Vedic tie-up with US chain
Vedic Village, the luxury resort near Rajarhat that was scarred by an arson attack last year, has entered into an alliance with the world’s largest hotel chain.
Best Western International Inc of the US, with around 4,000 independently owned and operated hotels worldwide, now has a Calcutta footprint in the shape of an 80-room luxury medical spa resort, Best Western Premier Vedic Village.
“We are happy to be associated with Vedic Village, a unique property with ayurvedic and naturopathic wellness programmes. The marketing tie-up will enable us to bring in our international spa and conferencing clientele to Calcutta,” Sudhir Sinha, the president of Best Western India, told Metro.
The reception lobby of the resort, which was destroyed in the mob violence on August 23 last year, has been restored and the two conference halls, also damaged in the mayhem, have been refurbished in sync with Best Western’s global guidelines. A new tea lounge, Chai, with UK brand Newbys, is also being launched.
“We had managed to resume operations barely three weeks after the incident, and now are totally back on world tourism track with this tie-up. There are only 117 Best Western Premier properties around the world, and it’s an honour to be one of the first medical resort spas in that league,” said M.J. Robertson of Vedic Village.
Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India, feels the marketing alliance between Vedic and Best Western, coming in the wake of the Swissôtel opening, “would boost global tourist traffic to Calcutta”.
Abhijit Das, the joint managing director of property consultants Lemongrass Advisors, agreed with Punjabi’s perception.
The global downturn had resulted in several hospitality projects being either shelved or indefinitely delayed. But recent activity in the shape of the Swissôtel property of Ambuja Realty and the Best Western Premier Vedic Village, besides the upcoming 220-room Taj Gateway business hotel and the 100-key ITC Fortune hotel, has brought in some buoyancy to the segment.