Tag: resorts

Do you want to bask in the glory of the snow-capped ranges? Top 3 Himalayan retreats you need to visit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Are you planning for a quiet, intimate getaway with your loved ones? Do you want to go up the Himalayas, bask in the glory of the snow-capped ranges and find new meaning to life? Look no further. In this article, we go over the top three stays for your Himalayan retreat.

Wildflower Hall, Shimla

The resort, owned and operated by Oberoi Hotels, offers a visual and spiritual treat to its guests. Perched atop a hill, facing a green canopy of tall trees, the hotel provides a great view of the mountains. Once you book and reserve your stay, the hotel arranges for a car to pick you up from the nearest stop and bring you to the property. The staff are welcoming, mostly local people who speak the local and the common tongue.

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As you enter the portico, you cannot help but gaze at the vintage-style lounge with antique decorations and a warm fireplace. After a smooth check-in, you are led to your room, which is spacious, has a large and multi-amenity bathroom, changing room, cosy and comfortable bed. But, the main attraction of the room is its balcony, with views that will inspire awe in you. How often do you wake up to the sight of clouds embracing the mountain tops?

The property has an indoor and outdoor pool, which offers you a thrilling experience of swimming on a mountain top, savouring the cool, peaceful environment around. Wildflower Hall is also home to a spa where you can get deep tissue massages and relax. The property has a tennis court within, for you to sweat it out with your partner or friends and family.

Given the magnificent views it offers, candle-light dinners on the terrace are a big attraction, given the golden sunsets, you will witness amidst the mountains.

JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort

If you fancy a retreat from the mundane, try out relaxing activities in a serene location, this resort is the one for you. Built with brilliant architecture, the resort welcomes you with a stylish, sophisticated lounge. The visitor lounge looks sophisticated and has a tea lounge attached to it. Guests get to have their pick from a gazillion choices of tea. As your room’s door opens, you can experience the most comfortable and luxurious bed and amenities. Rooms with a balcony offer a captivating view of the mountains.

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The property has a grill bar lounge, where you can drink to your health, and in peace. Are you planning a retreat with your kids but do not know how to engage them when you relish the comforts of the stay? Worry not. JW Marriott hosts a play area for kids, with games that leave children asking for more. For the adults, the property has spas, swimming pools, meeting rooms, and banquets. For everyone’s taste buds, the hotel serves multi-cuisine meals all through the day.

The Himalayan Resort Spa, Manali

Manali is one of the most beautiful places in India and certainly, a must-visit place when you are staying along the Himalayan ranges. The Himalayan resort has a unique ambience in that it combines British and Mughal architecture in construction and warmth in hospitality. A treat to visit during the onset of winter, the Himalayan resort looks like a place right out of a novel. Its huge and well-lit hallways, lounge and royal-themed bedrooms offer a photogenic view.

The resort hosts multiple amenities, namely, a fine dining experience of hot and delicious native and continental cuisine, a built-in bar to unwind your day with, numerous hearths to keep warm and a fully functioning gym if you want to beat the cold by breaking a sweat. The highlight of the resort is its garden and the view it offers. You can see the snow-capped mountains up close, and watch the tall trees and green umbrella dance to the tune of the cold winds. The icicles that form along the rooftops are a treat to watch from the garden. Situated in the valley, your visit to the Himalayan resort will be totally worth it.

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Dubai to soon have a ultra-luxurious Moon shaped resort: All you need to know

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Dubai, home to the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa, may soon get a gigantic moon-shaped resort. A Canadian architectural company, Moon World Resorts (MWR), has proposed to build a destination resort resembling the moon to offer guests affordable space tourism on the ground, Arabian Business reported. The company is calling it ‘Moon Dubai’.

The ultra-luxurious hotel, with an overall height of 735 feet, is expected to be built in 48 months. It will be set up at the cost of about USD 5 billion (about Rs 40,000 crore).

