations without compromising on their individual taste preferences – a tall task for our team,” said Shridhar Nair, General Manager, The Leela Goa.

ITC Hotels is all set to open three new properties in 2017. Dipak Haksar, Chief Executive, ITC Hotels & Welcom Hotels, revealed, “ITC is a rapidly growing chain and we are building new hotels. In 2017, we’ll have a second hotel in Hyderabad— ITC Kohinoor. We will also be coming up with a hotel in Coimbatore as well as in Amritsar. In 2018, we’ll come up with a hotel in Kolkata. We are going through a very exciting phase.”

Indian real estate developer, the Embassy Group has signed a management agreement with Hilton for its second hospitality project – a 586-room dual-branded hotel within the Embassy Manyata Business Park that features a Hilton Hotels & Resorts and a Hilton Garden Inn brand hotel. This is poised to be one of the largest dual-branded hotels in India. It will be developed and owned by the Embassy Group and managed by Hilton. The hotel’s plan and design are in an advance stage of finalisation, targeted to start construction by 2017 and to be completed by 2020. The hotel will be part of a mixed-use development which will also house a Food and Beverage hub and two commercial towers. The entire complex will sport an iconic design by the Singapore based Andy Fisher Workshop. The dual-branded hotel will comprise 586 rooms in total, with 250 rooms at the Hilton and 336 rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. It will also feature 46,000 sq. ft. of flexible Meetings and Events space that accommodates up to 1500 people. Talking about the signing, Jitu Virwani, Chairman & Managing Director, Embassy Group, said, “We are delighted to expand and strengthen our partnership with Hilton. Our first hospitality project with Hilton at Embassy GolfLinks has been a great success and we are looking forward to extending our partnership to newer heights.” Commenting on the development, Sartaj Singh, President, Embassy Hospitality, said “Partnering with Hilton in the development of two more hotels is part of an ongoing, consistent business strategy around the hospitality business. Hilton is a global leader in the hospitality sector and it is reputed for its remarkable service and attention to detail. We also plan …