Hong Kong's world-class hotel standards are being introduced to India.
By the turn of the century, Four Seasons Regent Hotels & Resorts plans to bring five- star style to five destinations.
First to open later this year will be a luxury resort in Goa and, by 1999, Regent plans to be operating top hotels in Bombay and Bangalore. In the pipeline are further proposals to extend the network to Delhi and Madras.
The extension of Regent's Asia-Pacific network into India is coming through a joint venture with the Leela Group.
'When we launched our first hotel (in Bombay) 10 years ago, we had a simple dream - to be among the most distinguished hotels in the world,' said Leela Group chairman Captain C. Krishnan Nair.
The Regent agreement would help 'realise that goal', he said.
Introducing India to Hong Kong's concept of five-star service was a major challenge, said Duffy Keys, Regent's vice-president for marketing in the Asia-Pacific.