May 11, 2019. It’s been four years since ITC Royal Bengal opened its gates to Calcutta and guests from across the world. Four years since the mammoth luxury hotel has kept its patrons hooked with innumerable offerings. t2 caught up with Gaurav Soneja, general manager of ITC Royal Bengal, on the hotel’s success story, plans and more.
Congratulations on completing four glorious years! How does it feel?
It feels amazing! We are overwhelmed with the love that we have received from the people of this city and we promise to keep delivering ‘one-of-a-kind’ experiences in the years to come. The hotel endeavours to pay homage to the rich cultural heritage of Bengal, which has been a hub of intellect through the ages. It gives us immense joy that the property has become an iconic landmark dominating the city skyline and is celebrated as one of the leading hotels in the world.
You have been a part of the opening team of ITC Royal Bengal… from the vision you had pre-opening to now being the GM, would you say the vision has come true?
ITC Royal Bengal was conceived to be one of the finest luxury hotels in the world. We are thankful to our patrons for their continued support and in making us an iconic hotel. ITC Royal Bengal attributes its success to the stage set by ITC Sonar, the first ITC Hotel in its home city. There are few other hotels in the world whose names have become synonymous with the cities in which they are located. In the last two decades, ITC Hotels Kolkata has changed the landscape of the region, further the opening of ITC Royal Bengal in 2019 has set a benchmark for others to follow.
It fills us with great joy whenever netizens celebrate the majestic and monumental edifice of ITC Royal Bengal flooding social media with visuals — the hotel lit up in Tricolour on Independence Day or in purple lights as done for the homecoming of KKR.
What have been the biggest achievements of the hotel?
The biggest achievement I feel is the love that we have received from our guests. We are thankful for their continued patronage and for making us the preferred destination for an F&B experience, celebration, event, wedding or stay.
What sets it apart from any of the contenders in the country?
At one single location, we are offering two distinct experiences. ITC Sonar is a luxury business resort themed on the quintessential baganbari while ITC Royal Bengal is a uber luxe pioneering business hotel delivering one-of-a-kind experiences that are globally acknowledged and celebrated with the promise of planet-positive experiences, defining ITC Hotels’ ethos of Responsible Luxury.
Together we offer an unmatched selection of 693 rooms, suites and serviced residences, 14 dining destinations, approximately 9,290sqm of banquets and meeting spaces and two wellness centres.
Post-pandemic, the hotel and tourism industry is booming, to what do you attribute the boom?
Recovery trends for the hotel and tourism industry have been extremely encouraging. There was pent-up demand; post-pandemic corporates are coming back to meet their clients, customers and vendors to resume business. People have resumed foreign travel, which has been consistently growing over the last two years while business travellers are coming back to hotels. MICE business has bounced back and big fat weddings have made a grand comeback. Growing demand for food and beverage across restaurants and takeaways is equally reassuring.
What are your post-pandemic strategies?
Post-pandemic, guests have become more conscious and are selecting hotels based on them meeting the highest standard of safety and hygiene. We have observed responsible dining is on the rise. Our ethos of Responsible Luxury, which emphasises the chain’s culinary brands and initiatives to present inventive cuisine experiences while meeting superior standards of food safety and hygiene, has reassured our guests in their selection of F&B. We hope to continue market supremacy in F&B and endeavour to create new benchmarks.
In November last year, we opened Avartana, a signature experience of ITC Hotels from Chennai, which has made it to the list of Asia’s Top 50 Restaurants at No. 30 in 2023. While Royal Vega, which showcases the classical grandeur of the vegetarian repertoire from the royal kitchens of India, is the first restaurant in the state to be awarded the Sattvik Certificate by the Sattvik Council of India, which ascertain that quality and safety of vegetarian cuisine has met the Sattvik Management Standard.
The popular Grand Market Pavilion has increased its seating capacity to 320 covers; it is one of the busiest buffets in the city.
ITC Royal Bengal is always buzzing with something or the other in terms of activities. What is your key focus for the property for the coming years?
We are delighted when guests refer to us as the new entertainment destination in the city, with three bars offering live entertainment. Our elegant rooftop bar Skypoint offers breathtaking views of the Calcutta skyline with retro classics, while The Brass Room hosts new-age bands which play jazz, blues, and Western music. Located at ITC Sonar, Highland Nectar’s avant-garde design combined with woody appeal and thematic décor offers an unmatched ambience with English classics and live pop music. The three bars pay homage to Calcutta’s heritage of live music in a manner unlike any other. We will continue to showcase local artistes and musicians and invite noted bands and vocalists from across the country as well as invite international artistes visiting India.
We have recently opened our exclusive members-only ITC Club Prive, a private business club. To the members, this space is an extension of their workspace where they can have a quick board meeting before any event that they have hosted without any disturbance. They can also host private dinners with offerings from our F&B outlets and personalised service dedicated to catering only for them and their guests.
Where do you see ITC Royal Bengal in the next five years?
ITC Royal Bengal has become a distinct luxury landmark to reckon with. One of the most iconic hotels of India, our guests often refer to us as the pride of Bengal. We endeavour to live up to the expectations of our patrons and keep the ITC flag flying high.