Newstrack

Leela Palace Kempinski voted the best business hotel in the world

EH Staff - Mumbai

Conde Nast Traveller announced the winners of its Annual Readers' Travel Awards 2007, based on an extensive poll conducted among 30,000 business travelers. A whopping 94.5 per cent voted The Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore as the best business hotel in the world.

The Leela Palace Kempinski leads the band of Top 10 winning hotels, followed by Landmark Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong), Park Hyatt (Tokyo), Island Shangri-la (Hong Kong), Four Season Hotel George V (Paris), The Peninsula (Hong Kong), Hotel Le Bristol (Paris), Four Seasons Hotel (New York), The Jumeriah Emirates Towers (Dubai) and Mandarin Oriental (New York).

"This is great accolade for The Leela. The fact that we are such a young brand and up against such internationally renowned competition, makes this recognition all the more special to us. Our endeavor is to exceed the expectation of the discerning business traveller and we greatly appreciate their strong endorsement of the Leela brand," said C P Krishnan Nair, chairman, Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. The Leela group, which is currently present in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and Kerala, is going for an aggressive expansion plan. It will be opening luxury properties in Guragon, Udaipur, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderababd and Pune. The group is also looking for fresh acquisitions in eastern region in cities like Kolkata.

With religious tourism booming in the country, the luxury hotel chain is also planning to foray into the segment. "We are planning to set-up pilgrimage hotels across the country," informed Nair.