Hyatt Regency Chennai

History

From a map of the city in 1942, the property can be traced back to a house called "Teynampet Villa", a government property allotted to P. S. Viswanatha Iyer, ICS, in the late 1940s. The area was then occupied by a bungalow named "Abbotsbury." In the 1950s, it was replaced by C. S. Loganatha Mudaliar with the city's first purpose-built community hall, which was later sold out to J. H. Tarapore.{{cite book | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070501164243/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/04/23/stories/2007042300320501.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 1 May 2007 | access-date = 8 November 2011}} The structure was demolished to build a luxury hotel with a helipad with about 320 rooms and 250000 sqft of commercial space. With the collaboration of the Oberoi Group of Hotels, Balaji Group of Hotels started building the structure in 1989 at a cost of 2.90 billion.{{cite news |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123003733/http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe/daily/20000203/fco03068.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 January 2013 |access-date=8 November 2011 | access-date = 8 November 2011 | archive-date = 9 May 2001 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010509065523/http://www.expressindia.com/fe/daily/20000410/fco10085.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060906234147/http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/27/stories/2006022703630300.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 6 September 2006 | access-date = 8 November 2011}} the group was caught in a financial crisis and the work on the project, initially named Magunta Oberoi, ceased in 2000 when about 75 percent of the work was complete. Consequently, the Oberois withdrew from the project the same year and it could not be completed in time. In 2006, the unfinished property was to be acquired by Lalit Suri, for 3.90 billion.{{cite news | access-date = 8 November 2011}} However, after the death of Lalit Suri, Robust Hotels Private Limited, belonging to the Saraf Group, purchased the unfinished hotel development from IFCI and TFCI in mid-2007 and appointed Confluence, an international consultancy firm, to manage the completion of the project, which started remodelling the structure in 2008 and completed in February 2011.{{cite web |access-date=9 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321220611/http://www.confluencepm.com/2074/hyatt-regency-chennai/ |archive-date=21 March 2012 | access-date = 4 January 2012}} With the acquisition by the Saraf Group, the hotel was opened as Hyatt Regency Chennai on 8 August 2011.

The hotel

The hotel is 18 floors tall and has a total of 327 rooms, including 21 suites,{{cite web | access-date = 17 July 2021 | access-date = 30 November 2012}} and Stix, serving authentic Chinese cuisine from the Sichuan region. The Spice Haat has five interactive kitchens across a space of over 9000 sqft. Each of the five live kitchens specialises in a specific culinary genre within the Indian Comfort food landscape. The Lobby Lounge, the 24-hour lounge, is set amidst the indoor green landscaping under the hotel atrium. The hotel also has an outdoor pool, which overlooks the city, and is set amidst custom-made art installations and lush landscaping. Additional hotel services and amenities include Regency Club, the Siddh Spa, the hotel's premium suites, specialty restaurant and a bar.{{cite news | access-date = 9 November 2011}} The hotel also houses one of the largest collections of publicly displayed art installations in the country created by more than 40 national and international artists.{{cite news | access-date = 9 November 2011}}

The mall

The first three floors, including half the ground floor and the first floor and the whole of the second floor, of the hotel building has been developed as a boutique shopping mall named as the Ramee Mall developed by Ramani Hotels Ltd at a cost of 1.20 billion. Designed by architect P. G. Patki, the mall has a gross leasable area of 150000 sqft for 35 stores with a floor-to-floor height of 4.2 m and has a parking provision for 200 four-wheelers and 350 two-wheelers. The mall has 2 pairs of escalators and 4 passenger elevators, in addition to 2 separate service elevators for retail.

The total carpet area of retail space in the mall is about 219000 sqft: 44000 sqft at the entrance, 50000 sqft on the first floor, 75000 sqft on the second floor and 50000 sqft as parking space to be spread over two floors.{{cite news | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130103070107/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-05/chennai/28143061_1_retail-hub-anchor-store-floors | url-status = dead | archive-date = 3 January 2013 | access-date = 5 January 2012}} A third of the retail space (50000 sqft) has been leased out to Shoppers Stop and another 15000 sqft has been occupied by a book store. Apart from the large-format stores, there are about 30 vanilla stores (small shops each occupying less than 1000 sqft) and a 15000 sqft food court in the mall, in addition to a dining restaurant, a spa and a salon.{{cite news |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425052034/http://m.pressmart.com/Home.aspx?event=TNewInExpress&dt=13112010&page=356_020&mdl= |archive-date=25 April 2012

Events

The hotel was the venue for the World Chess Championship 2013, held for the first time in India, from 9 to 28 November 2013.{{cite news

The hotel conducts events such as Style Bazaar Exhibition, a lifestyle exhibition of fashion, decor, jewellery, festive edits and accessories.

Awards

• In 2012, the hotel won the "Best International Hotel Marketing" award, by International Hotel Awards in London.
• In 2013, the hotel was awarded for the category New Hotel Construction and Design for India at Kuala Lumpur.{{cite news |access-date=30 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306223749/http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=16933&sid=1 |archive-date=6 March 2016

Gallery

File:Regency ballroom Pre function area.jpg|Ballroom pre-function area File:Regency Ballroom.jpg|Ballroom in the hotel File:Pool side - kids pool and main pool.jpg|The pool at the hotel File:Studio - Meeting Space.jpg|Meeting room at the hotel File:365 AS - contemporary lounge bar.jpg|Lounge Bar at the hotel File:365 AS.jpg|Inside the hotel File:Art Installations.jpg|Art installations at the hotel File:Biscotti.jpg|The Biscotti File:Focaccia - southern Italian restaurant.jpg|Focaccia, the southern Italian restaurant File:Focaccia - authentic Italian.jpg|Another view of the Focaccia File:Focaccia - Private Dining.jpg|Private dining at the Focaccia restaurant File:Guest Room.jpg|A standard guest room in the hotel File:Lobby lounge - 24 hour dining.jpg|Lobby lounge at the hotel File:Lobby Lounge.jpg|Another view of the lobby lounge File:Swimming Pool.jpg|Front view of the swimming pool File:Stix.jpg|The Stix File:Spice Haat.jpg|The Spice Haat File:Spice Haat - Indian comfort food.jpg|Another view of the Spice Haat

References

References

1. "The Oberoi". Emporis.com.
2. "Emporis building ID 104444". [[Emporis]].
3. (24 October 2018). "Get your perfect ensemble at Hyatt Regency's exhibition". The New Indian Express.