ITC Hotels enter J&K

ITC-owned hotel chain group Fortune Park Hotels Ltd have announced the inauguration of its first three-Star "Fortune Inn Riviera" hotel in Jammu.

Fortune Park Hotel Ltd General Manager (Operations) O P Khantwal announced the opening of the 29th property of the group, in the presence of promoters and leading businessmen of the city. The managing director of JK Heritage Resorts Pvt Ltd, Chander Gupta, is the main promoter.

The new property of the group has been built on three levels and offers 29 rooms, including 21 standard rooms and eight suites. Built on the banks of the river Tawi the hotel has been designed by Jammu-based architect Rakesh Gupta and the interiors have been designed by Anil Badan of Delhi.

Giving details, Khantwal said Fortune Park Hotels was the fastest growing chain in the country and had in the past few months opened a number of new properties at various locations.

He said in past six months, 14 new properties have been included in the chain and several new proposals have been received by the group in northern states like J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The proposals have also been received from Srinagar, Katra Mata Vaishnodevi, Jammu and several cities of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

According to Suresh Kumar, president of Fortune Park Hotels, Fortune Select Palm at Chennai was opened in November 2006. Fortune Chariot Beach Resort, Mahabalipuram ; Fortune Bella Casa, Jaipur; Fortune Inn, Hyderabad and Fortune Jukaso Inn, Pune are among the hotels set to be launched by the Group this year.

"We have stepped up our expansion plans and hope to take our numbers up from 29 to 50 properties within this financial year," he said.

Kumar said Fortune chain was widely recognised as a chain that offered the best option for business travellers.

He said the group's service and efficiency standards coupled with competitive pricing had attracted leisure travellers from India and abroad.

The Jammu property of the group offered many features that were the first of its kind in the city. Each room offered contemporary features such as Wi-Fi connectivity and LCD televisions. In addition, it offered the 24-hour multicuisine restaurant as well as roof-top speciality restaurant 'Earthen Oven'.

The hotel has been planned as an ideal conference location for the city and other and offers a variety of conference and banquet locations.

Sapphire is a large banquet with a capacity to accommodate nearly 400 persons , followed by Sapphire 2 and Sapphire 3 with a capacity of 50 each. Another first is the valet parking service to facilitate guest car parking for larger banquets, shows and celebrations.