Star hotels announce arrival in Hyderabad

Hyderabad is hot property right now. With the booming IT sector, the city is now also gearing up for the influx of millions of international travelers who will be commuting through the new Shamshabad International Airport. The hotel industry has chosen Hyderabad as the new hospitality hub. Major hotel groups are venturing into new projects in the city, including The Leela, Holiday Inn, ITC, Ista and Hyatt hotels.

"Hyderabad has great potential. The city has modernized itself very beautifully with international standards of infrastructure. It's the new medical and IT hub and it has more scope than Bangalore in terms of infrastructural growth," says Mithu Basu, head of corporate communications, The Leela Group of hotels. "The Leela Hyderabad in Banjara Hills will cater to the higher end business clientèle. We hope to open the 325-room hotel by 2010," she adds.

Another factor drawing the big hotels to the city is the new International Airport coming up at Shamshabad. The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) plans to start a hotel corridor called Regal Broadway to cater to the estimated five million passengers who will be commuting through the international airport starting 2008. Says project director Piyush Kumar, "The project is at a very nascent stage right now and nothing is finalized as yet. According to our initial plans, it was to be a 150-acre plot in Shamshabad but now we have to relocate the entire project as commercial complexes are not allowed in that area."

The Lanco Hills project at Manikonda nearby will boast two big hotels - Grand Hyatt and Holiday Inn. Says S. Pochendar, CEO of Lanco Hills, "The Grand Hyatt will be a fivestar luxury hotel with 400 rooms, a banquet hall with five specialty restaurants and a convention centre which will accommodate over 3,000 people." Their Holiday Inn will be a business class hotel with 350 rooms and two restaurants. Both hotels will be completed in about three years. Ista is setting up a five-star hotel in another newly developing area in Gachibowli. According to Ista spokesperson, Pushpa Nair, the luxury business hotel will be opening in a couple of months. A part of AHHR Hospitality Private Limited, Ista hotel will also boast a spa for its clients.

A state-of-the-art spa and health club are also among the plans that Gayatri Hitec Hotels has for its new venture, the Park Hyatt coming up in Banjara Hills. Says vice chairperson Sandeep Reddy, "The Park Hyatt here will be a seven-star hotel with around 220-250 rooms and equipped with top of the line facilities. The hotel will be completed in mid 2009."

ITC has also set its sights on opening a new hotel in addition to the ITC Sheraton Grand Kakatiya hotel. While sources confirm that they are looking to start another hotel here, the plans are still being finalized.

With so many star hotels opening soon in the city, competition will be stiff but hoteliers welcome the challenge. Says S. Pochendar of Lanco Hills, "The city's economy is looking up and there is room for all of us here."