NEW DELHI: Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which runs the Taj brand, is partnering with the Ambuja Neotia Group to open three hotels in the east in partnership. While two of these will be in Kolkata, the third will be in Patna. Taj has earlier partnered with Ambuja Neotia Group for two other hotels in the East – Taj Chia Kutir, Darjeeling, and Taj Guras Kutir in Gangtok, Sikkim. These five projects have a total of 500 rooms.
IHCL MD and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said: “We are very committed to the eastern part of India as we believe that it has tremendous potential. With the announcement today, we are further strengthening our footprint in the region and building on IHCL’s legacy in some of the most commercially and culturally important cities of the east. These signings also cement our relationship with the Ambuja Neotia Group.”
The 147-room Taj hotel at Ambuja City Centre, Kolkata, is close to the airport. In operation for over a decade, it will undergo extensive refurbishments before reopening as a Taj hotel in 2021. The 57-room Taj hotel at Eco Park, New Town, will open next year too.
IHCL says the Taj hotel at Ambuja City Centre, Patna, “will be the first branded luxury hotel to enter the city”. The 126-room hotel will open in December 2022.
Ambuja Neotia Group chairman Harshavardhan Neotia said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with three more hotels under the ‘Taj’ brand with IHCL. Taj is globally renowned, and we look forward to bringing their legendary hospitality to all our hotels. This partnership will give a strong impetus to the development of tourism in the Eastern region.”
IHCL had signed two hotels with the Ambuja Neotia Group in 2016. The first of these – Taj Chia Kutir, amidst Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling, will open on December 14, 2020. The second hotel, Taj Guras Kutir, Gangtok, is scheduled to open by the end of 2022.
With the addition of these hotels, IHCL will have 23 hotels across brands in nine states in Eastern India.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/taj-partners-ambuja-neotia-group-to-open-three-hotels-in-kolkata-patna/articleshow/79493829.cms