Once constructed, Moon Dubai will add to the Emirate’s economy in the hospitality, entertainment, attractions, education, technology, environment and space tourism sectors, co-founder of the project Michael R Henderson said.

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The resort is the brainchild of MWR’s Sandra Matthews and Michael Henderson. It will have a ‘lunar surface’ and be surrounded by a ‘lunar colony’. The ‘lunar colony’ will give guests an ‘affordable space tourism’ experience on ground. The colony is projected to welcome 2.5 million tourists a year.

Once the resort is fully constructed, it will be able to accommodate 10 million visitors annually.

The mega-resort will have modern facilities such as a spa centre, vibrant nightlife, lounge, event centre, global meeting place and a ‘moon shuttle’. Moon World Resorts did not reveal the details of the moon shuttle yet.

It will also have a training platform for space agencies and astronauts.

The resort will have luxurious private residences called ‘Sky Villas’. The company will offer approximately 300 ‘Sky Villa’ units for purchase. Buyers will also become members of an exclusive club.

The project will operate under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, which is a 5-star built-out standard and a 5-diamond resort operational standard.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Road to recovery: Big hotels bet on all-inclusive model to boost sales

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A year-and-a-half after the pandemic forced the world to shut down, big hotels are shifting from the a là carte model and adding more all-inclusive resorts to boost business and lure guests to stay at one place.

All-inclusive resorts offer in-house dining, outdoor diversions like water sports, complimentary spa treatments, and games and activities, and sometimes even on-site testing for coronavirus.

With the threat of the contagious Delta variant still looming large in many parts of the world, guests are turning to all-inclusive resorts that offer self-contained trips without complicated logistics.

Buoyed by the new business model, these hotels have also recovered from the pandemic blow faster than other types of hotels, says a report by The Wall Street Journal.

According to hospitality data and analytics company STR, there are around 1,500 all-inclusive properties worldwide. At an all-inclusive resort, the guest makes one payment that covers room, food, cocktails, activities, and other services.

Until now, the hospitality sector has been slow in adopting the model. However, with business travel being sluggish, major hotels are restructuring their portfolio to appeal to safety-conscious leisure travellers who want to stay in one place to limit the risk of COVID-19 infection.

“The industry is convinced that leisure will continue to drive the recovery,” Scott Berman, principal and hospitality-industry leader at PwC, told WSJ.

Sandals Resorts, which has around 15 all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, have witnessed a 151 percent rise in bookings in September and October as compared to 2019, reported The New York Times. Another all-inclusive brand, Club Med, which has 70 resorts worldwide, has reported double-digit growth in bookings in several weeks this summer over 2019, the report said.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has recently tied up with Playa Hotels & Resorts that owns all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Mexico. As part of the deal, Wyndham will launch two hotels under the new Alltra brand in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. While Wyndham will work on branding and sales, Playa will manage the properties.

With remote work policies at play, people have the flexibility to extend their weekend getaways by a day or two or work from a resort, Wyndham’s Chief Executive Geoff Ballotti told WSJ. As a result, Wyndham is already witnessing a rise in bookings on Sunday and Monday nights, which were less popular earlier, he said.

In August, Hyatt Hotels agreed to purchase all-inclusive-resort manager Apple Leisure Group for a whopping $2.7 billion. Marriott International will also add 20 new all-inclusive resorts to the brand’s Autograph Collection Hotels. Hilton has recently opened all-inclusive resorts in Curaçao and Mexico and is looking to open soon in Cancun and Tulum.

“The human experience of taking time for personal renewal and also connecting with family, friends and loved ones is in extremely high demand given the challenges we have all faced over the past 20 months,” Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian wrote in an email, adding that this will trigger more leisure travel in the future.

