The new beach resort of the Varun group here at Bheemunipatnam, popularly known as Bhimli, 25 from here, will be inaugurated on Monday evening by Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju, according to Chairman and Managing Director Prabhu Kishore.

He told reporters on Sunday  the resort, built right on the Bheemunipatnam beach, was built at a cost of Rs 17-18 crore and “it has all the facilities of a star hotel and more." The resort has 31 rooms, "all of which have a panoramic glimpse of the Bay of Bengal which is our unique selling proposition."

He said the Varun group, which has a five-star hotel here, had signed an agreement with the Accor group of hotels to manage the resort. The Accor group also manages the Varun Beach Novotel - the five-star hotel of the group here. “The Varun group and Accor group have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding with the AP Government for developing resorts in the State," he said.

He said the group was also building a 250-room star hotel in Vijayawada which would be ready by 2018. He said the beach resort would spur the growth of the historical town of Bheemunipatnam, which was once a Dutch settlement.

Jean Michel Casse, the senior vice-president of Accor Hotels, said the group had entered India ten years ago and had made impressive strides. "We have 45 hotels in the country under our management, with a minority stake in some of them, and 35 more are under construction. By 2020, we will have at least 80 hotels in the country, several of them in tier-two towns and cities. We have seven brands, the main being Novotel," he said and added that Varun group's Vijayawada hotel would also be managed by Accor under Novotel brand.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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