Dhaka - Hotels and Resorts

[dopekhor]

a better picture of the hilton billboard

http://img184.imagevenue.com/loc484/th_00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg (http://img184.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg)

[tanzirian]

For some reason, Dopekhor, your latest posts don't show up for me...perhaps I am lacking some software? Thanks anyway.

Although the location of some of the new hotels seems a little odd, I guess in general their developers know what they are doing. My first memories of Hotel Sonargaon are from 1986, when I returned after a few years in the US. At that time Kawran Bazar was mostly empty and the lake next to the hotel was much larger. All in all, it looked like a semi-rural setting - a rather unsual location for a luxury hotel. But things have changed a lot since then...and the hotel's developers were proven right. Hope Sonargaon gets over its current troubles and reemerges a great hotel once again.

[dopekhor]

For some reason, Dopekhor, your latest posts don't show up for me...perhaps I am lacking some software? Thanks anyway.

Although the location of some of the new hotels seems a little odd, I guess in general their developers know what they are doing. My first memories of Hotel Sonargaon are from 1986, when I returned after a few years in the US. At that time Kawran Bazar was mostly empty and the lake next to the hotel was much larger. All in all, it looked like a semi-rural setting - a rather unsual location for a luxury hotel. But things have changed a lot since then...and the hotel's developers were proven right. Hope Sonargaon gets over its current troubles and reemerges a great hotel once again.

try this link dude

http://img184.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg

[tanzirian]

try this link dude

http://img184.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg

That works, thanks! I will look forward to when they have a render...doesn't seem to one on the billboard that I can make out...

I think the caretaker govt reforms have many developers in a "holding" stance...they are probably waiting to see how things turn out for our country - this will probably be the case until 2009. If, as most of us hope, things turn out for the better, then development will likely restart at a faster pace than before.

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gifDhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson40.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/radissondhaka40.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson41.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson42.jpg

[tanzirian]

What I like best about the Radisson are the grounds around it...almost a little surprising that a hotel would have landscaped grounds in this era of sky high land prices. All in all they did a great job with this hotel...it is a very nice sight driving down Airport Road.

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.starwoodhotels.com/en_US/Media/Graphics/Brands/Sheraton/Logos/sheraton_logo_blue.gif Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

lobby area

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakasheraton70.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton65.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakasheraton71.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakasheraton72.jpg

view from the lobby

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakashreaton74.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakashreaton75.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakashreaton76.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakasheraton73.jpg

[tanzirian]

No doubt facilities at Sheraton are better after recent expansion but I did like the previous exterior appearance more.

[sas]

The Westin has opened I guess, even though their website says that they are accepting reservations on and after July 1. I got out of work at around 9pm yesterday evening and I was going back home, when saw all lights at the lobby, along with the escalators in full operation. I saw a lot of staff fully dressed inside.

[tareq79]

ya same here...the hotel seems started operations. I pass by that a few times everyday and with the activities going on around the reception, appears to be running full fledgedly . Also quite a few rooms seen lights on inside by the night (a distant but full view of the hotel is available from my balcony).

[tanzirian]

Maybe this weekend one of you guys could stop by and see if they let you take some interior pics?

[Tmac]

few more of the 5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gif Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson46.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson47.jpg

pool area

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson48.jpg

view from the balcony

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson50.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson51.jpg

inside of the hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson45.jpg

[mirzazeehan]

5 star Dhaka Regency,Nikunjo

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/?action=view&current=DSC01868.jpg

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/?action=view&current=DSC01730.jpg

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/?action=view&current=DSC01862.jpg

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/?action=view&current=DSC01869.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/dhakaregencylogo.jpg Dhaka Regency Hotel photo credit:mirzazeehan

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakaregency40.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakaregency42.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakaregency41.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakaregency43.jpg

[Tmac]

a better picture of the hilton billboard

http://img184.imagevenue.com/loc484/th_00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg (http://img184.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=00077_hilton-billboard_122_484lo.jpg)

well here's a photo of the Hilton Dhaka site.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/bgmeabuilding12.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hiltonsite3.jpg

[tanzirian]

Sheraton Atrium

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/ban5-1.jpg

[Fizz]

Dhaka Regency Hotel Grand Opening of The Largest & First 24 Hours Restaurant In The Country To Serve A Full Variety Of Food.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/Food-Festival-Electrin-Desi.jpg

[clearsky]

^^ That looks delicious! 650 taka sounds quite reasonable also, especially if it is for buffet. Radisson and Sheraton cost in the neighborhood of 1400 taka.

I think Regency is currently partially functional. Oldham Athletic from the UK stayed there in May.

I think the above pics of Regency looks quite elegant.

[tanzirian]

Since nobody would take Westin interior pics for me, I had to do it myself :tongue3:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka09.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka01.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka03.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka06.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka02.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka07.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka04.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka12.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka11.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka08.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka13A.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka14A.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/westindhaka16A.jpg

[tanzirian]

Radisson pictures (also check out the Westin pics in the last post if you missed them)

Left - hotel; right - lobby
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad3.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad8-lobby.jpg

Left - grand ball room; right - water garden brasserie
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad8-grand.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad11-watergardenbrasserie.jpg

Left - sublime (name of restaurant, I guess); right - business center meeting room
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad9.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad6-bcmr.jpg

Left - club board room; right - hotel room
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad10-clubboardroom.jpghttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/rad5-room.jpg

[meghnarmajhi]

Dhaka Regency
http://www.polarisplus.com/images/dhaka_regency/image01.jpg
http://www.polarisplus.com/images/dhaka_regency/image02.jpg
http://www.polarisplus.com/images/dhaka_regency/image03.jpg
http://www.polarisplus.com/images/dhaka_regency/image04.jpg
http://www.polarisplus.com/images/dhaka_regency/image05.jpg

[Tmac]

inside of the http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/hotellakeshore101.jpg Lakesore Hotels and Apartments

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoshorehotel21.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoshorehotel20.jpg

[Tmac]

A rooftop hotel pool in Baridhara. Not sure what this hotel is. You can see United Hospital across the lake in the first photo. Anyone know what this hotel is?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakahotelpool.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakahotelpool2.jpg

[mirzazeehan]

Westin Dhaka

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC01944.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC01948.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC01949.jpg

Hotel Sarina

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC01987.jpg

Hotel Best Western

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC01961.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Thanks for the pics. Is Westin open yet?

[tareq79]

A rooftop hotel pool in Baridhara. Not sure what this hotel is. You can see United Hospital across the lake in the first photo. Anyone know what this hotet....

This one seems located roughly opposite to United Hospital but I never saw a hotel there in Baridhara. This may be a pesonal one, I guess.

And thanks Mirza, Meghnarmajhi and Tan (Tan, as you claim you took the pohotos,I guess you landed right on Westin's roof from US,took the pics and went away...:) anyways, great find!) for the pics.

[Zaki]

NICE, Regency has a Shisha place. Finally a good shisha place near Uttara. Gotta go there next time I go to Dhaka.

[mirzazeehan]

^^ Thanks for the pics. Is Westin open yet?

Yes..Westin opened its doors very recently.

[tanzirian]

Inside Westin...part of the lobby I guess:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1096/846852303_c79c6e814f_b.jpg

[tanzirian]

Radisson:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/232773260_607e444e07_b.jpg

[wishbone]

hello

[meghnarmajhi]

hello

Hello and welcome, wishbone.

[mirzazeehan]

The Westin Dhaka,Gulshan

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02182.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02180.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02179.jpg

Best Western La Vinci,Kawranbazar

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02250.jpg

Dhaka Regency,Nikunjo

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02189.jpg

[mirzazeehan]

Radisson Water Garden,Airport Road

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/039013A.jpg

[Zaki]

Great pictures as always Mirza. How d you take that Radisson pic?

[mirzazeehan]

Hotel Sarina,Banani

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/DSC02275.jpg

[mirzazeehan]

Great pictures as always Mirza. How d you take that Radisson pic?

The other pics were taken by me,but not that one.I found that on the net.

[Tmac]

the interior of Westin Dhaka

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1098/1043958041_7e6f537bbd_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/1043961887_fed601956f_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1242/1044816102_cd78d3d7f8_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1273/1044812384_7080866ff2_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1322/1043960377_a39f9d5298_o.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Nice finds Tmac. Did you get a chance to go inside Westin while you were in BD?

BTW now that you are a mod, you can change the title of this and other threads like you wanted to, right?

[Tmac]

^^ Nice finds Tmac. Did you get a chance to go inside Westin while you were in BD?

BTW now that you are a mod, you can change the title of this and other threads like you wanted to, right?

No I didn't get a chance to go inside any of the hotels.

Yes, I can change the titles. Should I change this one to "Bangladesh - Hotels and Resorts"? This way we can post photos of all the other nice hotels here.

[tanzirian]

Should I change this one to "Bangladesh - Hotels and Resorts"? This way we can post photos of all the other nice hotels here.

Entirely up to you. I am fine either way. I just remembered you had wanted to, when our forum was being set up.

I wonder why that bed is in the lobby...perhaps they are trying to make some money on the side by marketing their "heavenly bed", which they always mention in their ads in the US.

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.starwoodhotels.com/en_US/Media/Graphics/Brands/Sheraton/Logos/sheraton_logo_blue.gifDhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakasheraton74.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton66.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton67.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star Dhaka Sheraton

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakasheraton75.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakasheraton33.jpg

[Fariaz]

[img=http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9273/regencylogoeu3.th.png] (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=regencylogoeu3.png)

DHAKA REGENCY HOTEL & RESORT

[img=http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1733/dhakaregencyxj0.th.jpg] (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dhakaregencyxj0.jpg)

The Dhaka Regency is a magnificent business-class hotel, ideally located on Airport road in the commercial area of Nikunja. The hotel is within easy access of the airport, the city's diplomatic zones and a host of other Dhaka's attractions.

With its spectacular fifteen-storey tower, the Dhaka Regency has a total of 250,000 square feet of space. Each floor of the hotel, span 20,000 square feet in addition there is 25,000 square feet of basement parking facility. The Dhaka Regency has 310 luxury rooms and suites, including 1 Regency suite and 2 Presidential suites. All the exclusive suites are based on our Regency floor on level 13. The Regency floor offers extensive facilities and extra privileges, including personal butler service and a private VIP lounge.

Other facilities within the hotel includes state-of-the-art conference/exhibition halls, restaurants on the 6th floor, health centre and the ball room on the 14th floor and swimming pool and B-B-Q garden on the roof top offering unique panoramic views of the city.

Dhaka Regency aims to provide customers with an excellent and truly memorable experience. Our room rates are unrivalled by any other five star hotel in the country without compromising on quality.

At Dhaka Regency both business and leisure travelers will enjoy all that an international five-star hotel can offer, from first-class surroundings to world-class hospitality, all in the Regency style.



[img=http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4595/corporateflooreo0.th.jpg] (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=corporateflooreo0.jpg)

CORPORATE FLOOR

The corporate floor at Dhaka Regency is designed to offer exclusive facility aiming to meet the needs of the fast growing business sector in Bangladesh. This is an ideal facility for those who require to hire out the complete floor which includes 26 rooms and suites together with 4 seminar halls which can be used for training and other business events. At the corporate floor we will also provide administrative support through our business support team on request.

If you wish to become a corporate member of the Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort, please contact our marketing team




[img=http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7023/buissnesstx6.th.jpg] (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=buissnesstx6.jpg)

BUSINESS CENTRE

Dhaka Regency has a fully equipped business centre open 24-hours to meet the needs of our business travelers. The range of facilities includes internet access, photocopy, fax, audio visual equipments and admin support from our fully trained business support team. A dedicated team of staff are ready to assist guests with their business requirements.





[img=http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9930/vipfloorap8.th.jpg] (http://img292.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vipfloorap8.jpg)


REGENCY VIP FLOOR

The Regency Floor is designed to offer an exclusive facility for VIPs and Business Executives. Located on the 13th floor of the hotel, it offers a private lounge, concierge service and a range of additional facilities and luxury services for VIP travelers. The Regency floor user will receive the following complimentary services:

• VIP treatment
• Escorted check-in at the VIP Lounge
• Internet access
• Exclusive butler service for each room
• Breakfast service and evening cocktails at the Regency Lounge
• Daytime tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks at the Regency lounge
• Extended check-out time till 2:00 pm (subject to availability)
• Business magazines and daily local and international newspapers
• Electronic safe
• Fruit basket upon arrival
• Fresh flowers in the rooms




[img=http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5681/restaurantsbf7.th.jpg] (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=restaurantsbf7.jpg)

RESTAURANTS

Amongst the 25,000 square feet of space devoted to dining, Dhaka Regency will have its rooftop B-B-Q garden comprising of 15,000 square feet with a birds eye view of Zia International Airport and the Dhaka city. Our selection of international cuisine will consist of Italian, Arabian, Thai/Chinese and Bangladeshi/Indian food of the finest quality. In addition the beautifully designed Shisha bar, with a middle-eastern theme will provide diners with the most exquisite setting to relax and unwind.

For more details and reservation please contact our Food & Beverage team



[img=http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/6128/healthcenterkq6.th.jpg] (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=healthcenterkq6.jpg)


HEALTH CENTRE

The hotel will offer a fully equipped health centre for guests wishing to retain their health regime, which will include sauna, steam room and massage treatments. For recreation, Dhaka Regency will offer an impressive swimming pool on the rooftop. All the hotel's extensive health and leisure facilities are tailored to meet guests' individual needs; with professional hotel staffs are available for assistance.

[img=http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7743/confarancedh9.th.jpg] (http://img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=confarancedh9.jpg)


CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Dhaka regency has a dedicated conference and exhibition space of 20,000 square feet. This includes two separate multi purpose halls on the 6th floor and another on the 14th floor together with an additional ball room also based on the 14th floor offering a panoramic view of the city. The conference hall can be separated into three function rooms. A team of professional event planners are available to provide assistance for corporate meetings, seminars, family functions, birthdays and wedding ceremonies.