After the US, demand for all-inclusives will rise in Asia in the long run, Gregory Miller, hotel analyst at Truist Securities Inc, told WSJ.  “I think beyond the Caribbean, there’s probably a very healthy runway of all-inclusives for decades to come,” he said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Resorts are running full; expect surge in travel to be sustainable: Mahindra Holidays

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As India recovers from COVID and restrictions across the country are eased, holiday destinations have seen a surge in visitors and holiday properties are running at high occupancy levels.

To understand the current situation and the road to recovery for the hotels business, one of the worst-hit sectors by the pandemic, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Kavinder Singh, MD & CEO of Mahindra Holidays, and Patanjali Keswani, Chairman & managing director of Lemon Tree Hotels.

On Mahindra Holidays, Singh said, “Our resorts are running full and I don’t see this as just revenge travel. Because if you really look at it, the leisure part of the travel anyway started to recover even in January, February and March. So it wasn’t just that people were wanting to come out, of course, that is a core, let us say desire. But the culture to get out of homes, to be with the family, to be in open spaces, is something that is an after-effect of the pandemic, that is going to last a long time and more importantly, drivable destinations is where we are seeing a very, very good pickup.”

He added, “If you look at the occupancies, in July and August, we hit about 73 percent and that is not the occupancy that you see in this period of time. One of the other patterns that we are noticing is that the seasonality that which used to be big in the earlier times prior to pandemic times, is something that is I think there would be really no seasons, every season is a holiday season, because people are able to work from our resorts, children are able to write exams. So the idea that I would holiday only in a particular season on a particular period is I think, sort of now being turned on its head.”

On demand for the hotel industry, Keswani said, “So there has been roughly a 75 percent improvement in occupancy, which means we are obviously north of 50 percent and there has been also a close to 30 percent improvement in pricing. So in the hotel business, our pricing is dynamic, only about 20 percent is fixed. So the other 80 percent has seen an improvement in price by about 40 percent and that is fundamentally because demand has picked up so it is just clearly demand and supply. So there is an enormous improvement and it is a week-on-week improvement.”

“So if I look at June and then I compare it to July and then to August and now to September, then literally every day, every week there is a 5- 7 percent improvement in demand. I don’t see that third wave really now other than of course Kerala and Maharashtra really affecting the hotel industry. So I see fundamentally the Q2 will be more than H1 last year and double of Q1. Q3 will be 50 percent better than that and Q4 will be close to normal. So that is broadly what we are seeing in our demand projections.”

Read Here: Hotels bounce back with surge in occupancies faster than anticipated

On net EBITDA, Keswani said, “Net EBITDA, even last year we were close to I think 70-75 crores of net EBITDA. So clearly this year, we will do better than that. In our business, there is a very significant amount of depreciation, which is really cash profit for us. So we break even at I think 1.50- 1.7 crore a day and pre COVID already our run rate was 2.5 to 2.7 crore so I am seeing a very positive H2.”

On cost, Singh said, “If I were to look at the cost part, there is a significant improvement in the resort operating costs, which is permanent in nature, as well as in the cost of acquisition. For us cost of acquisition for the members also is an important cost and we have been able to bring down the fixed costs on a very sustained basis.”

“You can see that from our margins as you can see our margins even in quarter one improved over the quarter one of last year. Even if you look at our trajectory over the last five years, we have been improving our margins by 100 basis points year-on-year.”

For full management commentary, watch the video.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sterling Holiday Resorts plans to double room-count to 4,800 in four years, says MD Ramesh Ramanathan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chennai-based leasure and hospitality firm Sterling Holidays is planning to double its inventory to 4,800 rooms by 2023.

“As of now, we have 2,400 rooms. The six new resorts, will add about 450 rooms over the next 12 months taking the total count of rooms to 2,850. The plan is to double the rooms to 4,800 rooms by 2023,” Sterling Holidays managing director Ramesh Ramanathan told CNBC-TV18.com in a telephonic interaction.

The company is launching six new resorts at Guruvayur, Mysore, Thekkaddy, Karjat, Igatpuri and Konaseema. The expansion strategy will be through management contracts.

