Category Archives: Hotels

Thailand’s Minor Hotel Group (MHG), has announced the first Oaks property in India with the development of Oaks Neemrana, in partnership with India-based NSP Associates (India). Neemrana is a fast developing business hub located southwest of New Delhi, on the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, a mega infrastructure project worth US $90 billion, approximately 90 km from Gurgaon and 140 km from Jaipur. Its history dates back to the 15th century with the construction of the famous Neemrana Fort Palace, which was restored in 1991 and subsequently converted into a hotel that began attracting tourists to the destination. Oaks Neemrana is under development in the centre of the town and is scheduled to open in 2017. Facilities at the 116 unit Oaks Neemrana will include an all-day dining restaurant with sky garden, a lobby café and lounge area, a pool bar, meeting space of 160 square metres with capacity to accommodate up to 80 people, plus a gym and a kids’ play area. There will be three different room types: 68 Studio Apartments; 40 One Bedroom Apartments and eight Two Bedroom Apartments. Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotel Group, commented, “We are excited to announce both the first Oaks in India and also the first Minor Hotel Group property in India. The Oaks brand is a great fit for this market, which represents a huge opportunity, and we are confident that the property will be a great success. We are delighted to be partnering with NSP Associates and look forward to working closely with the team to bring this new hotel to the market.”

OYO Rooms has crossed its one millionth hotel check-in. OYO Rooms presently operates in over 165 Indian cities through more than 4,500 hotels offerings 45,000 rooms. Having established its market leadership in India, OYO Rooms has also recently launched operations in Malaysia. Speaking on the occasion, Abhinav Sinha, COO, OYO Rooms, said, “OYO rooms was conceived with a vision to change the way travellers view out-of-home stay. We pioneered the transformation of unbranded hotels to offer a predictable, standardized and affordable experience to our customers. This latest milestone of crossing one million check-ins is yet another validation of the enthusiasm with which customers have responded to our offering.”

Thailand’s Absolute Hotel Services (AHS) is expanding its upscale Eastin hotel brand in India, with the launch of a new property in Darjeeling, West Bengal. Set atop a mountain surrounded by nature and views of the valleys and foothills of Kurseong, the land of the white orchids, Eastin Hotel Kurseong, Darjeeling, will open its doors in April 2016. The property will offer a total of 100 rooms and suites, a signature all day dining restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant, lounge bar, café terrace, banquet and meeting centre for the MICE market. The hotel will also provide wellness centre including one double and two spa treatment rooms, foot massage, ayurvedic massage, gym, meditation and yoga classes. AHS operates a collection of Eastin, Eastin Easy and U Hotels in several locations across India. AHS has re-branded the property as Eastin Hotel Kurseong, Darjeeling, from its earlier name Eastin Easy Kurseong Darjeeling. It is the first international 4-star deluxe resort hotel in Kurseong, Darjeeling district.

Mahabalipuram’s first exclusive beach resort, InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort, opens with 105 rooms, as part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®). Set near the UNESCO world heritage site of Mahabalipuram, InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort features world-class accommodation with ocean front suites and rooms, and three dining experiences including a specialty Chinese restaurant. The Resort offers rejuvenating spa journeys and family experiences with unrivalled IHG® hospitality standards. The opening was marked by IHG’s Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia and Bryan Gabriel, Director of Commercial, South West Asia, who joined Vijai Singh, General Manager of the Resort and Arindam Kunar, Area General Manager, South India, for an inaugural address. Media personalities from across the country arrived to join the occasion and unwind, experience the wide range of facilities at the Resort. Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia said, “Mahabalipuram forms part of South India’s glorious history and InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort encapsulates authentic aspects of the soul of Madras. With an encouraging response from local and global markets since the soft-opening in October 2015, we started out what promised to be a successful first year of operations. We take tremendous pride in the Resort, which is the latest addition to IHG’s revamped resort collection.” Vijai Singh, General Manager, InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort, said, “We are thrilled to welcome guests from India and around the world to a truly special East Coast luxury resort experience. We promise to offer our guests personal connect and unparalled service. The Resort is the owning company’s second partnership with IHG® since the agreement with their sister hotel brand Crowne Plaza in Chennai in 2015.” The 105-room Resort offers a full range of …

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has announced the opening of its luxury hotel Taj Santacruz, Mumbai. The hotel comprises 279 rooms and suites which are among the largest in the city and blend contemporary elegance with touches of traditional Indian style. The modular design of rooms and luxuriously appointed amenities make them perfect for both business and leisure. The cushioned window seats in spacious rooms give the traveller the flexibility for in-room meetings. Farhat Jamal, Senior Vice President – Operations (West-India) & Africa, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, said, “Taj Santacruz will set a benchmark for luxury in North Mumbai for business and leisure travellers alike. It is the new jewel in the Taj crown.” Located just off the Western Express Highway, the hotel is close to the city’s financial and entertainment centres. The newest addition in Taj’s home city is the fourth group hotel in the financial capital. Pankaj Sampat has been appointed as the General Manager of the new property.

AccorHotels has announced the opening of its third hotel in Chennai city- ibis Chennai City Centre. Located on the city’s arterial and historic, Mount Road, the 155-room property is a short drive to Chennai airport and within close proximity to several shopping and entertainment attractions. This is the third AccorHotel in Chennai city followed by ibis Chennai SIPCOT and Novotel Chennai SIPCOT in 2014. ibis Chennai City Centre offers modern, comfortable and well equipped ibis rooms, a restaurant, a lounge and bar area, The Hub. “The opening of the ibis Chennai City Centre is a strategic milestone for the ibis brand in India. Offering consistency, quality and affordability, the brand combines the ultimate comfort of modern and well-equipped rooms with the highest level of service for business and leisure travellers. The opening of ibis Chennai City strengthens our brand presence in Chennai and adds to the growing ibis network of 12 hotels in the region,” said Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels India. J.B. Singh, President  & CEO, InterGlobe Hotels, said, “Chennai has a growing demand for quality affordable rooms, and the ibis brand innovates constantly to illustrate its values of modernity, comfort and availability. The opening of ibis Chennai City Centre further consolidate the strategic partnership between AccorHotels and InterGlobe with the aim to enhance the ibis network growth in India.”

Around 120 delegates made the 3rd Global Hospitality Conclave 2016 (GHC) a full house. Delegates not only reminisced fond memories of Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD) days, but met up with old friends as well. Different sessions deliberated new ideas to better hospitality in India. Ajay Bakaya, Chairman, Organising Committee, GHC, 2016 said, “It’s an Oberoi alumni event, which started in 2014, and has grown in size and stature in last three years. We have people who are going to come in from all over the world. Wine expert from Toronto, Financial expert from US, we have a professor from Cornell in the USA. Also, there are people who have come in from Kenya and Uganda, and are handling hotels in these regions.  It’s a great gathering of people who have graduated from OCLD. The first batch graduated in 1966. It is now 50 years of graduated batches. In fact OCLD is celebrating fifty years this year. It’s a wonderful event, for us it’s a great event to interact with people who were our superiors, our peers or our subordinates. All come together to exchange ideas, camaraderie, exchange bon-homie.”.   The conclave saw three panel discussions. The discussion on ‘Competing on Analytics: The Power of Big Data’ conducted by Chekitan S. Dev, was very well received. The panellists for the same included—Sanjay Rishi, President, One India, Partner Consulting Group and Network Partnerships, ANZ       American Express; Sukanya Misra, Group Head, Advisors South Asia, Centre of Excellence, Mastercard; Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman , Microsoft Corporation India,  and Prasanjeet Baruah, Head Auto, Financial Services & New Businesses, Facebook. The power of Big Data was very well received. Presence of Rakesh Sarna, MD …

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms, has revealed in his blog that the budget hotel aggregator has now started its operations in Malaysia. Citing the achievements of the company in 2015, he said, “A small team at OYO worked very hard last 3 months to launch OYO in the international market. And after a December of stealth testing, I am happy to announce that you can now officially check into an OYO in Kuala Lumpur. We are all very excited and as always with a city launch, you can see the visiting card photo!” With this move, the startup company has made its entry into the international market. It now eyes “travel markets across the worlds that have the same characteristics as here in India – trust deficient, unorganized and love for travel,” he wrote on the blog. After Malaysia, the company plans to take OYO to all such markets this year.

Radisson Udaipur has opened its doors to welcome guests visiting the City of Lakes. The hotel is located in the heart of Udaipur, situated along the city centre at the Lake City Mall of Riddhi Siddhi Group. Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said, “Radisson Udaipur  is our second hotel in the city of Udaipur and we are honoured to be partnering with Riddhi Siddhi Group for this beautiful addition to our portfolio of 75 operational hotels and 45 under various stages of development.” Shyam B Gupta, Managing Director, Riddhi Siddhi Group said, “This is our first hospitality venture in India and we are happy to have tied up with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.” Radisson Udaipur features 56 well-appointed rooms and suites with central heating and cooling. All rooms have amenities like workstation, cordless phone, LED satellite television, tea/coffee maker, electronic safe and Dove amenities. In addition, all rooms feature free Wi-Fi internet access for guests to keep connected, whether for work or play. The hotel has flexible meeting spaces including a banquet hall measuring above 3,000 sq. ft., one multi-cuisine restaurant, a Lounge Bar, 24-hour In-Room dining service and a Fitness Centre. The All Day Dining restaurant – Season’s Café at the hotel, serves mouth-watering Indian and continental cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as drinks to cap your day. To wrap up a day of meetings or sightseeing, guests can enjoy a relaxing dip in the swimming pool or sweat it out at the gym or relax and watch a movie.

Hyatt Place Goa/Candolim is the latest Hyatt-branded hotel, which has opened in Goa. The 147-room hotel brings the Hyatt Place brand’s intuitive design, casual atmosphere and practical amenities to the Goa area. With the addition of this property, the Hyatt portfolio in Goa grows to three properties, including Park Hyatt Goa and Grand Hyatt Goa. “The opening of Hyatt Place Goa/Candolim is a significant milestone for the Hyatt Place brand as it continues to expand in India and across the globe,” said Kurt Straub, Vice President, Operations (India), Hyatt. This is the fourth Hyatt Place hotel to open in India, joining Hyatt Place Hampi, Hyatt Place Pune/Hinjewadi and Hyatt Place Gurgaon/Udyog Vihar. Ideally located in the heart of North Goa, the property is in close proximity to the state’s beaches, including Candolim Beach, Calangute Beach and Fort Aguada, as well as popular entertainment and nightlife destinations. “The Hyatt Place brand is designed to offer seamless experiences suitable for both business and leisure travellers. We know that our guests will appreciate the comfortable and functional amenities offered at Hyatt Place Goa/Candolim,” said Sanjay Patti, General Manager, Hyatt Place Goa/Candolim.