Sofitel Luxury Hotels, a flagship brand of the Accor group, will open its property in India at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on December 26. The hotel is being developed in partnership with city-based realtor Shree Naman Group. Accor has invested $16 million or Rs 71 crore for a 40 per cent stake. The cost of the project was projected to be Rs 473 crore when the work on the hotel started in 2006. While the delay has shot up the project cost, Accor officials said their holding in the asset remains at 40 per cent.

Accor, hotel group and operator of brands like Ibis, Novotel and Sofitel, operates 4,200 properties across 15 brands in 90 countries. Accor plans to open 12 new hotels under three new brands in India by the end of 2012. Currently, the company has 10 hotels in India with over 2,000 rooms under the brands Ibis, Novotel and Mercure.

The flagship brand of the Accor group, Sofitel, encompasses 120 hotels, 30,000 rooms and suites in 40 countries. Sofitel Mumbai will have 302 rooms, including 31 suites with interiors blended with French designs and Indian motifs and patterns. The hotel will offer six distinctive restaurants and bars. “We are aiming about 40 to 50 per cent occupancy rate in the first year. The new hotel will introduce a luxurious blend of French elegance and Indian culture,” said Mr Bernd Schneider, General Manager, Sofitel Mumbai. Sofitel has opened 20 new hotels in the last 18 months in the United Arab Emirates, China, Bahrain, Bangkok, Columbia, Mauritius and Egypt.

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