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Our Bureau

An interior view of Promenade. — T. Singaravelou

Chennai , Aug. 28

DESIGNER leather brand Hidesign has launched The Promenade, the first of its chain of designer hotels, in Pondicherry.

Speaking to presspersons after its inauguration by the Pondicherry Chief Minister, Mr N. Rangasamy, on Saturday, Mr Dilip Kapur, President, Hidesign, said the hotel was aimed at the business traveller "who is fed up of travelling." It is positioned as a luxury hotel where guests can relax and soak in the atmosphere, he said.

Describing it as the country's first designer hotel, he said this was the first time a "design company" such as Hidesign had extended itself to a hotel. The world over, major design houses also had hotels in their portfolio, he added.

The hotel is an amalgam of various designers' and artists' ideas. Rooms in the hotel, which faces the seafront, cost between Rs 2,800 and Rs 7,000 per day. The hotel offers 30 rooms, a lounge bar, two restaurants and Internet connectivity.

MrKapur said Hidesign had firmed up arrangements for its second hotel, to be located in Chennai. Though he declined to give further details, he said each hotel would have the characteristics of the location it was built in. In the last four or five years, it is design hotels that have been the most profitable globally.

A year ago, the company converted a heritage house in the town's French quarter into a hotel called Le Dupleix, which, however, has not been branded Hidesign. According to Mr Kapur, it is ethnic, unlike The Promenade, which is modern and has more synergy with the Hidesign brand.

The Promenade has tied up with Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) to offer guests walking tours of Pondicherry's heritage areas. The hotel was built at a cost of Rs 12 crore. Mr Kapur expects it to be profitable within two years.

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