Royal Orchid set to take over management of Mysore hotel

The Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels has bagged a contract to manage Hotel Krishna Raja Sagar (Hotel KRS), located about 15 km from Mysore within the Brindavan Gardens.

Confirming the development, Chander Baljee, CMD, Royal Orchid Hotels said that the group plans to tap the top end of the hospitality business by creating a MICE centre (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) for Bangalore-based firms.

The group had participated in the bidding process for managing the 'Jungle Lodges and Resorts' (a government of

Karnataka undertaking) and bagged the management of the hotel.

Baljee said that all hotel rooms faced the garden and higher floor balconies and sitouts overlook the river and the dam. Hotel KRS has 25 rooms and a banquet hall.

Royal Orchid Hotels, in a similar bid conducted by Jungle Lodges and Resorts, had bagged Hotel Metropole in the heart of Mysore in 2004. Hotel Metropole was built as a royal residence in the 1920s to accommodate the British guests of the Maharaja of Mysore. It has been restored and decorated with antiques.

The Royal Orchid Group, presently operates four hotels "" Hotel Royal Orchid,

Royal Orchid Central and Royal Orchid Harsha "" in Bangalore and Royal Orchid Metropole in Mysore. Royal Orchid Star, a luxury resort, will open in Bangalore shortly. The group will offer 478 rooms and included 25 rooms of Hotel KSR.

The group plans to open hotels in Hyderabad and Pune. For this it has signed MoUs with property developers in Hyderabad and Pune. The group has acquired upto a 51 per cent stake in Maruti Comforts and Inn Pvt Ltd, Bangalore for Rs 5.88 crore for a luxury resort near Bangalore.

Before the company went public recently, WestBridge Capital Partners picked up a 10 per cent stake in it by investing Rs 25 crore.