It is also planning to expand Nature Trails Resorts,  to few more locations in the next few years.

“We have a four pronged strategy taking cognizance of the travel trends of the Indian consumer. We will focus and open resorts in regular holiday destinations — hills, jungles, beaches, mountains, resorts in pilgrim centres,
resorts in heritage centres, resorts which are drive-to from the metros,” he said.

“With the new resort launches, we are looking at aggressive growth of the company based on growth in domestic tourism consumption”, he added.

Last fiscal, the company’s topline was Rs 270 crore and it expects to continue growing and expanding aggressively in the current year.

When asked about the slowdown in the industry, he said, “I am not worried about the slowdown. At present, holidays have become an essential part of everyone’s lifestyle. People take time off their schedule to go for multiple holidays, during long weekends. A relaxing holiday is the best remedy for the taxing pressures of today’s fast paced daily life. So the drop in discretionary spend of the consumer should not affect our business. Besides, our hybrid model of member and non-member will ensure a healthy growth in occupancies over the next few years.”

On overseas expansion plans, Ramanathan said, “Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, Srilanka, Bhutan, Nepal are places that our customers would be keen on traveling to. This is planned after we set up a substantial presence in
the domestic market.”

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Las Vegas to welcome 2019 with superstars, fireworks show

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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No other city does New Year’s Eve like Las Vegas.

Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Gwen Stefani are among the superstars who will be ushering in the new year with performances at venues on the Las Vegas Strip, while more than 300,000 people are expected to gather on the world-famous corridor Monday to watch eight minutes of fireworks.

At another celebration in the downtown Fremont Street entertainment district, 12 bands will play under a massive video canopy that will show the ball drop in New York’s Time Square.

“The only thing that can top Las Vegas is Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve,” said Jacqueline Peterson of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “The city continues to evolve itself. We never run out of things to do.”

Gaga’s New Year’s Eve concert at Park Theater at Park MGM casino-resort will be the third of her long-anticipated residency, which will debut Friday. Veteran Las Vegas performer Celine Dion will be at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and Maroon 5 will celebrate the holiday once again at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Stefani will take the stage at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood casino-resort as part of the residency she kicked off this year. Calvin Harris, The Chainsmokers and J. Cole are among those performing at nightclubs.

While Las Vegas is known as a place for last-minute trips, tourists who want to ring in 2019 there should act fast. Tourism officials expect 318,000 people to travel to Sin City for the holiday and nearly all the city’s more than 147,000 hotel rooms to be booked.

“Now is the time to do it,” Chris Baldizan, senior vice president of entertainment booking and development at MGM Resorts International, said about booking a trip for the holiday. But “we’ll always find a spot for somebody.”

Las Vegas police are planning an “all-hands-on-deck approach” to security, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.

Authorities will deploy plainclothes officers, federal agents and police in and around the casino-resorts, along with rooftop snipers, Lombardo said.

New Year’s Eve is worth an estimated $403 million to Las Vegas, according to the convention and visitors authority, which is responsible for promoting the destination.

In addition to concerts with tickets on sale for the general public, casino operators also host over-the-top private parties for their VIP guests.

Caesars Entertainment hosted nine of those last year, which included DJs, dancers, fireworks shows, thousands of bottles of champagne and performances by Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez and other stars. Five hangover brunches were served the next morning.

Unlike the two previous years, New Year’s Eve falls on a weekday. Casino operators say the Monday celebration is a positive because it gives people a reason to stay beyond a typical weekend trip.

“It just means that more of our guests are coming in even earlier to spend more days celebrating in this great tradition,” said Chris Holdren, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Caesars Entertainment. “So, they may come in, spend the weekend and extend it to encompass the great holiday.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Digital detox: Hotels offer perks for handing over phones

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Can you take a vacation from your cellphone? A growing number of hotels will help you find out.

