Leela to make luxury rooms in Mauritius and Maldives

Hospitality major Leela Group’s overseas alliance with Kempinski is set to kick off in Maldives and Mauritius. Leela, which has had a long-standing tie-up with Kempinski in India, is expected to jointly manage luxury projects in these markets, C P Krishnan Nair, chairman of The Leela Palaces & Resorts, told ET.

It is learnt that Leela, which was offered land by the governments of these two countries sometime back, has now decided to go in for project development. “These ventures will be developed by Kempinski, and will be co-managed between us,” Mr Nair said.

“We will take a final view of Leela’s exact role in the venture once the project is ready,” he added. The financial details, including the possibility of Leela taking a stake in these ventures, will be discussed as the project gets underway.

The two ventures are expected to be ready for operations in two to three years. This marks Leela’s much talked about overseas foray.

Earlier, Leela stated that it would opt for an alliance with Kempinski rather than making a solo foray that was discussed initially.

Various locations across south east Asia to the Middle East were under consideration for the overseas debut. On the domestic front, Leela could look at a new property in Jaipur. The company is evaluating two properties and is expected to take a final
call shortly.

It is in the midst of completing a 90-suite Udaipur project, which is slated for opening in early 2008. The other projects in the pipeline cover locations like Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

Mr Nair said the group’s Delhi project, it recently acquired a three acre plot in the city for over Rs 600 crore, is likely to be ready by 2010. It is expected to be a 225-room project with targeted room rentals of over $700 per night (by the time it gets ready), he added.

Besides the existing projects in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Kovalam, Leela also has a marketing tie-up with Kumarakom Lake Resort, one of top-end properties in Kerala.

Meanwhile, Jamavar, the specialty Indian restaurant at The Leela palace Kempinski, was recently featured among the world’s top dining places ranking by Forbes.

Source: The Economics Time