Phoenix to set up five-star hotel chain

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) The Phoenix Group, promoters of luxury resorts in India, Europe and Africa, Friday announced it would set up its own chain of five-star luxury hotels under the brand name 'Zuri'.

The group plans set up the first property at Whitefield near Bangalore on an investment of Rs.2 billion.

The 160-room hotel, The Zuri Whitefield Bengaluru, will be spread over two acres and is expected to open by January. It will have four food and beverage &B outlets, a 24-hour coffee shop and a high-end bar.

"We chose Whitefield as it is an IT hub and there is still no good five star hotel there. So there is a huge market," said Phoenix Group director Abhishek Kamani.

The group is coming up with another hotel near the Bangalore airport on an investment of Rs.1 billion.

"We have already acquired land for that and it will be our next project after the Whitefield hotel. At this moment, we want to go slow and our main focus will be on brand building," said Kamani.

Phoenix will initially concentrate on south India. 'However, we are looking forward to spread our business in north India, specifically in Delhi and the NCR (national capital region) when the opportunity comes," Kamani said.

Next in line to Bangalore are Kochi, Chennai, and Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Additionally, the group is constructing a business hotel in Nairobi.