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36657
Sat, 12/20/2008 - 08:29
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Taj, Trident resume hotel bookings, gear up for opening
Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) The sea-facing iconic Taj Palace and Trident have commenced room bookings and sprucing up for their reopening on December 21, nearly a month after the audacious terror attacks, which caused severe damage to the five-star hotels.
Over 180 people were killed in the three-day long
mayhem unleashed by the heavily-armed terrorists who hit the
city on the night of November 26.
Ratan Tata-owned Taj hotel is ready with 268 rooms
out of the 278 in its Tower Wing, including nine suites, which
will be thrown open coming Sunday.
The Trident, another focal point of the carnage, at
Nariman Point has also begun bookings with the city gearing up
for new year festivities.
"We started accepting reservations for stay at Trident
in the first week of December," Oberoi Hotels and Resorts,
Mumbai, Executive Vice President, Devendra Bharma told PTI in
an email reply.
Employees and spokespersons of both the hotels,
however, remained tight-lipped about details connected with
their reopening and did not reveal how many room bookings have
been made so far.
The hotels have decided not to host Christmas or New
Year Eve bashes.
"We are not having any celebrations. The hotel is not
making any bookings for Christmas or New Year Eve parties
because it was in mourning (for the dead and injured)," an
employee at the Trident said.
A flat "No" was the answer to a similar question put
to a Taj employee incharge of bookings for such parties. A Taj
spokesperson, however, said that the hotel was still undecided
on the matter.
Tariff rates at the Taj Tower are broadly the same,
but the hotel is now offering festive season discounts of 15
per cent to woo guests. The discount does not hold for guests
putting up at high-end rooms and suites such as the Taj Club
Room and the Luxury and Executive Suites.
Rates begin from as low as Rs 13,600 per room per
night for a Superior Single Room and go up to Rs 95,000 per
room per night for a Luxury Suite.
The hotel is also levying an additional ten per cent
luxury tax.
Trident too has broadly kept tariff rates unchanged, a
hotel employee informed. At Trident, rates begin from as low
as Rs 16,700 (without taxes) for its Deluxe Sea View Room to
as high as Rs 80,000 on the Trident Special Suite.
"The entire hotel will be operational when the hotel
reopens on December 21. All the 550 guest rooms and suites of
the hotel will be ready to receive guests," Bharma said.
"Guests will be able to enjoy the restaurants
(Frangipani and India Jones) and other facilities like the
Business Center and Conferencing and the recently opened spa
and fitness centre, swimming pool, salon and Opium Den the
bar at the hotel," Bharma added.
Trident, would also be resuming its full bouquet
services from that day itself, the hotel said.
The Taj would also be reopening all its restaurants
from the evening of December 21.
"The evening of December 21 will see The Taj Mahal
Palace and Tower reopening its world-renowned restaurants and
eateries on the dot of 1930 hours," the hotel had said.
These include The Zodiac Grill, Souk, Masala Kraft,
Aquarius, Shamiana, Starboard and La Patisserie.
The Rooftop Rendezvous Banquet Hall and the Chambers
would also reopen on the same day. Guests can also avail the
swimming pool and gym facilities, which the hotel would be
reopening on the same day.
"Exclusive services to commemorate the special
occasion of the hotel's reopening have been introduced with
the opening of the Tower Wing," the hotel said.
"Discerning guests can now benefit from the privileged
world of the Taj Club and ask for immaculate butler service."
Taj has expanded its fleet by adding two Jaguars,
which will allow transfers to take place in luxurious comfort.
The Trident, on December 12, inaugurated stores of the
the high-end accessories and bag stores Jimmy Choo and Gucci
apart from establishing an upscale coffee shop. It also
reopened on the same day the existing year-old store Venetta
Botega.
"Customers have started coming in a trickle. I guess
its a sign that things are coming back to normal," a store
employee said.
The Oberoi Group owns and manages two hotels located
adjacent to each other at Nariman Point in Mumbai under the
luxury 'Oberoi' and 5-star 'Trident' brands.
It is but obvious that the hotels are frantic in
making preparations for D-Day. But, even as the hotels are
just two days away from reopening after last month's terror
siege, confusion and secrecy prevail round the luxury
establishments.
Front entrances of both the hotels maintain a solemn
look. Visitors, tourists, sightseers cannot help but look at
the 'site of the terror attacks'. Heads inadvertently turn
upwards straining to make out the damaged parts of the hotels.
However, a flurry of activity is easily palpable at
the back entrances of the iconic Taj and the towering Trident.
Contract workers, carpenters, painters move briskly,
hands full with wooden frames and paint tubs. Security guards
and the policemen guard the cordoned off entrances. PTI KV
PMR
Over 180 people were killed in the three-day long
mayhem unleashed by the heavily-armed terrorists who hit the
city on the night of November 26.
Ratan Tata-owned Taj hotel is ready with 268 rooms
out of the 278 in its Tower Wing, including nine suites, which
will be thrown open coming Sunday.
The Trident, another focal point of the carnage, at
Nariman Point has also begun bookings with the city gearing up
for new year festivities.
"We started accepting reservations for stay at Trident
in the first week of December," Oberoi Hotels and Resorts,
Mumbai, Executive Vice President, Devendra Bharma told PTI in
an email reply.
Employees and spokespersons of both the hotels,
however, remained tight-lipped about details connected with
their reopening and did not reveal how many room bookings have
been made so far.
The hotels have decided not to host Christmas or New
Year Eve bashes.
"We are not having any celebrations. The hotel is not
making any bookings for Christmas or New Year Eve parties
because it was in mourning (for the dead and injured)," an
employee at the Trident said.
A flat "No" was the answer to a similar question put
to a Taj employee incharge of bookings for such parties. A Taj
spokesperson, however, said that the hotel was still undecided
on the matter.
Tariff rates at the Taj Tower are broadly the same,
but the hotel is now offering festive season discounts of 15
per cent to woo guests. The discount does not hold for guests
putting up at high-end rooms and suites such as the Taj Club
Room and the Luxury and Executive Suites.
Rates begin from as low as Rs 13,600 per room per
night for a Superior Single Room and go up to Rs 95,000 per
room per night for a Luxury Suite.
The hotel is also levying an additional ten per cent
luxury tax.
Trident too has broadly kept tariff rates unchanged, a
hotel employee informed. At Trident, rates begin from as low
as Rs 16,700 (without taxes) for its Deluxe Sea View Room to
as high as Rs 80,000 on the Trident Special Suite.
"The entire hotel will be operational when the hotel
reopens on December 21. All the 550 guest rooms and suites of
the hotel will be ready to receive guests," Bharma said.
"Guests will be able to enjoy the restaurants
(Frangipani and India Jones) and other facilities like the
Business Center and Conferencing and the recently opened spa
and fitness centre, swimming pool, salon and Opium Den the
bar at the hotel," Bharma added.
Trident, would also be resuming its full bouquet
services from that day itself, the hotel said.
The Taj would also be reopening all its restaurants
from the evening of December 21.
"The evening of December 21 will see The Taj Mahal
Palace and Tower reopening its world-renowned restaurants and
eateries on the dot of 1930 hours," the hotel had said.
These include The Zodiac Grill, Souk, Masala Kraft,
Aquarius, Shamiana, Starboard and La Patisserie.
The Rooftop Rendezvous Banquet Hall and the Chambers
would also reopen on the same day. Guests can also avail the
swimming pool and gym facilities, which the hotel would be
reopening on the same day.
"Exclusive services to commemorate the special
occasion of the hotel's reopening have been introduced with
the opening of the Tower Wing," the hotel said.
"Discerning guests can now benefit from the privileged
world of the Taj Club and ask for immaculate butler service."
Taj has expanded its fleet by adding two Jaguars,
which will allow transfers to take place in luxurious comfort.
The Trident, on December 12, inaugurated stores of the
the high-end accessories and bag stores Jimmy Choo and Gucci
apart from establishing an upscale coffee shop. It also
reopened on the same day the existing year-old store Venetta
Botega.
"Customers have started coming in a trickle. I guess
its a sign that things are coming back to normal," a store
employee said.
The Oberoi Group owns and manages two hotels located
adjacent to each other at Nariman Point in Mumbai under the
luxury 'Oberoi' and 5-star 'Trident' brands.
It is but obvious that the hotels are frantic in
making preparations for D-Day. But, even as the hotels are
just two days away from reopening after last month's terror
siege, confusion and secrecy prevail round the luxury
establishments.
Front entrances of both the hotels maintain a solemn
look. Visitors, tourists, sightseers cannot help but look at
the 'site of the terror attacks'. Heads inadvertently turn
upwards straining to make out the damaged parts of the hotels.
However, a flurry of activity is easily palpable at
the back entrances of the iconic Taj and the towering Trident.
Contract workers, carpenters, painters move briskly,
hands full with wooden frames and paint tubs. Security guards
and the policemen guard the cordoned off entrances. PTI KV
PMR
