With ITC's luxury hotel Royal Bengal launch, Kolkata has room for more

ITC’s new chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri cut a picture of continuity as he unveiled an edifice-like Royal Bengal, the newest hotel from its stable.

A 16,400 square feet pillarless ballroom, 61,000 square feet of total banquet and convention centre, 456 keys and five culinary brands are what ITC is offering as ‘one of a kind’ from the Royal Bengal. 

At a height of 133 metres, the 30-storied Royal Bengal — that cost nearly Rs 1,400 crore — is ITC’s second largest hotel after ITC Grand Chola in Chennai.  But taken as a cluster with ITC Sonar — which is adjacent and connected by a walkway - it’s ITC’s biggest offering so far.

Together, the two hotels offer 700 rooms and suites, 15 signature dining destinations, 22 meeting venues and a sprawling 1,00,000 square feet of banqueting space, said Puri, while unveiling the hotel on Tuesday in the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and other diginitaries.

Royal Bengal is ITC’s 14th Luxury Collection hotel in India. There are about 108 hotels that ITC owns and manages and another 27 are in the pipeline. Outside India, Surya Nepal, an ITC arm, is exploring options to set up a luxury hotel.

ITC said the thrust on managed properties will be on the Welcom brand of hotels as it feels that the demand is growing in the five-star upper upscale segment where this brand is positioned. 

It has already entered into agreements with different partners and 13-14 such hotels are under construction. While ITC would focus on Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka for management contracts, it is also looking for expanding management contracts for the Fortune brand. 

Royal Bengal was conceived during former and late chairman YC Deveshwar’s time. He had taken a giant leap of faith in Kolkata’s potential by building such an expansive structure. It was in sync with his underlying philosophy of building for the future. 

Deveshwar passed away last month, leaving behind the philosophy as underscored by his successor.

“When we launched ITC Sonar quite some time back, there was not much socio-economic activity in this part of Kolkata. Today, it is a hub of social and commercial activity. Infrastructure has tremendously improved and this is now humming as a vibrant destination. I am sure ITC Royal Bengal will add to the vibrancy of this location,” Puri said.

Indeed, when ITC Sonar was launched more than 15 years back, off-Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, the area was just a bit of wasteland. But over time, it has grown to be a self-contained hub of socio-commercial activity away from the city centre.

Bengal, which is home to ITC for over a century, also happens to be its largest investment destination, pointed out Puri.

“In one of the past BGBS (Bengal Global Business Summit), Mr Deveshwar had said that ITC will invest Rs 4,000 crore in West Bengal across three sectors – agri, manufacturing and services. Today, we have four large manufacturing units in this state for food processing and this sector has the best employment-to-capital ratio,” he said.

At yet another BGBS, Puri had committed an investment of Rs 1,700 crore in West Bengal. “Put together, the investment of Rs 5,700 crore is our largest ever investment in any state in the country,” Puri added. 

ITC would also set up a manufacturing facility for its personal care business.

Nakul Anand, executive director of ITC, said, “The addition of ITC Royal Bengal to our luxury hotel portfolio further strengthens our presence in Eastern India.”

Meanwhile, Mamata highlighted how important ITC was for the state. The CM said, “Wherever I go, I hear about ITC everywhere. It makes us feel proud. The name ITC Royal Bengal is a visionary name.”

She also recalled her association with Deveshwar, adding, “I am missing him very much. He was like my guardian. In fact, we considered him as the guardian of West Bengal.”