CGH outlines Karnataka plans

CGH Earth (formerly the Casino Group of hotels) has announced its plans to enter Karnataka in a big way. CGH has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Karnataka government to open a hotel at Hampi, besides having commenced construction work for a hotel on the Om Beach at Gokarna (near Mangalore).

Speaking to the Business Standard, Jose Dominic, managing director, CGH Earth, said, "We will tap the tourism market in Karnataka by leveraging on its rich bio-diversity. We have always aligned our hotels to nature and the culture of specific locations where they are present. We will follow the same principle for our beach property coming up on Om Beach."

The Om Beach property is not being positioned as a beach resort, but as a "hotel on the sea", according to Dominic. CGH is incurring an expenditure of Rs 12 crore for developing the hotel. This 30-acre property will comprise of 30 cottages or bungalows. Each cottage will be about 1,700 sq.ft in size.

Following its traditional mode of operations, CGH will also align the hotel to the culture around Gokarna.

"As Mangalore and coastal Karnataka is known for fish and vegetarian food, it is going to be our menu at the hotel. Since yoga is well-practiced in these areas, we will promote yoga as the theme in this hotel. It is going to be the health component at the hotel. Similar to our other properties, we expect tourists to come in for long stays like 2-4 weeks," Dominic explained.

Interestingly, CGH's plans in Karnataka does not end here. While the company had planned to build its properties at four different locations in Karnataka, Gokarna and Hampi have already been identified. "We are yet to evaluate the other two locations in Karnataka," Dominic said.

On the MoU with the Karnataka government which will enable CGH to build a hotel in Hampi, Dominic said, "This hotel is expected to be completed by March 2006. It will have 24 rooms. Since Hampi also has an archeological heritage, we will also have a different plan for accommodating students who go to Hampi for research and study. We will be spending nearly Rs 8 crore for the development of this hotel."

Currently, CGH has seven properties "" Coconut Lagoon, Spice Village, The Marari Beach, The Brunton Boatyard, Spice Coast Cruises, Bangaram Island Resort and the Casino Hotel. It has just leased a property from the Kallangud maharajas, which is undergoing renovation and construction of a hotel called Kalari Kovilagam, with ayurveda as a key offering.

CGH Earth registered a turnover of Rs 45 crore during the previous fiscal. While its investment outlay in the current fiscal is about Rs 24 crore, the company expects its topline to grow by nearly 25 per cent.

CGH was founded by Jose Dominic on the harbour island of Willingdon, in Cochin, Kerala. What started out in 1957 as the Casino Restaurant, catering to the dock workers and commuters of Willingdon Island, evolved into the familiar Casino Hotel. Eventually it became The Casino Group of Hotels and now CGH Earth.