IHG expands luxury portfolio with InterContinental resort in Chennai

SINGAPORE - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of world’s leading hotel companies, announced the signing of the management agreement for InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort with Adyar Gate Hotels Limited.

When it opens later this year, InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort will join InterContinental Mumbai Marine Drive to be the second hotel under the company's luxury brand in India.

The signing of the 106-room InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort follows closely behind the recently announced deal between IHG and Adyar Gate Hotels Limited for Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park.

This marks the fourth hotel in the company's development pipeline in Chennai, cementing IHG's leading position as one of the largest international hotel operators in the city when the four hotels (around 900 rooms) across four brands open by the end of next year: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. The company currently has one hotel open in Chennai: Holiday Inn Express Chennai Mahindra World City.

InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort is located along the picturesque beachfront on East Coast Road in the south of Chennai, just 30 kilometres from Chennai International Airport. Opening to guests later this year, the luxury resort will offer world-class accommodation coupled with unparalleled service and amenities such as three gourmet dining outlets including an all day dining restaurant, a speciality restaurant and a bar.

Guests looking to unwind can enjoy an array of treatments and therapies at the spa; work out at the fully-equipped health club or relax by the outdoor pool. The resort will also feature a banquet facility for large scale events.

Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, IHG commented, “With its growing popularity as a tourism destination, the Tamil Nadu capital is a key growth city for us and, with its proximity to both the business district and tourist attractions such as the UNESCO world heritage site at Mahabalipuram, the location of the new InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort is second to none. We are delighted to be working with Adyar Gate Hotels Limited to manage this great resort and are confident our global scale and system will help us drive revenue and occupancy in the resort when it opens later this year."

Manav Goyal, Director, Adyar Gate Hotels Limited said, “The InterContinental brand is known the world over for delivering luxury experiences and it was clear that's what we need to complement the strategic location the resort is in to draw business and leisure travellers. This will be one of the first five star beach resorts around the east coast of India, designed with a huge focus on environmental planning and design. IHG as a company is very driven and focussed on delivering great guest experiences and we are very pleased to have IHG manage what we envision will be one of the most highly sought after hotels in Chennai. We also see a huge potential to drive synergies across both Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park and InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort, with their unique attributes on location as well as the facilities in each hotel which cater to the needs of our guests across the leisure, corporate, meetings and events segments. We look forward to a great partnership with IHG and to welcoming guests through our doors when they open."

InterContinental Hotels and Resorts is one of the world's leading hotel brands with a long and successful heritage, going back over 65 years when the first InterContinental was founded in 1946. Today, InterContinental is an award-winning brand, picking up accolades such as the coveted title of "World's Leading Hotel Brand" at the World Travel Awards last year – an award it has held for six consecutive years; and the title of "Best Hotel Brand Worldwide" in this year's Business Traveller Middle East Awards.

Globally, IHG operates 179 InterContinental hotels and resorts, with 51 hotels due to open in the next three to five years. There is currently one InterContinental hotel open in India – InterContinental Marine Drive Mumbai.

IHG has 21 hotels (4,100 rooms) open in 13 cities in India across four brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express. The company has 47 hotels (9,000 rooms) in its development pipeline, including Holiday Inn Express Chennai OMR and Holiday Inn Chennai OMR Tidel Park which will open in Chennai within the next three to five years.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia