Ansari Estate plans foray into B'lore hotel biz

Chennai-based Ansari Estate Private Limited, promoters of Comfort Inn Marina Towers (CIMT), is planning to foray into the Bangalore hotel business in the mid-market category with an investment of about Rs 20 crore.

"Comfort Inn Marina Towers is our first plunge into the hotel business. Depending on the success of the hotel, we will plan our next venture in Bangalore in one year's time. The Bangalore project will be a star budget hotel with a contemporary design and experience," said N M Ansari, managing director of CIMT.

The hotel, which was earlier called Marina Towers, affiliated itself with Choice Hotels India last week. Choice Hotels is the country's leading chain of mid-range properties which owns the popular Quality Inn and Comfort Inn brands.

CIMT is a 112-room property with 53 rooms in operation currently and about 28 more rooms are scheduled to be operational in the next two weeks.

"We will make the rest of the rooms operational in the next few months. It will, however, mainly be based on our reading of the demand for hotel space in Chennai," Ansari added.

CIMT, a unit of Ansari Estate Private Limited, is the latest entrant into the hotel segment in Chennai. The Marina Towers is targetted primarily at the business traveller who wants a contemporary hotel experience at a budget price. The room rates for single and double rooms are priced at Rs 1500 and Rs 1800 respectively.