The Sahara Group made its maiden foray into the hospitality industry with the launch of Sahara Star, a seven-star hotel-cum-tourist hub near Mumbai International Airport. The hotel was formerly known as Airport Centaur and was bought from government by Batra hospitality who later sold it to Sahara.
The hotel is currently open under ‘Curtain Raiser’ with 223 rooms while in 2009, it will be increased to 412 rooms under phase ‘Magnum Opus’. Being close to the airport, the rooms are made sound proof and have landscaped gardens inside the hotel.
It is being described as world’s largest hotel which has no pillars and clear-to-sky dome. The rooms have a circular design and the hotel has a 55,000 square feet tropical lagoon. It also boasts of the India’s largest marine aquarium.
The room rates varies from Rs.10,000 per night to the undisclosed rates of ‘The Sahara Suite’. Business Standard reports that it is priced at Rs.4 lakh a night, which is India’s most expensive, double than the suite at Taj Mahal Resorts, but less than prices of suites abroad for instance at The Palms, Las Vegas and The Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.
The exclusive suit is spread over 3 floors covering area of 12,000 sq. ft. with a private elevator. It also has a personalized spa and a private lounge with a clear-to-sky glass roof having facility for artificial rainfall which is first in India.
The hotel is bound to get good response as it can leverage the proximity to airport by emerging as a hub for tourists in Mumbai and complement Amby Valley, its hill station near Lonavla. But Sahara being a new player in hospitality, it remains to be seen whether they can provide the same level of service as associated with other luxury brands in India like Oberoi, Taj and ITC.
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