For more details please contact our events sales team





Reservations: +88-01713-332682 or Email: Fariaz@dhakaregency.net



If you have any query, please feel free to contact with me.

I look forward to your reply.



With best regards,

Fariaz Morshed Chowdhury

Sales & Marketing Executive

Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort

Airport Road, Nikunja-2, Dhaka 1229.

Cellular: +8801713332682

Telephone: +88 028913912 Ext. 1496

E-mail: Fariaz@dhakaregency.net

Hotel website: www.dhakaregency.net



[img=http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1974/drlayer1no1.gif] (http://imageshack.us)

© 2006 Dhaka Regency International. Inc. All rights reserved. Dhaka Regency Proprietary Information

[Fariaz]

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9273/regencylogoeu3.th.png


DHAKA REGENCY HOTEL & RESORT



http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1733/dhakaregencyxj0.th.jpg


The Dhaka Regency is a magnificent business-class hotel, ideally located on Airport road in the commercial area of Nikunja. The hotel is within easy access of the airport, the city's diplomatic zones and a host of other Dhaka's attractions.

With its spectacular fifteen-storey tower, the Dhaka Regency has a total of 250,000 square feet of space. Each floor of the hotel, span 20,000 square feet in addition there is 25,000 square feet of basement parking facility. The Dhaka Regency has 310 luxury rooms and suites, including 1 Regency suite and 2 Presidential suites. All the exclusive suites are based on our Regency floor on level 13. The Regency floor offers extensive facilities and extra privileges, including personal butler service and a private VIP lounge.

Other facilities within the hotel includes state-of-the-art conference/exhibition halls, restaurants on the 6th floor, health centre and the ball room on the 14th floor and swimming pool and B-B-Q garden on the roof top offering unique panoramic views of the city.

Dhaka Regency aims to provide customers with an excellent and truly memorable experience. Our room rates are unrivalled by any other five star hotel in the country without compromising on quality.

At Dhaka Regency both business and leisure travelers will enjoy all that an international five-star hotel can offer, from first-class surroundings to world-class hospitality, all in the Regency style.




http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4595/corporateflooreo0.th.jpg

CORPORATE FLOOR

The corporate floor at Dhaka Regency is designed to offer exclusive facility aiming to meet the needs of the fast growing business sector in Bangladesh. This is an ideal facility for those who require to hire out the complete floor which includes 26 rooms and suites together with 4 seminar halls which can be used for training and other business events. At the corporate floor we will also provide administrative support through our business support team on request.

If you wish to become a corporate member of the Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort, please contact our marketing team



http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7023/buissnesstx6.th.jpg


BUSINESS CENTRE

Dhaka Regency has a fully equipped business centre open 24-hours to meet the needs of our business travelers. The range of facilities includes internet access, photocopy, fax, audio visual equipments and admin support from our fully trained business support team. A dedicated team of staff are ready to assist guests with their business requirements.




img=http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9930/vipfloorap8.th.jpg


REGENCY VIP FLOOR

The Regency Floor is designed to offer an exclusive facility for VIPs and Business Executives. Located on the 13th floor of the hotel, it offers a private lounge, concierge service and a range of additional facilities and luxury services for VIP travelers. The Regency floor user will receive the following complimentary services:

• VIP treatment
• Escorted check-in at the VIP Lounge
• Internet access
• Exclusive butler service for each room
• Breakfast service and evening cocktails at the Regency Lounge
• Daytime tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks at the Regency lounge
• Extended check-out time till 2:00 pm (subject to availability)
• Business magazines and daily local and international newspapers
• Electronic safe
• Fruit basket upon arrival
• Fresh flowers in the rooms




http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5681/restaurantsbf7.th.jpg


RESTAURANTS

Amongst the 25,000 square feet of space devoted to dining, Dhaka Regency will have its rooftop B-B-Q garden comprising of 15,000 square feet with a birds eye view of Zia International Airport and the Dhaka city. Our selection of international cuisine will consist of Italian, Arabian, Thai/Chinese and Bangladeshi/Indian food of the finest quality. In addition the beautifully designed Shisha bar, with a middle-eastern theme will provide diners with the most exquisite setting to relax and unwind.

For more details and reservation please contact our Food & Beverage team




http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/6128/healthcenterkq6.th.jpg

HEALTH CENTRE

The hotel will offer a fully equipped health centre for guests wishing to retain their health regime, which will include sauna, steam room and massage treatments. For recreation, Dhaka Regency will offer an impressive swimming pool on the rooftop. All the hotel's extensive health and leisure facilities are tailored to meet guests' individual needs; with professional hotel staffs are available for assistance.



http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7743/confarancedh9.th.jpg

CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Dhaka regency has a dedicated conference and exhibition space of 20,000 square feet. This includes two separate multi purpose halls on the 6th floor and another on the 14th floor together with an additional ball room also based on the 14th floor offering a panoramic view of the city. The conference hall can be separated into three function rooms. A team of professional event planners are available to provide assistance for corporate meetings, seminars, family functions, birthdays and wedding ceremonies.

For more details please contact our events sales team



Reservations: +88-01713-332682 or Email: Fariaz@dhakaregency.net



If you have any query, please feel free to contact with me.

I look forward to your reply.



With best regards,

Fariaz Morshed Chowdhury

Sales & Marketing Executive

Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort

Airport Road, Nikunja-2, Dhaka 1229.

Cellular: +8801713332682

Telephone: +88 028913912 Ext. 1496

E-mail: Fariaz@dhakaregency.net

Hotel website: www.dhakaregency.net




http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1974/drlayer1no1.gif
© 2006 Dhaka Regency International. Inc. All rights reserved. Dhaka Regency Proprietary Information

[Tmac]

5 star http://a1595.g.akamai.net/7/1595/2000/4c811eb5c9befa/images.mallfinder.com/Images/Store/Westin.jpg Westin Dhaka

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/westindhaka56.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/westindhaka40-1.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.starwoodhotels.com/en_US/Media/Graphics/Brands/Sheraton/Logos/sheraton_logo_blue.gif Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/dhakasheraton78.jpg

[clearsky]

Westin Dhaka


http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room3.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room2.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room.jpg

[Tmac]

a nice article on 5 star Dhaka Regency Hotel. Apparantly the grand opening is scheduled for April 2008.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/dhakaregencylogo.jpg Dhaka Regency hospitality

Another five star hotel adjacent to Zia International Airport just went for soft opening in April 2007. Dhaka Regency Hotel, a project financed by British Bangladesh Investment Group Limited [BBIG]. The hotel will go for grand opening in April 2008.

Dhaka Regency has brought opportunities for the Bangladeshi private sector investors. The hotel has limited directorship shares. The hotel has limited directorship shares available for an amazing offer of UK Pound 25,000. The management guarantees the investment.

Dhaka Regency Hotel is set to become the first choice of the airline companies as it is very closely located to Zia International Airport. This hotel can become extremely convenient for airline crews and passengers. Moreover, anyone who is arriving in Bangladesh on business trip or even for tourism may stay with this newly built five-star hotel at the much better rate and excellent hospitality. Dhaka Regency is within convenient access of the airport as well as city’s diplomatic enclaves and other business areas. The hotel is built over 225,000 square feet floor area [in fifteen floors]. The hotel also has an excellent car parking facility to accommodate hundreds of vehicles at the basement areas.

Dhaka Regency Hotel contains 400 luxury rooms, which is more than the available number of rooms with any other five star hotel in the city. It also has five Regency suites, ten Royal suites and twenty Presidential suites.

Other facilities offered by the Dhaka Regency Hotel are, huge ball room at 14th floor and a swimming pool and health center on the rooftop offering unrivalled panoramic views of Dhaka city.

At the Dhaka regency, both business and leisure travelers will enjoy all that an international five-star hotel can offer, from first class surroundings to world-class hospitality, in the Regency style. By focusing on combining unparallel level of service with class-leading facilities, the Regency aims to provide customers with a unique and truly memorable experience.

Dhaka regency Hotel rooms are designed with mathematical precision and high artistic imaginations. The rooms ensure the same care, comfort and luxury to all guests. Management of Dhaka Regency is also having the largest restaurant in the city at the top of the floors. The restaurant offers wide variety of cuisine from Arabian to Italian to Thai, Chinese, Indian and Bangladeshi dishes.

The hotel will certainly become the best choice of travelers soon.

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1190204719&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&cat=4

[TIslam]

Westin Dhaka


http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room3.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room2.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/westin-room.jpg

What, no picture of the bathroom?

[tanzirian]

What, no picture of the bathroom?

I found some pictures a little while back...check out post 269.

[TIslam]

I found some pictures a little while back...check out post 269.

Pretty impressive (went and looked). Reminds me of a hotel in KUL I was staying at, it had shower jets on the walls as well. The layout though is similar.

[clearsky]

What, no picture of the bathroom?

Here you go...

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/Hotel/westin-room4.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gif Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson66.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson73.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson70.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson69.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson68.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson67.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson71.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson72.jpg

[Tmac]

inside the hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson63.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson60.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson61.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson62.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson64.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson65.jpg

[Tmac]

view from the hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson74.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson75.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson76.jpg

[sas]

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/sas_5_2007/RegencyLobby.jpg?t=1190982450

Wanted some sheeshah so decided to hit the Dhaka Regency, as none of us had been there before. The hotel is itself is totally totally empty, with minimal decorations. Their premier restaurant Grandiose was huge, but all it had was tables and chairs and nothing else. Went to the Hookah Lounge, which seemed to be priced reasonably, but didn't offer anything special. To think that this is the only top class hotel in Dhaka (as far as I know) to offer sheeshah, one would expect it to offer something more than the usual X-Lounge and the PM Lounge, but it simply didn't. In fact, I think those places have in fact better ambience.

While I do admire the entrepreneur friends who got together to start this venture, this was a hotel that in my opinion, promised a lot more. The shopping center in the first few floors has also to some extent had a detrimental effect on the hotel's image. It would have been really nice if the entire building was dedicated to the hotel.

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/hotellakeshore101.jpg Lake Shore Hotels and Apartments

rooftop swimming pool

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel33.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel34.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel35.jpg

inside view of the hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel30.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel31.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/lakoeshorehotel32.jpg

[Tmac]

Wanted some sheeshah so decided to hit the Dhaka Regency, as none of us had been there before. The hotel is itself is totally totally empty, with minimal decorations. Their premier restaurant Grandiose was huge, but all it had was tables and chairs and nothing else. Went to the Hookah Lounge, which seemed to be priced reasonably, but didn't offer anything special. To think that this is the only top class hotel in Dhaka (as far as I know) to offer sheeshah, one would expect it to offer something more than the usual X-Lounge and the PM Lounge, but it simply didn't. In fact, I think those places have in fact better ambience.

While I do admire the entrepreneur friends who got together to start this venture, this was a hotel that in my opinion, promised a lot more. The shopping center in the first few floors has also to some extent had a detrimental effect on the hotel's image. It would have been really nice if the entire building was dedicated to the hotel.

really? I thought Fizz and Wishbone had said it was going to be the best hotel in the country? There's a shopping plaza in the hotel?

[sakrishna]

^^ Nice photos Tmac.....tanx for sharing....
i can proudly say that bangladesh was once a part of india...

[sas]

really? I thought Fizz and Wishbone had said it was going to be the best hotel in the country? There's a shopping plaza in the hotel?

Well the first four/five floors of the hotel is dedicated to a very lame shopping complex, which has considerably dented the hotel's image (in my opinion at least). Plus, the flooring is entirely white which gives the hotel a very very empty look. Clearly not much was put into planning - the main reception and lobby area does not give you a hotel-like look. Once again I don't mean to be too harsh, but apart from the four top foreign international chains that we currently have (Pan Pacific, Radisson, Westin and Sheraton), I would say that even Sarina itself is a class apart.

[tanzirian]

The rooftop of Lakeshore Hotel would be great place for skyline shots for anyone with a good zoom and / or wide angle lens. But I bet the view is even better from the attic-top of the house seen next next to the hotel in first two pics of post 308.

[dopekhor]

the rooftop of the westin in gulshan, nsu building in banani, acme building in shamoli and idb in agargoan would serve very nicely for these purposes

[Fizz1]

really? I thought Fizz and Wishbone had said it was going to be the best hotel in the country? There's a shopping plaza in the hotel?

What kind of silly childish remark is this mate?

What are you trying to say by quoting “I thought Fizz and Wishbone had said it was going to be the best hotel in the country?”

I only said this as it was an extract from one of the daily news papers who commented on the hotel.

I back this Hotel because it is 100% owned by Bangladeshis unlike other 5* Hotels which are part foreign owned who take a large cut out of the profits and do not invest back into the country.

As this is a forum you are entitled to your opinion on the Hotels, but don’t bring up stupid remarks and bring up my name and say “Oh I thought u said it is going to be the best hotel in the country” when just 1 person posted there experience of the hotel.

I still do think it is the best hotel in the country because, it is the only Hotel that hosts a Mega Event every month and fly in Asian Stars like Bally Sagoo, Raghaav and Jay Sean etc, etc to the hotel too sing at the night club.

When have these stars ever come to the country before and I am sure they will bring other famous people to the Regency Hotel, which other hotel in the country does anything like this?

There are many posts on the internet who do say that it is currently the PLACE TO BE IN DHAKA and the liveliest.

The shopping centre on the first few floors will be removed and replaced via a Grand lobby for the hotel and contain other hotel features to the property. I saw this on a media report of the hotel in Bangla TV UK, so the shopping mall will go very soon.

I hope everyone reads this so they can make there on decision on Dhaka Regency and if it has made an impact on the country.

Also Dhaka Regency plan to build 2 more hotels in the country including a 5* $70+ million in Chittagong and a $100+ million in Dhaka in the next 2 years.


Shisha World in Regency Hotel

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/sheshaworldregency1.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/shisha.jpg

Coffee Lounge

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/comfee.jpg

1 of the 3 Restaurants in the Hotel (also the largest in the country)

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/dsc07043.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/dsc07006.jpg

Bally Sagoo at Dhaka Regency

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/bally.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p165/Fizz123_album/sagoo2_306x175.jpg

One of the Night Club Events at the Hotel (NOKIA DJ PARTY)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSqSNrBoUyo

Watch it on Youtube

[sas]

Hey cool it Fizz, T-Mac does not reside in Dhaka, so he really doesn't get the opportunity to check out these places the way some of us do. Well I totally agree with you with you when you say that it is the only fully Bangladeshi-owned hotel here, apart from Sarina maybe. The Regency just seemed to be a place that promised a lot with all the reviews and the grand website. Maybe I expected too much.

[tanzirian]

Thanks for the info Fizz (and chill, Tmac wasn't criticizing you :)). It will be great if those other two hotels gets built esp that 100 million one (Dhaka's last 100 mil proposal (Hilton) currently being in limbo).

I have not been to Regency myself...I saw it from outside during construction...my only concern then was with the location...it seemed an odd site for a luxury hotel (normally, you would expect either a more posh locale, or for the hotel to have its own grounds...this hotel instead opening onto a somewhat average frontage road). But if Nikunjo prospers then I guess those concerns will resolve themselves.

[Fizz1]

Hey cool it Fizz, T-Mac does not reside in Dhaka, so he really doesn't get the opportunity to check out these places the way some of us do. Well I totally agree with you with you when you say that it is the only fully Bangladeshi-owned hotel here, apart from Sarina maybe. The Regency just seemed to be a place that promised a lot with all the reviews and the grand website. Maybe I expected too much.

Thats fine, Its just the way it was said !

I know the hotel is still under going interior design and has not been fully completed, but it still looks good.

I think the hotel so far has done well with the events they have done far in a small time.

Bangla New Year Party
International Food Fair
Nokia Party
Any many other high profile events

The Hotel was designed for business use with a modern contemporary look,
So what did you expect when you say, it does not live up to your expectations!

Also the Grand opening on the Hotel want be until end of 2008 when the shopping mall is removed.

[Fizz1]

Thanks for the info Fizz (and chill, Tmac wasn't criticizing you :)). It will be great if those other two hotels gets built esp that 100 million one (Dhaka's last 100 mil proposal (Hilton) currently being in limbo).

I have not been to Regency myself...I saw it from outside during construction...my only concern then was with the location...it seemed an odd site for a luxury hotel (normally, you would expect either a more posh locale, or for the hotel to have its own grounds...this hotel instead opening onto a somewhat average frontage road). But if Nikunjo prospers then I guess those concerns will resolve themselves.

Well they have started on the multi million $ new Dhaka Stock Exchange directly next door to the Dhaka Regency Hotel , so like it or not it is the new commercial business hub of Dhaka in the next 2 years.

Once the Dhaka Stock exchange is completed every other company would like to be close to it.

Because if you look at any devolved country in the world, you will see where ever there is a National stock Exchange it will be the prime business hub with surrounding business.

NIkunjo has been selected as the new business hub because, its

1. Close to the Airport.

2. It’s the only road without any Riots or strikes, a strike in Bangladesh cost the Stocks millions in one day.

3. It has plenty of space for offices with a 15 tower height limit

4. It is less flood prone then current Ghulshan etc

5. Any many other reasons.

Its not an average road Its Airport Road no doubts the cleanest road in Dhaka and well maintained too, also the only road without any potholes.

They spend more money on this road they spend in a district in Dhaka

[snoq]

Tmac was right - having a shopping mall in lower floors (I think first 8 floors) does attach negative connotation and goes against elegance and ambiance.

Let me tell you a personal experience, I was once opted to buy a share of this regency hotel. I had sent my relative to see the hotel construction and find out prospect of this hotel. It was two years ago I had learned that first 8 floors will be used as market. That market own by none other than RAJUK employee association. Hotel main guest entrance is at the back of building – a sure negative. Contrary to claims in many newspapers, owners group then told me it was intended to be a 4 star as oppose to a 5 star hotel.

Owner group also stated that more than 50% of their reservation was bought/or in process of purchase by Emirates airlines. There is no question this hotel management has good business link/marketing team. That’s may be why there are so many events taken place.
One of the reasons I did not buy the share because of market and back entrance.

Fizz1, do you have any official communication from hotel management or press release indicating market will be removed?

[Fizz1]

Tmac was right - having a shopping mall in lower floors (I think first 8 floors) does attach negative connotation and goes against elegance and ambiance.

Let me tell you a personal experience, I was once opted to buy a share of this regency hotel. I had sent my relative to see the hotel construction and find out prospect of this hotel. It was two years ago I had learned that first 8 floors will be used as market. That market own by none other than RAJUK employee association. Hotel main guest entrance is at the back of building – a sure negative. Contrary to claims in many newspapers, owners group then told me it was intended to be a 4 star as oppose to a 5 star hotel.

Owner group also stated that more than 50% of their reservation was bought/or in process of purchase by Emirates airlines. There is no question this hotel management has good business link/marketing team. That’s may be why there are so many events taken place.
One of the reasons I did not buy the share because of market and back entrance.

Fizz1, do you have any official communication from hotel management or press release indicating market will be removed?

Well first,

1. The shopping mall is the first 4 floors not 8.

2. There is a entrance at the front as i have used it my self.

I dont know any thing about the shares of this Hotel and not in any contact, all I know it is 100% bangladeshi owned and they are doing a good job to attract foreign visitors and setting a trend to follow.

The shopping mall is going to be gone 100% thats for sure, as they showed it on a Bengali channel in UK.

I know that the Hotel has tripled in value as the news paper Bangladesh Observor did an article regarding this, so if you did had a chance to be a part of this project,, its just not ment to be really.

If they did say that they will have Emirates to take 50% of the rooms, I would believe them because it is the not only the closest hotel to the Airport, but one of the best and a 5* hotel.

Plus there rates are unrivalled so the airlines would love that, but I don’t know about the 50% for emirates as that sounds like a lot of rooms for one airline, maybe 50% including others.

[sas]

Thats fine, Its just the way it was said !

I know the hotel is still under going interior design and has not been fully completed, but it still looks good.

I think the hotel so far has done well with the events they have done far in a small time.

Bangla New Year Party
International Food Fair
Nokia Party
Any many other high profile events

The Hotel was designed for business use with a modern contemporary look,
So what did you expect when you say, it does not live up to your expectations!

Also the Grand opening on the Hotel want be until end of 2008 when the shopping mall is removed.

To the best of my knowledge, all these parties (including hiring the foreign stars) were organized solely by the event management company JPR and the Regency was used simply as a venue.

[sas]

But yes, I would be delighted to see this hotel without this lame shopping mall, having fully utilized its huge floor space with a full fledged lobby. And it could also do without the 'white floors' in all the lobby as well as Grandiose, makes the place look absolutely deserted.

[Fizz1]

To the best of my knowledge, all these parties (including hiring the foreign stars) were organized solely by the event management company JPR and the Regency was used simply as a venue.

Makes no difference at all if it was a management company or Dhaka Regency who got these stars into the Hotel.

At the end of the day if they did choose only the Venue, well they choose Dhaka Regency over other venues.

I think it will be a two way cooperation, so it makes no difference at all !

I know the company very well JPR Events the guy who owns it studied and lived in UK also this Regency Hotel is a UK backed investment so one of the partners could be mates or he could be part of the investment.

[Tmac]

5 star Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton48.jpg

5 star Dhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson54.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel46.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel47.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel48.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel49.jpg

[clearsky]

By the way, a little off the topic but couldn't help but ask this question, who the hell is that Bally Sagoo guy? And why in the world would anyone be thrilled to see him?:nuts:

(No offense to anyone)

[tanzirian]

By the way, a little off the topic but couldn't help but ask this question, who the hell is that Bally Sagoo guy? And why in the world would anyone be thrilled to see him?:nuts:

(No offense to anyone)

Haha...I thought the same thing...I am guessing he is an Indian movie or music guy...personally I am clueless on both topics (I guess I am among the minority of subcontinentals who aren't interested in Bollywoodish pop culture).

[sas]

By the way, a little off the topic but couldn't help but ask this question, who the hell is that Bally Sagoo guy? And why in the world would anyone be thrilled to see him?:nuts:

(No offense to anyone)

I just couldn't but laugh because of the way you guys asked that question. To the best of my knowledge he happens to be an Indian DJ who grew up in Britain and rose to fame around the mid 90s I believe with songs like 'Chura Liya'. His music is kind of like a fusion of modern pop and old classical Bollywood movies.

[dopekhor]

By the way, a little off the topic but couldn't help but ask this question, who the hell is that Bally Sagoo guy? And why in the world would anyone be thrilled to see him?:nuts:

(No offense to anyone)
well he aint that famous he rose to fame after remixing some songs


another thing i dont understand is that more way then half the people who went to the event dont understand punjabi, still they were grooving like he was doin bangla knaw mean g!

[meghnarmajhi]

well he aint that famous he rose to fame after remixing some songs

another thing i dont understand is that more way then half the people who went to the event dont understand punjabi, still they were grooving like he was doin bangla knaw mean g!

:lol:

[sas]

Went and had an iced cappuccino at Treats Deli located in the lobby area of The Westin. It cost only around 180 and the drink was presented beautifully on a slim but large and stylish glass. Beats Coffee World hands down any day! The drink itself was as large (and most definitely of better quality) than a large sized iced cappuccino at CW. I feel this place may easily be visited by the regular CW crowd. I would really really recommend this place considering the overall quality of the coffee, the service and of course the ambience. The egg-shaped chairs are definitely very unusual, but ever comfortable. Dying to try out the sandwiches, have heard great reviews.http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/sas_5_2007/Westin1.jpg?t=1191945873http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/sas_5_2007/Westin2.jpg?t=1191945866

[Tmac]

thanks for the review and the picture sas. I think Westin is the most luxarious hotel in Dhaka right now. I would love to see some more interior photos.

[sas]

thanks for the review and the picture sas. I think Westin is the most luxarious hotel in Dhaka right now. I would love to see some more interior photos.

It has all the amenities to be the most luxurious. However, it's biggest drawback is the space on which it has been built. Unlike say the Radisson which has sufficient parking facilities and beautiful landscaping around it. I strongly believe that the Gulshan area very badly needs a few more top quality hotels, constrary to what some of our other friends on this forum feel that Motijheel needs one. I don't think Motijheel will be able to run one. Maybe the Hilton should have been in Gulshan :P.

[tanzirian]

^^ I wasn't saying that a luxury hotel needed to be built in Motijheel...just something new and modern in the moderate range (like caliber of average Holiday Inn). And you are right the Hilton probably would have done better in Gulshan...I don't think Kawran needs two luxury hotels right now...but the Gulshan / Banani / Mohakhali area has room for at least one more big one.

[Tmac]

we need a few more 5 star hotels outside of Dhaka. Chittagong badly needs one. Cox's Bazar needs a few as well.

[TIslam]

we need a few more 5 star hotels outside of Dhaka. Chittagong badly needs one. Cox's Bazar needs a few as well.

That is what I tell people around me. Especially Cox's Bazar. I do not see any reason other than lack of awareness of outsiders and lack of interest of Bangladesh investors, as why Cox's Bazar cannot be developed like resort areas in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. If developed, I'm sure Cox's Bazar resorts shall be price competitive as the costs rise in existing SE Asian resorts.

[Tmac]

Asia Pacific Blossom Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/asiapacificblossomhotel.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/asiapacificblossomhotel2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/asiapacificblossomhotel3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/asiapacificblossomhotel4.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson37.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaradisson40.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/radissondhaka44.jpg

[Tmac]

Luxury hotel now in full operation

The Westin Dhaka, the country's new luxury hotel, is now in full operation with a 100 percent occupancy rate.

"All our 241 spacious guest rooms and suites are now fully booked and it's amazing that the resounding success came within only 50 days from the formal inauguration date of our operation," San Amalan, general manager of the posh hotel told the FE in an interview.

He said most of foreign guests in the hotel represented ready-made garment (RMG), telecom, oil and gas sectors and UN agencies.

"I think the foreign guests are staying in Bangladesh to explore the fresh investment facilities created by the changed political situation in the middle of January of this year," Amalan, the top hotel executive with 34 years of experience, said.

The tourist flow is giving a boost to the country's hospitality industry, he added.

The Westin top executive said the guests prefer the hotel due to its 'unique facilities and services'.

Local Unique Group is the prime sponsor of 25-storey Westin Dhaka, which began its formal journey on September 12 last.

"Unique in design, Westin Dhaka is an example of modern architecture and it surpasses the existing establishments in Dhaka in terms of opulence and luxury," he said.

There are 241 spacious rooms including 23 suites and a presidential suite in the newly constructed hotel located in city's posh Gulshan area.

Construction of the Tk 3.50 billion Westin Dhaka began in late 1998.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., USA participated in the equity, rendering technical support and management for the operation of the hotel under the brand name of Westin.

The hotel launched a night social events titled 'Unwind' Thursday last aiming to entertain the guests during their stay.

"The evening ritual brings life to the public space (lobby lounge, bar or terrace) so that our guests can enjoy Bangladeshi lifestyle," Amalan said.

He said the new programme will transform each lobby into a gathering spot, encouraging guests to socialise.

The month-long programme includes block and brush painting, jointly organised with Banglar Mela, a local handicraft shop.

The guests will be encouraged by the host, to participate in the process of designing a piece of block for him/her with the design, colour and materials.

"An ambience will be created through lighting, traditional music, brush materials and displaying of final products," said Amalan.

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, San Amalan was a student at the Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy (ICMA) when he discovered a love for the hospitality industry.

Skipping classes to work as a casual waiter at the Hotel Ceylon Inter-continental, he decided that hospitality industry was his future.

He left home to seek his fortune by pursuing his career with Inter-continental hotels. His first overseas assignment was with the Muscat Inter-continental hotel, Sultanate of Oman in 1977.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=16363

[Tmac]

100% occupancy? Interesting claim!

[mirzazeehan]

100% occupancy? Interesting claim!

Thats amazing if the claim is really true.

[mirzazeehan]

^^ I wasn't saying that a luxury hotel needed to be built in Motijheel...just something new and modern in the moderate range (like caliber of average Holiday Inn). And you are right the Hilton probably would have done better in Gulshan...I don't think Kawran needs two luxury hotels right now...but the Gulshan / Banani / Mohakhali area has room for at least one more big one.

Thats right,Gulshan surely needs atleast one more 5 star hotel.With so much demand,I am sure it will get one sooner or later.However,given the shortage of space and the cost of land,even the next hotel might be like The Westin that rises vertically instead of covering a big area.Perhaps this land shortage could be a reason why Hilton chose kawranbazar instead of Gulshan.

[mirzazeehan]

The Westin Dhaka,Gulshan-2


http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/Emerging%20Dhaka/DSC02893.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/Emerging%20Dhaka/DSC02892.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/Emerging%20Dhaka/DSC02891.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/mirzazeehan/Emerging%20Dhaka/DSC02894.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Thanks Mirza. The number of rooms lighted up in those photos does give some credence to the 100% occupancy claim.

[mirzazeehan]

^^ Thanks Mirza. The number of rooms lighted up in those photos do give some credence to the 100% occupancy claim.


You are welcome Tan.I personally think that Westin would continue to experience high rates of occupancy atleast as long as a new hotel of similar standard doesn't come up in Gulshan.

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/hotellakeshorelogo.jpg Hotel Lake Shore

rooftop view
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hotellakeshore33.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hotellakeshore32.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hotellakeshore20.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/otellakeshore21.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/otellakeshore22.jpg

[Tmac]

Hotel De Crystal Crown

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hoteldecrystalcrown5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/hoteldecrystal4.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/sheratonlogo.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton60.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton61.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton62.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakasheraton63.jpg

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gif Dhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson50.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson51.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson52.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson53.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson54-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson55.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson44.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Nice pics Tmac...sharp images in sunshine always look great...I am guessing that the Sheraton and Radisson pics are by the same person...the style seems similar.

[meghnarmajhi]

Nice pictures.

[clearsky]

It seems fish-eye lens was used to take at least few pics of Radisson and Sheraton

[dhaka2005]

Does anyone know any information / pictures of development on the hotels:
Holiday Inn
InterContinental Hotel
Hilton Dhaka

[dhaka2005]

I saw a posting in one of the threads on Doreen Tower with its official website. When you visit the website it states Doreen Hotels and Resorts Ltd. It would be nice to see another luxury hotel, although not a chain hotel, in the Gulshan Area as it is very needed. I was wondering how come the local luxury hotels like Lake Shore, Dhaka Regency, etc don't advertise on websites like Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, or Expedia.com?

[khalek]

Royal Park Hotel Banani
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7702/1941/320/554786/0251d.jpg

Hotel Lake Castle Gulshan 2
http://bp0.blogger.com/_ZPf1HUBNpK4/RelvmM9hkhI/AAAAAAAAA9M/pvM0eAq6pj4/s320/hotel+lake+castle.jpg

Paradise Garden Hotel Baridhara
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7702/1941/320/255300/0251b.jpg

[khalek]

La Terraza Gulshan
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7702/1941/400/0236b.jpg

Hotel Purbani Motijheel
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7702/1941/400/0239.jpg

Hotel Rajmoni Ishakha Kakrail
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7702/1941/320/541029/ishakhan.jpg

[sas]

Does anyone know any information / pictures of development on the hotels:
Holiday Inn
InterContinental Hotel
Hilton Dhaka

We've had extensive discussions on all three projects in the recent months. I guess you have, for some reason, missed out on them. Well the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn were both part of the same project at the ZIA premises and construction of both of them have halted for good year and a half now and are unlikely to ever be completed. The future of the Hilton too looks bleak, with the government adamant in not allowing any external projects in the area, which is nothing but a total swamp. The final nail in the coffin I presume was the government's recent announcement of a huge project involving the Hatirjheel and Begunbari canals, which intends to renovate, develop and beautify the area completely.

[Tmac]

Khalek, all these photos were all posted already. Your source basically took photos from this website and posted on his/her blog. Every single photo from your post # 355, 356 and 358 can be seen in the first page of this very thread.

[khalek]

Brac Centre Inn Mohakhali
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7702/1941/320/627613/0251a.jpg

Hotel Sarina Banani
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7702/1941/400/0236.jpg

Washington Hotel
http://bp1.blogger.com/_ZPf1HUBNpK4/Reluuc9hkgI/AAAAAAAAA9E/mG37veUeues/s320/washinton+hotel.jpg

Hotel Lake Shore
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7702/1941/320/714148/0237b.jpg

[clearsky]

On a side note, Hotel Rajmoni Isha Kha was supposed to be a 5 star, 21 storied hotel being built in the early 90's. I believe the foundation of the building is for 21 story. Just wanted to share this because this hotel could have been what Westin is today had the builder had the vision to turn it into as such.

[TIslam]

On a side note, Hotel Rajmoni Isha Kha was supposed to be a 5 star, 21 storied hotel being built in the early 90's. I believe the foundation of the building is for 21 story. Just wanted to share this because this hotel could have been what Westin is today had the builder had the vision to turn it into as such.

Can anybody share pictures of the of the interior i.e. lobby, dining, rooms, etc., of the hotel (Rajmoni)? Thanks.

[Tmac]

On a side note, Hotel Rajmoni Isha Kha was supposed to be a 5 star, 21 storied hotel being built in the early 90's. I believe the foundation of the building is for 21 story. Just wanted to share this because this hotel could have been what Westin is today had the builder had the vision to turn it into as such.

really? I wasn't aware of that.

Towhid, it will be hard to find interior photos of this hotel. I shall try but no gurantees.

[TIslam]

really? I wasn't aware of that.

Towhid, it will be hard to find interior photos of this hotel. I shall try but no gurantees.

Your best try shall be appreciated, Tmac. It piqued my interest for a look-see, when somebody mentioned it was supposed to be a five star hotel. Thanks.

[mirzazeehan]

General Manager San Amalan says, The Westin Dhaka is doing great


December 1, 2007
_A Monitor Report

Dhaka : The Westin Dhaka, the city's latest five-star hospitality property, is doing very well not only since its grand opening but right from its soft opening.
"Guests are happy to pay the price for the product and service. Bangladeshi patrons are happy with the ambience, the food and come to the hotel regularly."
"We are doing the right things. Business is increasing day by day," said San Amalan, General Manager, The Westin Dhaka while talking to The Bangladesh Monitor about the hotel's performance in the last few months.
"Rooms are picking up. It's very high on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays - 90 per cent to 98 per cent and 60 per cent on other days. There are also special offers at the weekends for the local residents."
"Our guests are mainly from the corporate sector, as well as US and other embassies, World Bank, IMF, telecommunication companies like Ericsson, Motorola, oil companies like Chevron," he said.
"F&B has been strong. The restaurants are doing extremely well. Lunch is good and dinner is even better," said San Amalan referring to the ever-rising number of diners.
This correspondent had an opportunity to savour some of the offerings of its creative chefs. During the lunch, I did not have to get up from the seat to bring the food. Rather the buffet came to the table. These came in small portions, tasted great and were very filling. And contrary to my apprehensions, it did not cost much. "It's Tk 1,680 per person for lunch and Tk 1,860 for dinner, all inclusive," San Amalan informed.
Before the hotel steps into the last month of this year, it's Prego Italian restaurant will be open. With the Italian Chef already in the city, it is sure to be another hit as are its Splash Pool Bar and Restaurant and other outlets.
And right from the beginning of December, The Westin Dhaka will be holding different events on the occasion of Christmas as well as to welcome the new year, to make the month - generally considered 'dull' by hoteliers - very eventful.

Source:http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/hotel_story.php?recordID=317

[sas]

There was a very interesting and intriguing ad on The Daily Star front cover today (Dec 6). It's got the picture of a building, which just has to be a hotel and it says something 'Guess what is going to be in the heart of the city?' or something along those lines. I wonder what it is. For those of us living abroad, I'm sorry but you can't view ads on the online version of the newspaper.

[Tmac]

Land allotment for Hilton Hotel cancelled

An inter-ministerial meeting Thursday recommended cancellation of land allotment for Hilton Hotel at Hatirjheel area in the city.

The meeting chaired by Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein, however, suggested further discussion with the concerned trade bodies regarding land allotments for the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

The communication ministry of the previous government allotted the land in the Begunbari canal at Hatirjheel preserved as water retention basin.

It allocated 4.16 acres of land to Millennium Holding Ltd for construction of Hilton Hotel, in the canal along the Tongi Diversion Road, one acre of land in the canal towards the east of Sonargaon Hotel to the FBCCI and 0.66 decimals of land on the roadside to the BTMA.

Though Bangladesh Railway owns all these lands there was no public bidding for sale or lease, it was alleged.

Apart from constructing the 15-storied Hilton Hotel, the company had a plan to construct a 25-storied office building, four-storied shopping mall, one convention centre and some other establishments like health club, tennis court and swimming pool.

The allotments were made violating the city's master plan. It also violates Railway Land Management Rules of 2006, a senior railway official said.

It also tantamounted to violating the Wetland Protection Act 2000, the official added.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=19257

[clearsky]

There was a very interesting and intriguing ad on The Daily Star front cover today (Dec 6). It's got the picture of a building, which just has to be a hotel and it says something 'Guess what is going to be in the heart of the city?' or something along those lines. I wonder what it is. For those of us living abroad, I'm sorry but you can't view ads on the online version of the newspaper.

Since you have access to it, let everyone know what it is when you find out.

Regarding Hilton, Hilton outcome is not unexpected as it was widely discussed here in the forum about similar outcome. However, it would have been really nice had they shifted the location to somewhere else. Their plan was quite ambitious and quite frankly we need ambitious projects. But of coarse within the law.

[tanzirian]

^^ This will likely turn out to benefit of Hilton, since they will probably end up building in a more practical location like Gulshan.

[mirzazeehan]

There was a very interesting and intriguing ad on The Daily Star front cover today (Dec 6). It's got the picture of a building, which just has to be a hotel and it says something 'Guess what is going to be in the heart of the city?' or something along those lines. I wonder what it is. For those of us living abroad, I'm sorry but you can't view ads on the online version of the newspaper.


I saw that ad too...seemed to have a pretty nice shopping mall in the base of the 14 storey building.Checked the papers today but found no continuation.Lets keep checking for a few days.

[tanzirian]

Maybe one of you guys could scan or take a photo of the ad and upload it.

[mirzazeehan]

^^ This will likely turn out to benefit of Hilton, since they will probably end up building in a more practical location like Gulshan.

Alright..time to speculate!How many of you think that Hilton will just change its location instead of cancelling the whole plan?

I think Hilton will prolly wait a year and build the hotel somewhere else in Dhaka.Might as well build it in this hatirjheel area.I saw the construction of one project stop after articles about its illegal location.The next few days,some labourers were busy trying to hammer it down.The whole project was untouched for the next 6 months.But guess what...construction work resumed after that 6 month wait.Come on.....this is Bangladesh,anything can happen here!Dhaka could never get so many highrises following the legal stuff:lol:

[tanzirian]

^^ Well Sonargaon may be in doldrums at the moment but I don't think there's sufficient consumer demand for a second luxury hotel in Kawran right now. So if Hilton takes this opportunity to think about the big picture then Gulshan would be better for them since there is certainly room for at least one more big hotel there at present. Of course that is also what the Doreen guys were thinking but whatever they had planned is also in limbo so leaves door open for someone else.

[Tmac]

this is something that caught my attention in the Daily Star article - "We are looking into various laws. If necessary, Hotel Hilton would be allotted land at a different location," said Law Adviser Mainul Hosein.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=14556

[tanzirian]

this is something that caught my attention in the Daily Star article - "We are looking into various laws. If necessary, Hotel Hilton would be allotted land at a different location," said Law Adviser Mainul Hosein.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=14556

Nice to know. Looks this project may have a future after all.

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpgPan Pacific Sonaragon Hotel

photos taken a few days ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel40.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel41.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel42.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel43.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Nice photos...govt needs to do something to help out this grand dame. Anyone know how to take good night pics with a point and shoot camera? I have a DSC W100 which is fine during daytime but doesn't seem to be able to take good shots at night.

[manbil777]

Bhai Tan,

You can follow up on my HDR (or High Dynamic Range) pics thread (In the Adda section) where I've posted some links on doing night photography. This is currently a side-hobby of mine (one of many).

You can do this in three ways. In the first method will need extended exposures (if your camera allows this) to illuminate the night sky (if taking shots of outside scenery mostly). Most normal digital cameras have a limit of 20~30 seconds max exposure.

For the second method (HDR) you'll need to bracket exposures in sets of three (+2 stops, normal and then -2 stops). Then in Photoshop CS (or CS2) you combine the three using the 'merge to HDR' feature (you can use the free version of Photomatix too if you don't have Photoshop). Andreas Tofahrn has a website (I included the link in the Adda forum thread).

In the third method you'd stack multiple images (taken from the same spot). This has the added advantage of canceling out hot (a.k.a dead) pixels in the sensor and also some artifacts by using blenidng and averaging multiple images of same (exactly same) size. That's why you need a tripod that holds the camera absolutely still. A link to follow is here (Max Lyons' site),

http://www.tawbaware.com/is_help/imgstack_help.htm

[clearsky]

Looks like the first phase of renovation ended for the hotel. As far as I remember, during that time the water was drained out and there were no fountains. The fact that they are back on service indicate that the renovation has ended.

[tanzirian]

^^ Thanks Manbil. I'll try those sometime if my camera permits.

[meghnarmajhi]

I need Photoshop - is there a downloadable trial version available anywhere?

[amar11372]

meghnarmajhi just try the parent company's site www.adobe.com

[dopekhor]

I need Photoshop - is there a downloadable trial version available anywhere?
www.9down.com, full versions for free!

long live warez

[manbil777]

For the query from Majhi Bhai,

No offense for the suggestion given earlier but Warez sites versions may contain rootkits and spyware -- just a thought. There is _no_ free lunch.

And why run suspect bootlegged software when there is very legit 'trusted Open Source' stuff. Unless you don't care about doing web transactions on the same computer I'd stay away (like banking, bills, eBay & Amazon purchases etc. with your credit card). Very likely your computer _will_ get hacked and you will get identity theft.

I'd try GIMP -- which is an open source Photoshop alternative (just as complex as Photoshop but much faster and also runs on Linux as well as MS Windows). Click on the link here where it says "Download GIMP 2.4.2 – Installer for Windows 2000 and above"

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Documentation (User's manual) here,

http://docs.gimp.org/en/

There is also a plugin (Gimpshop) where the menus can be arranged to be the same like Photoshop (but this is for advanced users).

http://www.computerdefense.org/gimpshop/gimpshop_2.2.8_fix1_setup.exe

I use these software currently with a range of X86 dual core machines running Windows XP, Vista & UBUNTU Linux and am very happy with them.

However -- for everyday users who want to touch up photos -- Photoshop (or GIMP) can be overkill.

I use Irfanview for everyday shots,

http://www.download.com/IrfanView/3000-2192-10021962.html?part=dl-IrfanView&subj=dl&tag=button

PICASA is great for family snapshots (even your Bhabi can handle it :wink2: plus its easy to upload to Picasa web-albums).

http://picasa.google.com/

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo3.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

photo credit: Ershad Ahmed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakasheraton78.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakasheraton47.jpg

[meghnarmajhi]

meghnarmajhi just try the parent company's site www.adobe.com

www.9down.com, full versions for free!

long live warez

..................
I'd try GIMP -- which is an open source Photoshop alternative (just as complex as Photoshop but much faster and also runs on Linux as well as MS Windows). Click on the link here where it says "Download GIMP 2.4.2 – Installer for Windows 2000 and above"

...........................

Thanks all of you. I've just installed Fedora 9 on one of my computers. I saw some photoshop type programs already installed on my computer. GIMP could be one of them. Let me try what I already have.

You guys seem pretty serious about what you do.

[Tmac]

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel pool under renovation. Work seems to be progressing.

this photo was taken on December 31st, 2007.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotelpool14.jpg

[tanzirian]

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel pool under renovation. Work seems to be progressing.

Really? Looks to me like the pools are sitting there with nothing going on.

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakasheraton93.jpg

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpg Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/sonargaonhotel72.jpg

[Tmac]

the poolside bar - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/westinlogo2.jpgWestin Dhaka

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/westindhaka26.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/westindhaka28.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/westindhaka27.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/westindhaka25.jpg

[tanzirian]

^^ Nice...a major advantage of Westin over Sonargaon...which seems to have torn up its pool for no good reason.

[clearsky]

^^ I think torn apart the pool for a good reason, to make it better. But of coarse since they stopped half a through, it's much worse now.

[tanzirian]

^^ I think torn apart the pool for a good reason, to make it better. But of coarse since they stopped half a through, it's much worse now.

Yeah, I know why they tore it up. Just a twist of fate...if they hadn't torn it up, they would be in better shape today.

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo3.jpgHotel Sheraton decides to pull out from Dhaka

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., the owning company of the Sheraton brand of hotel chain, has decided to pull out from managing Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. It will be effective from January 1, 2009. The present management contract will expire on December 31 this year (2008). Why Starwood has decided not to renew contract with Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL) the fully government-owned company and withdraw from managing the hotel, even though it is a profitable venture?

The answer is simple Starwood is launching drive to build "world class" brand and Dhaka Sheraton is not up to the standard. The most of the guest rooms, bathrooms and public areas of the hotels are in poor condition due to inferior upkeep and lack of attention of BSL to modernise the facilities. Even restaurants of the hotel are too small to accommodate in-house guests. Condition of kitchen is very poor and so is the plumbing.

It is learnt that various attempt by the operator to improve the facilities to bring those at par with other Sheraton brand failed to uncertainty in decision making from owning company. Bureaucratic handling of the situation is the main culprit.

It may be noted that built as Hotel Inter-Continental in 1966, Sheraton started operating the hotel as its brand from 1984 under management contract. The first contract was for a period of 20 years.

In the middle 2007, Starwood announced that it anticipates executing 200 new deals and opening more than 80 new hotels in 2007, almost doubling the number of properties the company opened in 2006. Underscoring the company's aggressive portfolio expansion across all nine of its brands, Starwood currently boasts a global pipeline of approximately 420 hotels and more than 100,000 rooms. Starwood has also taken the lead in the upper upscale and luxury segments, with 38 per cent of the hotels and rooms in the industry pipeline, according to Smith Travel Report.

In the midst of its most prolific growth spurt ever, Starwood's historic expansion is a result of the company's dynamic development efforts outside of North America and increased penetration in the previously untapped select service and extended stay markets.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 870 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.

Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W, Le Meridien and the recently announced Aloft and Element Hotels. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts.

Under the circumstances, it is almost certain that Dhaka Sheraton is going to assume a new name in 2009. What the name would be is the question.

http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/hotel_story.php?recordID=334

[TIslam]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo3.jpgHotel Sheraton decides to pull out from Dhaka


It was inevitable. I've heard from people that the hotel is beginning to look dated and run down. If the government cannot afford to renovate, the hotel should be sold to private sector, otherwise, it may end up being another Hotel Shahabag!

I don't feel that bad now that the international chains have begun to make joint venture deals with Bangladeshi investors and other organizations (like Sena Kalyan) and set up shop in Dhaka. Let us not forget that Westin belongs to the same organization as Sheraton, Starwood.

[amar11372]

"it is almost certain that Dhaka Sheraton is going to assume a new name in 2009"

Why would Dhaka Sheraton change its name? Building a new Brand name would be a tough job for the govt.

[clearsky]

^^First Sonargoan and now Sheraton, BD govt. needs to take their heads out of the dirty place.:cheers: Business wise, everything is going down!

[tanzirian]

Unfortunate. Sheraton has a great location from tourist perspective next to the parks and cultural insitutions in Ramna...really the only part of Dhaka which makes for pleasant walking IMO...and also not far from Old Town. I do wonder what "standard" Starwood wants Sheraton to be. Here in SC there are "Sheraton" "hotels" which are the same as any roadside Howard Johnson. I wonder if they had this plan in mind before building Westin. But then again they have spent a lot of money upgrading the hotel in recent years so that may not be the case.

[sas]

I believe that apart from the poor management, as pointed out in the Bangladesh Monitor writeup, another major reason was the rapidly declining revenues of these state-run hotels, ever since the inception of Radisson and Westin. Location too, might be a factor, now that most a lot of the businesses are nowadays located more northwards. Even the restaurants at Radisson and Westin are doing so much better.

However, this might be good news for the Hilton project, as the government recently announced that they were trying to allot them land elsewhere. I might be speculating too much, but let's see. We'll all find out in due time.

[TIslam]

I do wonder what "standard" Starwood wants Sheraton to be. Here in SC there are "Sheraton" "hotels" which are the same as any roadside Howard Johnson.

You have a good point there. Take a look at the average fast food (chain) joint in the country. They are rundown, poorly maintained, overall shabby yet, look at the same chains in the subcontinent, they can easily be called "upscale". So why the double standard?

But then, perhaps Sheraton wanted the old Hotel Intercontinental to be renovated to the point of being brand new, so that it could be a jewel in its crown in the subcontinent? Back in the 80s, Kolkata's Grand Hotel was not so grand but since it became part of Oberoi's, the standards improved.

[sas]

But as TIslam pointed out so rightly, you do have double standards here! A Radisson or a Sheraton is nothing grand in the US. Now that the Sheraton news is official, I simply hope Hilton takes up the area and builds a brand new hotel altogether. If you guys noticed, Sheraton did a good job in changing the entrance and adding a whole new lobby with a nice-looking atrium. However, apart from that, once you step into the old part of the lobby, the place is as shabby as anything. It looks quite old and run down. So it'll be nice to have a better property such as a Hilton there.

[alladin212]

I need Photoshop - is there a downloadable trial version available anywhere?

why dont you download it through utorrent http://www.utorrent.com/download.php? and i like this site for torrent files http://btjunkie.org/

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpg Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel80.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel81.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel82.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel83.jpg

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpg Refurbishment of Sonargaon hotel is back on track under new priority

http://triunegroup.net/images/feb1-08/images/27.jpg

The delay of over priced multi billion taka refurbishment work that left the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in a mess and resulting huge loss of revenue, is now back on track with new priority and implementation schedule.

According to HIL estimate, the hotel incurred revenue loss of one million taka a day since start of refurbishment work in February 2006. In addition, about 560 employees of the hotel are being deprived of their 12.5 per cent service charges due to the delay in refurbishment work and consequent low occupancy. During this period, the hotel is understandably experiencing the lowest rate of occupancy in its history. The occupancy rate of the hotel came down to 30 per cent from an average of 60 per cent.

The refurbishment programme of Pan Pacific Sonargaon started after several delays. The work for the refurbishment was to start in December 2003. It was re-scheduled and work was to start in January 2004. But to the disappointment of many, the refurbishment was delayed further before start was made in February 2006.

The Accom Engineering Ltd., a sister concern of Orion Group, was awarded the contract of the hotel's refurbishment work in October 2005. The job carried a price tag of Tk 1360 million allegedly over priced by big margin was awarded due to influence of influential quarters.

But the progress of work was unusually slow. So, the delay that followed, created serious problem for keep the operation running. The failure of the company responsible for refurbishment to complete the job on schedule left the hotel in a mess. Apart from loss of about 100 guest rooms and essential facilities like swimming pool and health club, debris of dismantled structures and associated noise, made situation unbearable.

Accom was supposed to finish the job by January 2007. Even after four month's extension, it could only complete less than 30 per cent of the job. So, in June 2007, Hotel International Limited (HIL), the owning company of the hotel terminated the contract. Accom went for arbitration, but HIL was able to vacate it.

Solution in sight

Following failure of the company, the Board of Directors of Hotel International Limited (HIL), the public sector owning company of the hotel cancelled the contract in June 2007 and fixed new priority and work schedule to put back the hotel in business as soon as possible.

The Board of HIL decided to clear the mess left by dismantled guest rooms and other facilities and finish refurbishing those on priority basis. These include about 100 rooms on 3rd and 4th floor, the swimming pool, tennis court, poolside restaurant, kitchen, pool deck, and the health club.

The refurbishment of dismantled guest rooms on 3rd and 4th floors numbering about 100, swimming pool, and health club are nearing completion. If nothing unusual happens, the premier hotel of the country is expected to be back on almost normal business by the end of March 2008. The refurbishment of other facilities are expected to continue as planned, but under different priority and programme.

Instead of selecting one contractor for the whole refurbishment work, the Board of HIL has decided to award job, case by case basis. The work schedule for the other guest rooms and installations will be worked out after completion of the areas which were dismantled and which caused huge revenue losses.

Will cost less

It is learnt that Board has decided to self-finance the refurbishment work and has made some changes in the refurbishment of guest rooms to avoid causing noise disturbance to the guests. Of the refurbishment jobs, income generating facilities will get priority.

The HIL estimates that total cost of the refurbishment will be substantially low -around 40 per cent- than what was awarded to Accom. For example, on cost of bed mattress in guest rooms on now nearing completion 3rd and 4th floors alone, a savings of more than Taka eleven hundred thousand per floor has been achieved.

The refurbishment plan

It may be recalled that the multi-million dollar renovation programme for Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka was launched after considerable time was spent in coordinating the décor and design in order to ensure the perfect harmony with modern technology and local Bangladeshi culture.

The long awaited refurbishment programme will see every area of the property transformed. It is designed to make the hotel become one of the true iconic luxury properties in South Asia. The programme, in all measures, is designed to run the property on international standard and introduce totally new services with the completion of upcoming refurbishment. In keeping up with the time, 25 year old Sonargaon needed to be refurbished.

With the completion of the refurbishment programme, the hotel is going get new guest rooms and public areas, new kitchen and other behind the scene installations. Pending solution of current legal problem, the hotel will also get huge three tier car park and a perimetre road with another exit to be constructed to facilitate smooth movement of transports to and from the hotel.

Through the refurbishment and interior design, detailed plan has been drawn to capture "Bangladesh Feel" not only at the lobby but also within the entire hotel. Extensive use of locally manufactured products like fabrics, jute materials, brass, ironworks, fine silks and terracotta are going to be made in refurbishment of the hotel to transform the hotel into a truly Bangladesh property.

Jharna Restaurant is going to have major as well as appropriate improvements. This so called floating restaurant is for the first time going to look like floating restaurant. Moving the kitchen elsewhere, all sides of the restaurant will have transparent glass wall exposing the view of surrounding water from inside. A fountain will be at the center and above it a dome with Islamic motif. Jharna will be made a very high quality up market restaurant.
Coffee Shop is also going to have very exciting changes with extension towards the swimming pool side. The guest rooms are going to be radically refurbished with almost every thing new. Apart from new bathrooms and other functional additions all the guest rooms will be equipped with high-speed Internet connection and interactive TVs.

The refurbishment is going to make the rear of the hotel fully remodeled to include a new poolside restaurant, landscaped lush tropical gardens and fountains, freestanding outdoor pavilions with day beds and live flute and tabla music, new tennis and squash courts, and modern entertainment and sports bar.

Once complete, the rear of the property will be landscaped in line with a luxury resort, timber decking, AQVA Restaurant serving Contemporary Medi-terranean foods, Separate pavilions with day beds and live music, waterfalls and lush gardens, Sports Bar - which will be like nothing Dhaka has ever seen with international live bands, plasma screens with the latest sporting events from all over the world, cool sleek décor and a truly up market feel.

Simultaneously, guest rooms are currently being totally renovated. Rooms and suites will include all that is expected in a 5 star luxury hotel including LCD and Plasma screen on the wall in every room, high speed broadband internet access and glass mosaic tiled rain showers in the bathrooms. The Pacific Lounge will be relocated and extended upwards above the roofline offering breathtaking views of the Dhaka skyline from a mezzanine floor with full length windows.

All rooms and suites will be decorated keeping in mind the harmony between latest cutting edge design, and traditional Bangladeshi colours and fabrics. All six food and beverage outlets will be completely transformed into modern masterpieces.

Earlier plan

It may be recalled that at the beginning of the present millennium an expansion and refurbishment plan was taken to make Pan Pacific Sonargaon, a bigger and better hotel. Initial work for the expansion and refurbishment plans under two projects also started and were expected to be completed by the year 2003.

In the face of serious dearth of hotel rooms of international standard in Dhaka city, the government undertook a programme to construct additional international standard hotels on top priority basis both in public and private sectors to meet the accommodation requirement to host proposed Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in 2002.

Sonargaon was advised to increase 150 guest rooms on its vacant land of 1.75 acres, adjacent to the east of the existing building.

Under the expansion programme, the hotel was to have a 14-floor new building two underground and 12 above grounds. The new building on the adjacent land was to be joined with the existing building. Escalators were likely to be installed for movement between the old and new buildings of the hotel.

The new building was to house 150 more guest rooms, surface and underground (basement) car park for around 600 cars, Convention Centre cum Exhibition Hall for 1200 people in sit down dinner style, Multinational Food Centre/ Coffee Shop, Theme Restaurant on roof top, Discotheque, Auxiliary Kitchen, Bakery cum Pastry kitchen and upgradation of existing main kitchen, Boardroom, training room, upgradation and relocation of present Laundry, upgradation and relocation of present health club and tennis and squash courts.

However, the government finally dropped the expansion programme and decided to refurbish the entire hotel and build car park along with foundation of the tower block to keep option of future expansion open.

It may be mentioned that the 304-room Pan Pacific Sonargaon was commissioned in April 1981. In 1997, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan originally provided a fund of 4.6 billion yen equivalent to Taka 330 million to finance the construction of the hotel. The Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts (PPH&R) is managing the hotel since its commissioning under Management Agreement.

http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/hotel_story.php?recordID=338

[tanzirian]

^^ Very good news. Hope it comes to fruition. Glad Accom didn't benefit. I don't know how lasting the corruption crackdown reforms will be, but I hope such fraudulent contracts are diminished in future. That at least will yield some long term benefit for the short term sacrifices now being made.

[TIslam]

^^ Very good news. Hope it comes to fruition. Glad Accom didn't benefit. I don't know how lasting the corruption crackdown reforms will be, but I hope such fraudulent contracts are diminished in future. That at least will yield some long term benefit for the short term sacrifices now being made.

Don't count on it. It'll be back to business as usual, post election. The culture of corruption has become ingrained and second nature to the urbane folks of Bangladesh (I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt to the downtroddens).

[sas]

Does anyone have an update on who will be taking over the Sheraton property from January '09?

[Tmac]

Does anyone have an update on who will be taking over the Sheraton property from January '09?

not yet. We are all waiting to hear about it.

[Tmac]

http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gifRadisson Hotel generates $13.37m revenue

Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka generated revenue of $13.37 million ($13,377,424) in 2007.

The hotel authorities disclosed this at a press conference held on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the hotel's operation in the country Tuesday.

"The gross operating profit (GOP) of $6.72 million ($6,721,356) generated at the same time was also the highest recorded hotel GOP in the history of Bangladesh," Director of Sales and Marketing Saeed Ahmed said, adding that the hotel also generated the highest volume of credit card transactions amounting to $5.9 million ($5,919,471) within the merchant portfolio of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh in 2007.

"Total foreign currency revenue in 2007 was $8.39 million ($8,393,156)," he stated.

"The year 2007 was a remarkable year for the hotel both in terms of business performance and standard of service offering," Saeed further said.

"Also, our employees and members of staff are sent for training abroad on a regular basis to ensure quality service of international standard," said General Manger of the hotel Andre A Gomez

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=24571


Radisson earns record profits in 2007 despite competition

http://www.thedailystar.net/photos/2008-02-06__bus03.jpg
The Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka. The hotel made record profits in 2007 despite the state of emergency and increased completion.

Dhaka's Radisson Water Garden Hotel made an operating profit of more than US$6.721 million in 2007, a record for a hotel in Bangladesh, senior officials claimed yesterday.

The jump in profits at the five star hotel came despite the state of emergency in the country and increasing competition in the sector, with two new rivals, the Westin and Regency, opening last year.

“The hotel's strength is its quality services and skilled manpower,” said Saeed Ahmed, director (Sales and marketing) of the Dhaka Radisson Hotel at a press briefing marking the second anniversary at the hotel.

He said the hotel had gained about 40 percent of total market share among the five star hotels in the capital and achieved an occupancy rate of over 80 percent. Total revenues were up 40 percent to US13.377 million, also a record for a hotel in Bangladesh.

Ahmed said one reason for the increase in profits was that in 2006 the hotel was newly opened and some of its services were still under construction.

“The hotel went into full operation in 2007,” Ahmed said, describing the success of the newly built five-star hotel.

“The hotel is committed to continue offering services of an international standard in 2008 and beyond. A lot of new initiatives will be adopted by the management looking at the changing demand of international business travellers and the local community,” Andre Alex Gomez, general manager of the hotel, told reporters.

The Radisson's main competitors in Dhaka are the Sonargaon and Sheraton, located in the heart of the city, and the newly opened Westin in Gulshan. However the Radisson's closeness to the airport and the protected diplomatic zone has made it popular with business travellers who prefer avoiding traffic congestion in and around the other hotels.

As in 2006, the hotel continued to generate the largest volume of credit card transactions in Bangladesh with transactions amounting to US$ 5,919,471 (BDT 40.6 crore) within the merchant portfolio of Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh.

Total foreign currency revenue earned in 2007 was US$ 8,393,156 (cash US Dollar and credit cards).

When asked, Selina Momen, spokesperson of Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, told The Daily Star that the hotel lost some of its business because of renovation works last year. “The occupancy rate is quite high since October,” she added.

Officials at the Dhaka Sheraton declined to comment.

Radisson was inaugurated on February 05, 2006 and went into partial operation in February 11, 2006.

The hotel is a chain of US based Carlson Hotels Worldwide. Sena Hotel Developments Limited, a local joint venture of Sena Kalyan Sangstha and Army Welfare Trust, owns the hotel.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=22198

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo2.jpgDhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakasheraton85.jpg

[TIslam]

http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gifRadisson Hotel generates $13.37m revenue

And people thought five star hotels wouldn't make it in Bangladesh! Way to go Radisson/Sena Kalyan!
:cheers:

[sas]

Any developments with what will become of the Sheraton here from Jan 1, 09?

[dopekhor]

Does anyone have an update on who will be taking over the Sheraton property from January '09?
there is a big chance that the sheraton company will continue!

[tanzirian]

there is a big chance that the sheraton company will continue!

Source?

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakasheraton83.jpg

[dopekhor]

Source?
no official word, its just the talk of the town

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gif Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson57.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaradisson56.jpg

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpg Sonargaon Hotel renovation to be completed next month

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel is going to get a new look soon after years of struggle with the Orion Group that threw it into complete mess.

The country's premier five star hotel, owned by the government's Hotel International Limited (HIL), suffered loss of revenue and also reputation since the Accom Engineers, a concern of the Orion Group, got the multi-million taka renovation and refurbishment works in early 2006.

The snail's pace in work caused disruption in the normal operation of the hotel. Essential facilities, including the swimming pool and health club, remained closed since the beginning of the renovation job. Besides noise pollution and dumping of construction materials haphazardly affected the hotel environment, resulting in the fall in its occupancy rate. Since February 2006, Sonargaon Hotel faced the lowest occupancy rate of only 30 per cent although its average occupancy rate had always been around 60 per cent.

Orion Group was supposed to complete the Tk. 1400 million renovation job by January, 2007. But it could complete only 30 per cent work even after extension of the contract until June, 2007. Finding no other way, the HIL cancelled the deal with Orion.

Sonargaon's mess paved the way for some of the new hotels to grab business.

"Now we are getting ready to strike again and we are sure that businesses will be back to our hotel," said M A Awal, Director Sales of the Hotel. He said the HIL Board decided to finance the rest of the refurbishment works from its own fund. It will be a complete facelift, he asserted.

The pace of work has got momentum and it is expected that everything will be on track by the end of next month, Awal said.

PR and Communications Manager Selina Momen said the priority works include redecoration of nearly 100 rooms on the 3rd and the 4th floors, the swimming pool, the restaurants, health club and the tennis court.

Sources said the hotel management has estimated that all the jobs would be completed at a cost of 40 per cent lower than that offered to the Accom Engineers of the Orion Group.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=25406

[tanzirian]

Next month? What are they going to accomplish in that period of time? Given what we have seen in recent photographs I highly doubt they will have done much of the "renovation" they set out to do. Of course they have not even begun on the expansion which was part of the project and which may now never come to fruition thanks to great vision of Rajuk. I'll withhold judgement until we see what they've done but my gut feeling is that they're just going to refill the pool with water, hang a few LCD TVs in the guest rooms, change a few rugs / draperies and declare the renovation complete. Of course even that would be better than what they have now.

I have been reading comments left by foreign guests on various sites and Westin is the clearly the favorite now. Radisson also gets positive comments but a recurring complaint is that the rooms around the atrium suffer from the noise of parties and music in that space.

[amar11372]

sorry double post

[Tmac]

no news or photos of Dhaka Regency lately...what's up with that? Where is Wishbone, Fizz..?

[TIslam]

no news or photos of Dhaka Regency lately...what's up with that? Where is Wishbone, Fizz..?

What's that (Wishbone, Fizz)?

[mirzazeehan]

What's that (Wishbone, Fizz)?

LoL..its a secret

[mirzazeehan]

Anybody here know what happened to the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental hotels?According to what I found out,IPCO hotels,the company behind the projects is a subsidiary of Bengal Group.Bengal group is still coming up with new projects and construction new towers,so why exactly did they leave the construction site of Intercontinental with the structre already 5 floors up?Any info would be appreciated.

[tanzirian]

no news or photos of Dhaka Regency lately...what's up with that? Where is Wishbone, Fizz..?

Ask Regency if they have a directory of employees...you should find their contact info there ;)

Jokes aside...maybe they are also a victim of corruption crackdown, since they have domestic ownership.

[sas]

Anybody here know what happened to the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental hotels?According to what I found out,IPCO hotels,the company behind the projects is a subsidiary of Bengal Group.Bengal group is still coming up with new projects and construction new towers,so why exactly did they leave the construction site of Intercontinental with the structre already 5 floors up?Any info would be appreciated.

Sorry buddy, those two hotels are not happening. Those projects have been lying untouched for almost over two years now I think. Moreover, even if they went thru with them now, their actual profitability actually will be questioned, as both the Radisson and the Westin are doing so well now.

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/Westinlogo.jpgWestin Dhaka website is pretty cool. Some nice photos in there. I really like the pool area.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1394

[tanzirian]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/Westinlogo.jpgWestin Dhaka website is pretty cool. Some nice photos in there. I really like the pool area.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1394

Nice to see these photos. I had checked the website a number of times over the past few months but they hadn't uploaded the photos yet at those times.

[mirzazeehan]

Nice to see these photos. I had checked the website a number of times over the past few months but they hadn't uploaded the photos yet at those times.

The hotel is looking very nice,and especially the pool side,its amazing.

[dopekhor]

i dont know if guys have heard this or not the sheraton my revert back to being the intercontinental, as talks are going on

then again i am not sure as the sources of these information are not very reliable

[tanzirian]

i dont know if guys have heard this or not the sheraton my revert back to being the intercontinental, as talks are going on

then again i am not sure as the sources of these information are not very reliable

Where did you hear this? If that happens then I would think one of two things 1) that Intercontinental think this is a temporary solution until their building next to the airport gets back on track or 2) that they are abandoning the airport project. I would suspect the former...since ZIA does not yet have an airport hotel, whoever fills that niche may have a very lucrative future. Honestly if Regency had built their hotel adjacent to the airport I think they might be doing better...but maybe at the time this was not practical since Intercontinental / Holiday Inn plan was still on track.

[dopekhor]

Where did you hear this? If that happens then I would think one of two things 1) that Intercontinental think this is a temporary solution until their building next to the airport gets back on track or 2) that they are abandoning the airport project. I would suspect the former...since ZIA does not yet have an airport hotel, whoever fills that niche may have a very lucrative future. Honestly if Regency had built their hotel adjacent to the airport I think they might be doing better...but maybe at the time this was not practical since Intercontinental / Holiday Inn plan was still on track.
i dont think anyone would be filling in the shoes of those hotels beside zia anytime soon

[Tmac]

White House Hotel, Dhaka

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/whitehousehotel3.jpg

[TIslam]

i dont think anyone would be filling in the shoes of those hotels beside zia anytime soon

While Dhaka Regency may not qualify as an airport hotel, isn't it sufficiently near the airport? That should bring them pretty good business. Eventually when ZIA becomes very busy (not in my lifetime perhaps), more than one hotel shall be needed in the surrounding area.

[tanzirian]

While Dhaka Regency may not qualify as an airport hotel, isn't it sufficiently near the airport? That should bring them pretty good business. Eventually when ZIA becomes very busy (not in my lifetime perhaps), more than one hotel shall be needed in the surrounding area.

If Nikunjo becomes the financial center as planned then Regency should do fine. But they will probably have to survive a few lean years before then. Since they are local venture I wish them the best. We are a populous country with enough room for local brands to compete against foreign chains, so it's good to see people taking initiative to create these hotels.

[sas]

I don't understand why there is so much hype over the Regency, when the Radisson is less than a mile away from it. I have grave doubts about the actual occupancy at the Regency. There was so much talk about the hotel prior to its inception, but it ended up being nothing like it. I've heard negative reviews from most people.

As for the Intercontinental replacing the Sheraton, what will happen of the Hilton? My view is, regardless of the branding of the hotel, I just hope it is managed by a private-sector firm. As it is, both Sheraton and Sonargaon are losing out badly to both Westin and Radisson, because they are ageing (both are a good 25 years old), state-owned, located away from the Gulshan area and are tied up with their own problems (e.g. the Sonargaon renovation project). It badly needs to be privately managed if it is to survive the stiff competition that it is up against.

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo2.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel to get new name next year

The country's oldest five-star hotel at Minto Road will cease to be known as the Sheraton Hotel from the first day of 2009.

The Starwood Hotels and Resorts, a US based multinational hotel and resorts company, has decided to pull itself out from the management of the hotel owned by the Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL), a state-owned entity, sources said

The existing management contract between the Starwood and the BSL will expire on December 31 next.

The BSL board is looking for a new international operator. The name of the new operator is expected to be announced within next two months, sources told the FE Sunday.

Hospitality industry circle said although the Starwood did not cite any reason for withdrawing from the profit-earning hotel, its soured relationship with the BSL could be the reason.

The Starwood, according to sources, felt that Dhaka Sheraton, Dhaka, was not up to the standard of other hotels it manages around the globe. Most guest rooms, bathrooms and public areas of the hotels are in poor condition due to inferior upkeep and lack of attention from the BSL to modernise the facilities.

The hotel started under the name Inter-Continental Hotel in 1966. Sheraton started operating the hotel under a 20-year contract signed in 1988.

The Sheraton hotel building has got two parts - the old part which was constructed in the sixties has 220 rooms and the new part, having 52 rooms, was constructed about seven years back.

In addition to nearly 300 rooms, the hotel has all the facilities of a five-star hotel, including restaurants, swimming pool, tennis court, health club, meeting rooms, international conference hall, ball room, steam bath, a bar and executive lounge.

The hotel is located on a four-acre land occupying a part of the lush green Ramna Park. Business of the hotel has been good with an average occupancy rate at around 80 per cent. The entertainment outlets, meetings and conference rooms are also fetching good business.

Meanwhile, another Starwood five star hotel Westin Dhaka will get a new General Manager (GM) soon. San Amalan, the first GM of the hotel went on leave after the formal opening of the hotel and did not return. "His departure has already been announced, a new GM will take over soon," said an official of the Westin. He, however, declined to give reasons behind Amalan's abrupt departure. Sri Lanka born San Amalan is an Australian citizen.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=26444

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo2.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel to get new name next year

interesting!

[amar11372]

^^ Hopefully the govt hires another five star hotel operator to run this hotel.

[clearsky]

Best Western Hotel. Taken couple of days ago.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/greenvillege/Hotel/IMG_1841.jpg

[TIslam]

Best Western Hotel. Taken couple of days ago.


Looks like the building got a facelift. Looks better than it used to. The hotel itself was undergoing a thorough upgrade with broadband connection in every room, etc., two years ago, when I was there. I wonder how it is now and whether they've raised their rates owing to the upgrade.

[tanzirian]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sheratonlogo2.jpg Dhaka Sheraton Hotel to get new name next year

If current situation persists I wouldn't be the least bit surpised to see Pan Pacific abandoning ship as well when their lease up...whenever that is.

I found it interesting to read that the Sheraton lease began in 1988. I may be wrong but I think the hotel switched to Sheraton brand earlier than that. I returned to BD in 1986 after a period abroad...at that time, as far as I remember, it was already a Sheraton.

[sas]

^^ Hopefully the govt hires another five star hotel operator to run this hotel.

BSL needs to be privatized if it is to have any chance of survival with the likes of Westin and Radisson, which have better locations.

[amar11372]

Dhaka Sheraton keeps up pace in battle for guests
Posts $4.16m operating profit in 2007
Sayeda Akter

http://thedailystar.net/photos/2008-02-29__bus02.jpg

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel made an operating profit of US$ 4.16 million in 2007 and said it had expanded its business, despite intense competition from new rivals, a senior official claimed.

“We have to compete with new hotels opened in recent years, yet Sheraton is still a premier and bigger hotel in terms of its accommodation and services,” said Jayed Shams Mahbub, assistant marketing and communications manager of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

He said Sheraton has gained 27.5 per cent of the total market share held by five star hotels in the capital and achieved an occupancy rate of 85 percent.

Mahbub said in 2007, Sheraton earned the second highest revenue of US$ 11.27 million in the hospitality sector, which is a 6 per cent rise over the last year.

“For this profit, the main reason might be the country's current political stability that attracts more investment and tourists,” said Mahbub.

Sheraton's main competitors are Radisson Water Garden Hotel, Westin and Regency, which can attract more people, especially the garment businessmen from abroad, because those are close to the international airport in Dhaka.

According to Mahbub, Sheraton now looks forward to attracting foreign tour companies, international event managers and big business delegation.

“Despite new hotels entering into the market, Sheraton still is a trusted one to the visiting foreign business and sports delegates, and more importantly, it locates in the heart of the city,” remarked the hotel official.

“As a state-run hotel, Dhaka Sheraton generally accommodates the important guests coming to Dhaka on state visit,” he added.

Mentioning that South African cricket team is now staying at Dhaka Sheraton, Mahbub said several visiting trade and sports delegations also prefer this hotel.

Dhaka Sheraton, the first international five-star hotel in Bangladesh that started its operation in 1984, has now 272 rooms and five categories of suites.

It has a plan to redecorate its rooms this year to make those more customers- friendly.

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=25403

[tanzirian]

Dhaka Sheraton keeps up pace in battle for guests
Posts $4.16m operating profit in 2007
Sayeda Akter

http://thedailystar.net/photos/2008-02-29__bus02.jpg



I prefer the way the exterior of the building looked before the additions in recent years. Good to see that it is still doing well financially...hope they find a solution to current situation.

[TIslam]

BSL needs to be privatized if it is to have any chance of survival with the likes of Westin and Radisson, which have better locations.

I'm quite certain that this hotel shall continue to do well, even after Sheraton is no longer associated with it. The conviction comes from the fact that it has a solid infrastructure which shall see further improvement, and more importantly, owing to its years of good reputation.

[dopekhor]

it would be nice if they let the saudi prince buy it after all the govt should try to bring its revenues only from taxes and not by doing business should let people do it

[sas]

Or maybe as we all have been 'purely speculating', the Hilton might buy up the property.

[clearsky]

Earlier reports suggested that the hotel badly needed room renovation. Some visitors confirmed the suggestions as well. So, if they want to keep the revenue flow going upwards, they would need to invest in renovation. Nice to see the hotel making money anyway.

[tanzirian]

Radisson - photos by Scoobiefreak76:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/misc/scoobiefreak76-2.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/misc/scoobiefreak76-5.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/misc/scoobiefreak76-3.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/misc/scoobiefreak76-4.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/misc/scoobiefreak76.jpg

[clearsky]

Radisson Interior Looks good.

[sas]

The rooms are great! But nothing beats Westin :P, but then again the Westin's much pricier too!

[manbil777]

From the looks of it -- I'd be very willing to pay a regular rate of US$200 per night (discounted rate of $150) to stay here. On checking Tripadvisor, I see that they charge about $230 per night. Which is reasonable.

If you compared the rates with something in Las Vegas for example -- this hotel's internal furnishings compare very well -- and quite up-to-date compared to hotels in the same price range within the subcontinent.

Has anyone on this forum checked out the party spot here?

[tanzirian]

^^ Reading on the internet, a recurring complaint is that rooms around the atrium suffer due to noise from the parties down below. This does not seem to be an issue for rooms in the wings. What really impresses me about Radisson is that even in this day and age they purchased enough land to have landscaped grounds. One would think with land prices so high that most new hotels would be in the vein of Westin.

[Tmac]

5 star http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gifDhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakaradisson35.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik5/dhakaviews163.jpg

[clearsky]

From the looks of it -- I'd be very willing to pay a regular rate of US$200 per night (discounted rate of $150) to stay here. On checking Tripadvisor, I see that they charge about $230 per night. Which is reasonable.
?

I beg to differ on this! I don't think $230 per night is reasonable at all in a country like BD. In my view regular rooms should not cost more than $100 in any 5 star hotels in BD. But since they are able to fill up rooms at that price, they probably don't care.

I don't think we should charge the same price as those in the USA or other highly developed countries. High up business executives frequently visit western countries in great numbers which is why hotels can charge more. Plus, I am sure staff members are paid much more in the USA/UK/Canada than their counterparts in BD. So, hotels in BD should be able to provide similar service at a cheaper price.


^^ Reading on the internet, a recurring complaint is that rooms around the atrium suffer due to noise from the parties down below. .

Daily passing of trains on multiple times are recurring complaints by the guests also. As a matter of fact, the exterior pics above (by by Scoobiefreak76) shows a train passing by at that very moment.

[manbil777]

@clearsky

While I agree with you that hotels should be able to charge less on account of lower labor costs etc. -- if I owned a hotel, I'd try to maximize room rates too. Why not make hay while the sun keeps shining?? If people (foreigners mostly) are willing to pay for a brand-name experience (Radisson) then why not?

Most visitors are either businessmen or govt. officials -- in most cases this is paid from their business expenses or govt. coffers. Most people don't pay out of pocket. Ask any consultant in the UN :)

And the competition for $100 a night is there (Sheraton, smaller boutique hotels etc.). So yes if the budget tourists want a cheaper room it is available. Even $25/night is available.

I trust though that the open market will take care of the rates (meaning they will drop) as soon as competition heats up. Right now there is almost no competition for Radisson or Westin in the newer hotel space.

[TIslam]

I beg to differ on this! I don't think $230 per night is reasonable at all in a country like BD. In my view regular rooms should not cost more than $100 in any 5 star hotels in BD. But since they are able to fill up rooms at that price, they probably don't care.


Hotel rates are largely a function of occupancy rates, I should think. That said, just look across the border in Kolkata, most of the branded five star hotel rates are even higher than the ones in Dhaka, let alone Delhi, Mumbai, etc.

Also, as it has been witnessed in most developing countries, I do not expect the rates to come down to $100 or under, until there is a "critical mass" of good hotels, in Dhaka.

[manbil777]

Typically one finds that Hotel chains in Asia are a couple of notches higher in luxury than similar brandnames in the west.

Take a look at the new Hyatt Regency Kolkata in Salt-lake for example. I bet they're charging around USD250+ a night and getting away with it. Link (http://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp)

In Hyatt Regencies in the west (especially in the US), rates would average a hundred bucks less.

For Bangladeshi businessmen in Kolkata -- the favorite is of course, the Taj Bengal. Looks like it's been recently refurbished. Link (http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=465007/crti=4/hotel-pictures)

Same with the uprated Pizza huts in Dhaka (and probably in India as well). Compare this with your average smelly Pizza Hut in a US small town like 'Broken Arrow, Utah'. There's no comparison. The brand positioning in Asia (and in the subcontinent) is completely different.

[sas]

Typically one finds that Hotel chains in Asia are a couple of notches higher in luxury than similar brandnames in the west.

Take a look at the new Hyatt Regency Kolkata in Salt-lake for example. I bet they're charging around USD250+ a night and getting away with it. Link (http://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp)

In Hyatt Regencies in the west (especially in the US), rates would average a hundred bucks less.

For Bangladeshi businessmen in Kolkata -- the favorite is of course, the Taj Bengal. Looks like it's been recently refurbished. Link (http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=465007/crti=4/hotel-pictures)

Same with the uprated Pizza huts in Dhaka (and probably in India as well). Compare this with your average smelly Pizza Hut in a US small town like 'Broken Arrow, Utah'. There's no comparison. The brand positioning in Asia (and in the subcontinent) is completely different.

I do not agree with you on the fact that some of the better hotels here MIGHT be a touch more luxurious than their counterpartrs in the west. The Radisson itself isn't by any means a 'great' brand. Like no one in the US would go like 'Wow a Radisson!', the way they'd probably react to a more luxurious brand such as a Ritz Carlton or a Four Seasons.

I do not totally agree with you on the restaurant front as you cannot really compared the two situations. International fast food franchises here (e.g. Pizza Hut, A&W, CoffeeWorld and Pizza Corner) are specifically targetting the higher income bracket and they are actually making an effort to ensure only people from that segment of the population come to their restaurants. Such places in the US are however, very different. Either way, I think we've had this discussion repeatedly in other threads as well and it might not necessarily be the best idea to continue this debate.

[manbil777]

it might not necessarily be the best idea to continue this debate

Let's agree to disagree then :)

[Silv3r]

:ohno: When the hotel is nearby railway track or surround by other noisy area, usually rooms will be sound proof or will be sold only if necessary (i.e. full occupancy). If the guests are dumb enough to leave the window open for fresh air than fresh noises also might occur.

[Tmac]

Dhaka Sheraton revenue earning hits $11.27m

The total revenue earnings of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel stood at US$11.27 million with an operating profit of $4.16 million and a market share of 27.5 per cent in 2007.

The Dhaka Sheraton Hotel took the second position in the market despite tough competition from other three five-star hotels.

The revenue earnings of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel posted a 6.0 per cent growth in 2007 over that of 2006, said the General Manager of the hotel, Trevor MacDonald.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=28187

[clearsky]

^^If this is the case, then I wonder why Sheraton is so inclined to leave. They can have two or more hotels in a city! But to maintain their position, they need to refurbish the rooms from what I hear.

[amar11372]

^^If this is the case, then I wonder why Sheraton is so inclined to leave. They can have two or more hotels in a city! But to maintain their position, they need to refurbish the rooms from what I hear.

Or that they don't want to have the BD govt as a business partner. I definitely wouldn't.

[Tmac]

Top global hotel chains keen to operate Dhaka Sheraton

At least four five-star hotel chains with presence all over the world have shown interest to manage the state-owned Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, officials said Sunday.

Famous hotel chains including Hyatt Regency of USA, Novotel of France and Marriott and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts have contacted Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL), the owner of the hotel, to take over its operation, they said.

Their interest came as the Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide's 25-year agreement with the BSL to manage and operate Dhaka Sheraton is set to expire by December this year.

The state-controlled Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL) has already hinted that it would not renew the deal with Starwood and float tender by October this year for hiring a new management.

BSL officials said Starwood is also reluctant to renew the agreement, as it has already signed a management deal with Noor Ali-owned Westin Hotel at Gulshan.

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, situated in the heart of city, just three kilometers from the downtown business district and close to Dhaka's famous Ramna Park and the Prime Minister's office, is the first international five-star hotel in Bangladesh.

"At least four top hotel chains including Hyatt, Marriott, Novotel and Shangri-La have contacted us for taking over the management of Dhaka Sheraton," a BSL official said.

"The BSL may prepare a short list of interested parties to hold informal discussion with them by October," he said, adding that BSL will float international bid to appoint new operators for the hotel.

Sinthia Siraj, assistant director of the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, said, "BSL told us that it would make a final decision on whether to continue deal with Starwood by October this year."

She said representatives of the Starwood Hotels already held meeting with the BSL to discuss the issue.

The United States-based Starwood was assigned to operate Dhaka Sheraton in 1984 for a twenty-year period. It renewed the deal for a further five years till December this year.

Prior to Starwood, another US-based Hotel Intercontinental, managed the hotel, then known as Dhaka Intercontinental, between 1966 and 1983.

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel's revenue grew six per cent to US$11.27 million in 2007, with an operating profit of $4.16 million and a market share of 27.5 per cent.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=28291

[tanzirian]

^^ Good news. Glad to know that the hotel will likely remain in good hands.

[amar11372]

^^ Good news. Glad to know that the hotel will likely remain in good hands.

Hope the management goes to Hyatt Regency or Marriott and not Novotel or Shangri-La.

[Tmac]

Hotels
Dhaka's five-star boom

Dressed in the finest traditional sherwani and paggree, the doorman ushers guests into the marble lobby of The Westin Dhaka, the capital's latest five star hotel situated in the heart of Gulshan.

Inside groups of foreign businessmen and guests recline in the trendy egg shaped chairs, sipping coffee and eating delicate pastries. It is midmorning and the café is doing a brisk trade, as it has done since the hotel was opened in July last year.

“Everyday we receive different types of guests with a wide range of business people, including garment merchants, telecom investors, donor agency delegates, as well as a number of tourists,” said Mahbubur Rahman, communication director of The Westin.

The Westin is busy, but it is not alone. In recent years, the hospitality sector in Bangladesh, has been booming with the five star hotel segment a symbol of the increasing number of well off visitors coming to the country.

In the past two years three new five star hotels have opened in Dhaka and at least three more are expected to open in the next few years.

Industry experts said the capital now has around 1250 five star rooms, and while the hotels only reach full occupancy in the winter months, an average occupancy rate of around 75 percent is easily enough to keep the business profitable.

One of the major drivers of the growth has been the increase in foreign business people visiting the country as both the garment and telecom industries have taken off. In recent months the political stability has also helped attract visitors. Moreover the market is forecast to grow further in coming years.

Leading the boom have been the newly opened hotels, the 235-room Westin, the 204- room Radisson Water Garden and The Dhaka Regency, which has 110 rooms currently in operation and will be adding another 250 in the next 12 months.

All three hotels have been built in the north of the city, exploiting better access to Zia International Airport and the garment belt in Ashulia-Savar as well as the headquarters of the major mobile telecom operators.

They are also either inside, or close, to the capital's diplomatic zone and therefore largely unaffected by hartals, enforced general strikes that bring commercial activity in the rest of the city to a standstill.

They are competing with the city's more established names, The Dhaka Sheraton in Shahbagh and the Pan-Pacific Sonargoan in Karwan Bazar.

Noor Ali, managing director of Westin, said the hotel already had an occupancy rate of 70 percent, and claimed the room revenue at the hotel is 30 percent higher than that of his rivals.

Ali also said the Westin had gained at least 25 percent of the total five star market.

“The Westin now provides six star facilities to the guests and I dream of a seven star hotel in the country, which would be possible in near future,” he added.

But the Westin will have to work hard to catch up with Radisson Water Garden Hotel, opened in February 2006. The hotel made an operating profit of more than US$6.721 million in 2007, a record for a hotel in Bangladesh.

Radisson claims a market share of about 40 percent with an occupancy rate of over 80 percent, according to Sabreena Rahman, senior public relations executive at the hotel

Sabreena also said the hotel has earned the highest revenue of US$ 13.377 million last year, mainly as a result of a solid growth of business customers.

Dhaka Regency, a British-Bangladesh venture by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) opened in April 2007 and is yet to enter full operations.

Shahid Hamid, general manager of Dhaka Regency, said though the hotel is newly opened and still to complete a whole year in business, the hotel occupancy rate exceeded 50 percent.

“The hotel is now partially open and we hope to come into full operation by the end of August this year,” said Hamid.

“As the country's business sector is growing, we are optimistic to receive more guests, who prefer a sound environment outside, but close, to the central town,” he added.

But the older hotels are fighting back. The Dhaka Sheraton recently completed a major renovation and last year made an operating profit of US$ 4.16 million, despite the intense competition.

“We have to compete with new hotels opened in recent years, yet the Sheraton is still a premier and bigger hotel in terms of its accommodation and services,” said Jayed Shams Mahbub, assistant marketing and communications manager at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

Dhaka Sheraton has an average occupancy rate of 85 percent, while the hotel claimed a 27.5 percent of total market share, said Mahbub.

“As a state-owned hotel, the Dhaka Sheraton generally accommodates the important guests coming to Dhaka on state visit,” said Mahbub, adding that they are now targeting business delegates.

In worst shape is the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel that has had to fight to survive at a time when its huge renovation project has been delayed and mired in controversy due to a corruption scandal.

“We have already completed our renovation work on the third floor and hope to complete the whole by the end of April this year,” said MA Awal, sales director of the hotel.

Awal also said new management has taken over the hotel, targeting to relaunch it by the end of April.

Yet in the next few years competition is likely to become even more intense with at least three other international chain hotels Hilton, Holiday Inn and the Intercontinental planning to open in the city. Construction work has already began on the Hilton in Begun Bari and the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental near Zia Airport.

Mahmudul Haque, deputy general manager of Millennium Developers, the local management authority of Hilton Hotel, said they would finish their construction by the end of December 2011.

But will the addition of hundreds of new beds be more than the market can take? Mahmudul Haque, doesn't see a problem, instead enthusiastically praising the virtue of competition in the sector.

He was backed by Shahid Hamid, general manager of Dhaka Regency. “A competitive market is sustainable and will bring reasonable pricing that will attract more guests.”

However Noor Ali, managing director of Westin, was more cautious. “To make the sector sustainable, the government needs to change the policy on taxation, reduce visa difficulties and improve tourist spots,” said Ali, adding that the government should issue on-arrival visas and lessen taxes on food and drink.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=28430

[mirzazeehan]

Unique Group Chairman dreams of a 7 Star hotel in Dhaka?Now thats good news..cause these people usually realize their dreams.So I guess we can hope for one to be set up within the next 5-7 years.I read somewhere that Unique group also wants to set up Westin Residences opposite to the Westin Hotel at Gulshan.

[amar11372]

Hotels
Dhaka's five-star boom

Yet in the next few years competition is likely to become even more intense with at least three other international chain hotels Hilton, Holiday Inn and the Intercontinental planning to open in the city. Construction work has already began on the Hilton in Begun Bari and the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental near Zia Airport.

Mahmudul Haque, deputy general manager of Millennium Developers, the local management authority of Hilton Hotel, said they would finish their construction by the end of December 2011.


I thought the Hilton project got canceled. Are they really going ahead with this?

[mirzazeehan]

I thought the Hilton project got canceled. Are they really going ahead with this?

This is what I like about Bangladesh...unlike many other countries..projects here never get cancelled..at most,they are stalled for a couple of years and then are started again.The developers are known for finding out a way of getting their project done.

[TIslam]

This is what I like about Bangladesh...unlike many other countries..projects here never get cancelled..at most,they are stalled for a couple of years and then are started again.The developers are known for finding out a way of getting their project done.

That's heartening to learn. :)

[TIslam]

Hope the management goes to Hyatt Regency or Marriott and not Novotel or Shangri-La.

What you got against Shangri-La? I thought Shangri-La has better hotels than Hyatt. Have you seen the one in Singapore?

[amar11372]

What you got against Shangri-La? I thought Shangri-La has better hotels than Hyatt. Have you seen the one in Singapore?

Shangri-La is a Asian luxury Hotel Chain, which is not that well known as Hyatt and Marriott. And before this I never even head of Novotel

[tanzirian]

I thought the Hilton project got canceled. Are they really going ahead with this?

Certainly with govt attitude towards Hatirjheel I cannot see it built where originally planned. But this might be good for them...if I was Hilton I would take this opportunity to relocate to Gulshan. With Westin the only other big name there, there is still room for at least one or two more luxury chains there.

[Silv3r]

is their market for up-scale luxury hotel like shangri-la? oha and by the way... is there any 5 star in chittagong?

[TIslam]

is their market for up-scale luxury hotel like shangri-la? oha and by the way... is there any 5 star in chittagong?

Every major city, can support at least one up-scale super luxury hotel, in most countries of the world.

I have not come across any hotel in Chittagong that qualifies for four stars, let alone five. Hotel Agrabad and some of the new ones probably are good enough for three stars.

[tanzirian]

^^ Peninsula Hotel considers itself 4-star. From pictures it is definitely superior to Agrabad.

[Silv3r]

Every major city, can support at least one up-scale super luxury hotel, in most countries of the world.

I have not come across any hotel in Chittagong that qualifies for four stars, let alone five. Hotel Agrabad and some of the new ones probably are good enough for three stars.

Well if there is market for up-scale hotels then i would recommend "Four Seasons Hotels" or "Fairmont Hotels" apparently there is only one fairmont in Asia (singapore) and 5 on construction.

:ohno: is hotel Agrabad state own?

[tanzirian]

^^ Chittagong has not yet the level of wealth / development for Four Seasons / Fairmont. Besides those chains (esp Fairmont) are probably more tourist oriented (as opposed to business travellers). I think for now Peninsula will meet demands of most coming to Chittagong. I do expect, however, that a five-star business-traveller oriented hotel will come to Chittagong in the not-too-distant future (say, within a decade or so).

Also to answer your other question...I am not sure but I don't think Agrabad is govt owned (someone correct me if I am wrong). The govt hotels carry the "Parjatan" label.

[Silv3r]

Sorry... i wasnt clear hehe..... I recommended Fairmont and Four Season for dhaka... it ranks same as Shangri-la

[tanzirian]

Sorry... i wasnt clear hehe..... I recommended Fairmont and Four Season for dhaka... it ranks same as Shangri-la

After visit by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who is co-owner of Four Seasons, there was thought of acquisition and conversion of Sonargaon to that chain, which personally I think would have been great. But the idea fell through (maybe they were unwilling to pay standard kickbacks of previous administration, or encountered some other obstacle).

Fairmont has very limited presence in Asia (only Singapore and Dubai, to my knowledge)...so very unlikely to come to BD any time soon.

[clearsky]

Hotels
Dhaka's five-star boom

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=28430

This article refuted few of the popular points sincerely discussed here. We discussed about the fact that Sheraton would require refurbishments to maintain it's position. The article says that it has recently done so. So, I am not sure which one is correct. Regarding Hotel Inter Continental, that project has been abandoned and no progress has been seen for the last few years. Yet the article says that it will be completed in few years. Again, not sure whether it is correct or not. It was reported in the media that Hilton project got canceled. But it is a widespread news in the locality that the project is still alive and will be completed. Some local enthusiasts are eager to see it completed but the actual and true status is unknown. So, I don't know what to make of the Hilton project at this point. I think once an elected govt. comes to power, the project might be resurrected, as it will be easer to deal with an elected govt.

Any forumers has any inside true information about the points discussed here?

[clearsky]

Unique Group Chairman dreams of a 7 Star hotel in Dhaka?.


He needs to build one like this then

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=376602

[alladin212]

He needs to build one like this then

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=376602


NO PICS

[amar11372]

NO PICS

Check the 2nd and 3rd page

[alladin212]

Check the 2nd and 3rd page

wow! got it now thanks :-)

[Tmac]

5 star http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Tarikpix/sonargaonlogo2.jpgPan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/sonargaonhotel64.jpg

[enu]

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0875.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0880.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0891.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0892.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0893.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/rezamahfuz/CIMG0890.jpg

[ydoumceq]

What is most highest price hotels at Bangladesh? What price it is? And I like tourist venues - what tourist venues, attractions there are?

[sas]

What is most highest price hotels at Bangladesh? What price it is? And I like tourist venues - what tourist venues, attractions there are?

If you're asking about what the most expensive hotel in Bangladesh is, then it would be The Westin.

As for tourist venues, Bangladesh is home to Cox's Bazar, the longest natural beach in the world. The country is also home to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest globally.

[tanzirian]

SAS, check your PM please.

[clearsky]

What is most highest price hotels at Bangladesh? What price it is? And I like tourist venues - what tourist venues, attractions there are?

I think you can write a book about the tourist attractions. A forum like this wouldn't do total justice. However, the second best helpful medium would be 'google search'. :cheers:

[amar11372]

Radisson Hotel

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2415057216_c66d62b81f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/2414225273_98449d8e4b_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/2415062498_dc45a6f259_b.jpg

[Tmac]

http://www.swimmanitoba.mb.ca/RADISSON%20LOGO.gif Radisson Water Garden Hotel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson70.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson73.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson75.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson80.jpg

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson77.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson76.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson78.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson79.jpg

[Tmac]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson81.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson82.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson83.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/dhakaradisson84.jpg

[amar11372]

Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka

Credit: morichika1

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2135/2435135533_5cef5442c6_b.jpg


Poolside at Sunset
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2435135525_0298581947_b.jpg


Lobby
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/2435135517_7c91e33394_b.jpg

[amar11372]

LOBBY
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2308/2435135511_eddf919d1b_b.jpg

Executive Suite
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2435135501_11794b8e00_b.jpg

Club Lounge
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2435135489_84a15bd6e9_b.jpg

[manbil777]

Very well lighted detailed shots there! Excellent! Would like to know if this was done locally...