Rane-owned Neelam Hotels opens resort in Goa

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane-owned Neelam Hotels Pvt Ltd has opened a luxury resort-Neelam's The Grand, in Goa to cater to the booming tourism sector in the state.

Situated near the Calangute beach, the resort is the second one to be run by Neelam Hotels. It runs another facility at Kankavli in Maharashtra.

According to sources, Neelam Hotels is a family venture of Rane, managed by his son, Nilesh. Rane' wife Neelam is one of the directors of the Goa resort.The Goa facility is spread over 8,000 sq mt and with 111 rooms, configured in four categories-standard (16 rooms), superior (15), suites (48) and deluxe suites (32).

"We plan to create a niche as Neelam is a well-known name in the hospitality sector in western India," said Avinder Chopra, property head, Neelam Hotels.

The Goa property was earlier owned by Silent Resorts, which defaulted on payments to Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Later the property was picked up by the Rane group.

It has spent over Rs 3 crore to renovated the property to create the resort.

"We had a very narrow deadline as the tourism season was round the corner and we still managed to complete it," said Chopra.