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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 30, 2018, 03:12 AM IST
Taj Group’s name in the upmarket Cuffe Parade area of South Mumbai is changing. The Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL) owned and managed five-star business hotel Taj President will be renamed ‘Vivanta by Taj President Cuffe Parade’ in the next 45 days.
“As part of the rebranding exercise, around 21 hotels in the IHCL portfolio will join the Vivanta brand and Taj President is one of them. Being a landmark address, the management has cautiously decided to retain the earlier name in a different way and hence the extension has Taj President Cuffe Parade instead of just Vivanta by Taj,” said an industry source.
Vivanta by Taj, which was incepted in the second half of 2009, is the newest brand within the Taj group of hotels, operating within the definition of upscale/premium brands.
According to industry sources, the Tata Group acquired the Taj President property (earlier operated as The President Hotel) in 1973 from PIEM Hotels Ltd, which is now an IHCL associate company. In the last 3-4 years, Taj President has undergone massive renovation in a phased manner. The hotel has 292 guest rooms including suites, meetings and banquets facilities.
It also offer four dining options including casual, all-day eateries to formal, fine dining in the form of Konkan Cafe, Thai Pavilion, Trattoria and WINK.
Among other hotels expected to join the Vivanta by Taj portfolio include the two north Goa properties — Taj Holiday Village and Fort Aguada Beach Resort — located at Sinquerim and Bardez. The two properties will now be called Vivanta by Taj Holiday Village and Vivanta by Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort.
The IHCL portfolio currently has 4 operational hotels under the Vivanta by Taj brand at Whitefield in Bangalore, Panaji in Goa, Bekal in Kerala and Coral Reef in Maldives. The company has plans to set up new Vivanta properties at Gurgaon, Dwarka and Shahdara in Delhi, Yeshwantpur (Bangalore), Begumpet (Hyderabad), Madikeri (Coorg) and Coimbatore.
IHCL has earlier announced 2 developments under the Vivanta brand in Guwahati and Srinagar. To cost around Rs 95 crore, Vivanta by Taj Guwahati will be a 150-room hotel and will be operational in 24 months. The 89-room Vivanta by Taj Srinagar, Kashmir is a management contract with Saifco Hill Crest Hotels Pvt Ltd.
Among other brands under the IHCL portfolio include the Gateway hotel which is an upscale brand, positioned well above the company’s economy brand, Ginger, but lower than Vivanta by Taj.
