St Regis debuts in India
The erstwhile Palladium Hotel in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area has become the first hotel to fly the St. Regis flag in India after extensive refurbishment and rebranding.
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, has made its debut in India with the highly anticipated St. Regis Mumbai on September 1, 2015. Owned by Pallazzio Hotels & Leisure, the erstwhile Palladium Hotel underwent extensive rebranding and now flies the St. Regis flag, bringing bespoke luxury and refined elegance to the city of Mumbai.
Located in Lower Parel, the hotel combines timeless sophistication with modern luxury and is a befitting debut for the St. Regis brand in this fast growing market. Anuraag Bhatnagar, Area General Manager, India, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said, “We are glad to bring the St. Regis brand to India. This is an extremely important market and it is now that we have successfully found the right partner and the right project to introduce our seventh brand in the country. Luxury makes up 15 per cent of Starwood’s total pipeline, and 90 per cent of its future luxury hotels, will open in emerging markets such as India. We are optimistic about the growth of the hospitality industry going forward and believe that the time is perfect for the entry of The St. Regis as the Indian luxury travellers today are much more knowledgeable and adventurous and we are sure that we will meet their expectations with our exquisite brand offerings.”
Speaking about introducing other Starwood brands to India, Bhatnagar said that the hotel company is on the cusp of a new golden age of luxury travel as technology and globalisation drive new trade routes, capital flows and wealth creation. “As domestic travel increases and Indian travellers continue to demand more sophistication in terms of both quality and experience, we have significant opportunity to grow our brands across the spectrum in gateway cities as well as in resort destinations. One of the greatest successes for Starwood has been to do more deals with our existing owners and developers. Our mantra for development has always been, ‘right location, right product, right partner’. We at Starwood are always open to the apt opportunities by partnering with the right owners; Starwood has been able to demonstrate much more robust growth than our competitors. Having been in India for almost 40 years, we expect to be in India for the next 40 and are not strangers in this country that many of our competitors are,” he said.