Some resorts are offering perks, like snorkeling tours and s’mores, to guests who manage to give up their phones for a few hours. Some have phone-free hours at their pools; others are banning distracting devices from public places altogether.

Hotels that limit cellphone use risk losing valuable exposure on Instagram or Facebook. But they say the policies reflect their mission of promoting wellness and relaxation. And, of course, they hope that happily unplugged guests will return for future visits.

“Everyone wants to be able to disconnect. They just need a little courage,” said Lisa Checchio, Wyndham Hotels’ chief marketing officer.

People’s inability to disconnect is an increasingly serious issue. Half of smartphone users spend between three and seven hours per day on their mobile devices, according to a 2017 global survey by Counterpoint Research, a technology consulting firm. In a separate study by the nonprofit Common Sense Media, 69 percent of parents and 78 percent of teens said they check their devices at least hourly.

Wyndham knew it had a problem when hotel managers requested more beach chairs to accommodate all the people who would sit in them and stare at their phones. It discovered that the average resort guest was bringing three devices and checking them once every 12 minutes — or roughly 80 times a day.

On Oct. 1, Wyndham Grand’s five US resorts began offering prime spots by the pool, free snacks and the chance to win return visits when guests put their phone in a soft, locked pouch. The phones stay with the guests, but only hotel staff can unlock the pouches.

Wyndham says 250 people have used the pouches so far at resorts in Florida and Texas. The program will be found at more Wyndham hotels next year.

Wyndham Grand resorts also give families a 5 percent discount on their stay if they put their phones in a timed lockbox. The hotel provides supplies for a pillow fort, s’mores, a bedtime book and an instant camera for adults and kids who don’t know what to do with all the newfound time on their hands.

That appeals to Matthew Cannata, who heads public relations for the New Britain, Connecticut, schools. He worries about the impact of technology on his two young children, and he tries to keep devices out of sight during family meals.

“Any chance I can get to put the phone away is great. Sometimes, people need to be forced to do things to start a thought process and then create a habit,” he said.

At the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit in Mexico, a so-called Detox Concierge will “cleanse” your suite of all electronic devices and replace them with games like Jenga and chess. Guests at its sister resort, the Grand Velas Riviera Maya, trade in their phones for a bracelet that gives them free access to activities like snorkeling; they must do at least four activities to earn back their phones. A timer placed in the lobby shows how long each family has lasted without their devices.

Emily Evans likes the idea of rewarding people for putting their phones away. A senior at Eastern Kentucky University, she says she barely keeps her phone charged while on vacation, but her girlfriend is constantly checking her phone.

“I feel most millennials would choose discounts and saving money over having their phone out to Instagram and Snapchat pictures of their meals,” Evans said.

At Miraval, a Hyatt-owned resort in Arizona, the emphasis is less on family time than on mindfulness and tranquility. Miraval, which will soon open two more resorts in Texas and Massachusetts, bans phone use in most public areas.

Guests are encouraged to tuck their phones into soft cotton bags and leave them on small wooden beds in their rooms. Staff wears name tags with gentle reminders that guests should unplug and “be present.”

Some resorts encourage a total ban. Wilderness Resorts, an African safari operator, intentionally provides no Wi-Fi at many of its camps. Adrere Amellal, a 40-room hotel at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, lets guests have phones in their rooms, but there’s no electricity or Wi-Fi.

Not all vacationers want to be weaned from their devices. Phones double as cameras, music players, travel guides and e-readers. They also might be critical in an emergency.

David Bruns, a communications manager for AARP Florida, uses two phones. He tries not to check his work phone after hours, but he carries his personal phone everywhere.

“I don’t think I would like being made to put the thing down,” Bruns said. “It feels like that is more about me being told what to do by people I am paying to do something for me.”

Ayana Resort and Spa in Bali, Indonesia, understands that, so it tries to meet guests halfway. Its winding River Pool bans phones between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. But it invites guests to take photos and post away to social media before and after those times.

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3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow