NRI plans 5 luxury hotels in India

NRI hotel entrepreneur Sant Singh Chatwal, founder-president of the $750 million Manhattan-based Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, is all set to invest $100 million in India to develop five luxury 'boutique hotels' at prime locations.

"We will shortly begin work on a 200-room boutique hotel in Bandra-Kurla in Mumbai at an investment of $40 million. This will be followed by an acquisition of a Palace hotel in Jaipur," he said.

"The Jaipur property will cost around $17 million," he said. Chatwal, who has set up a global hotel empire and operates hotels in the US, Canada, UK, Hong Kong and Malaysia, said this is the 'right time' for investments in India.

In India, Chatwal's hotels will be under the brand name 'Dream hotels'. "Many airlines are coming up in India and with some of them starting international operations, I believe there will be a huge demand for hotel rooms in India in next the 2-3 years," he said.

Chatwal said he is considering opening hotels in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Amritsar.

"I have visited two sites in and around Delhi. It looks promising. In the next three years, we will be opening at least three hotels in Mumbai, Jaipur and Delhi," he added.

Chatwal was in Delhi along with former US President Bill Clinton. "I have accompanied him to India on a couple of occasions. Even Senator Hillary Clinton visited the country in late February," he added.