Taj Foray Into Resorts With Surajkund Hotel

The Taj group is making a foray into the resort hotel segment by proposing to set up a hotel on the banks of Surajkund lake near Delhi which is the venue of the popular annual handicrafts mela.

The Tata-controlled Indian Hotels, which operates the Taj chain of hotels, has entered into a joint venture with the city-based real estate developers Uppal Properties to construct a 150-room hotel at Surajkund.

The Taj group has picked up over 60 per cent equity stake in the new joint venture Godavari Shilp Kala, which will be constructing the greenfield property.

The proposed hotel will, however, not be in the five star deluxe category. Instead, it will be a four-star tourist resort, more along the lines of the other properties of the Taj groups four star chain subsidiary Gateway Hotels and Getaway Resorts.

 

The hotel major has yet to decide whether to bring the proposed hotel under the Taj brand umbrella or to go in for a separate name altogether. The hotel, which will involve an estimated investment of Rs 90 crore, is will be ready by 1999 end.

Indian Hotels has identified Surajkund as one of the lucrative hotel sites because of its popularity among domestic and international tourists as well as its proximity to the city of Delhi and the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

With the proposed hotel, the Taj group would achieve a formidable presence in the Delhi region where it already has three hotels in the heart of the city. The group has the 300-room Taj Mahal hotel, the Taj Palace International with 504 rooms and 34 suites, and the recently acquired 80-room Hotel Ambassador which is being converted into an all-suite property. In contrast, rival domestic chains like the Oberoi operates two properties in Delhi, and ITC Hotels operates only one hotel in the capital - the Maurya Sheraton - though it has recently entered into a tie-up for another hotel in the eastern part of the city.

The Taj group has picked up over 60 per cent equity stake in the new joint venture, Godavari Shilp Kala, which will be constructing the greenfield property