The well known luxury hotel chain, one of Europe’s oldest – the Kempinski Hotels plans to go aggressive in the Indian hospitality sector. The brand currently has one hotel in operation in India and 73 globally, with plans to open 112 hotels by 2017.

The growing upper middle class is travelling a lot these days. This includes not just international travel but Indian destinations too are sought after. Duncan O’Rourke, CEO Kempinski Hotels says, “India is a rapidly growing economy with a burgeoning middle class that appreciates and has the resources to enjoy high-end luxury. The country also plays an important role in terms of outbound travel to our numerous properties across the globe.”

“We plan to operate three new hotels in India by 2020. We already have an operational hotel, the Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi, and these additions will take our total strength to four hotels in the country in the next 5-6 years”, he adds.

Ulrich T. Eckhardt - President Middle East and Africa, Duncan O' Rourke- COO, Kempinski Hotels and Vella Ramasawmy- GM, Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

Mr. Ulrich Eckhardt, Managing Director & President India, Middle East & Africa, Kempinski Hotels added, “While we are bullish on our expansion in the country we have put a cap on growth as we want to be known for our luxury and exclusivity. India is an extremely important market for us and we are looking to follow a tactical planned approach to grow our footprint in the country.”

The three properties are planned in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Kerala and the company will follow a management contract model for these new hotels. Each of the upcoming hotels will feature 150-250 keys and the property in Kerala is planned to be a resort, the first for Kempinski Hotels in India. 

www.kempinski.com • www.globalhotelalliance.com

The charm and charisma of the quintessential screen icons Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn has been recreated by French Luxury Brand S.T. Dupont in its newest collection named the 'Night Symphony'.

Reflecting the persona of Humphrey Bogart, the collection includes a vintage bag inspired by the classic Bogie™ bag and a set of exquisite luxury accessories.  To mark S. Dupoint’s 140^th anniversary, the Bogie bag has been modified to accompany the daytime version but still has the same colors requested by Bogart. The deep black oilskin beautifully contrasts with the white band set off with palladium finish on the bag.

The complementing set of accessories in the collection includes:

- The Ligne 2 lighter and Elysée fountain pen and ballpoint, each finished in black and ivory Dupont lacquer and featuring Humphrey Bogart’s™ silhouette, engraved on a shield.

- Two belts of smooth black leather, featuring palladium or magnetic lacquer finishes and enhanced by the same engraved BOGIE™ shield.

- Extremely elegant cuff links, also in black lacquer and palladium.

Price: On request

Availability: S.T. Dupont Boutique:- UG14, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070

Good looking and popular football star Cristiano Ronaldo has joined luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer’s star team of celebrity ambassadors. “TAG Heuer is by far the best at what it does and has been for more than 150 years. It is a great honor to be a part of such a powerful and pioneering legacy”, says Ronaldo.

The brand has always been associated with the highest levels of sports like the 1920 Olympic Game, ski events, Formula One and regatta racing and now football. The reason for this, tells TAG Heuer CEO Stéphane Linder, is that the brand shares the same values as sports- self motivation and discipline, pushing one's limit, never giving up. “Every TAG Heuer creation celebrates intense life in the contemporary arena, and no individual represents this more powerfully than Cristiano. This is the first time we enter the world of football, and it's a perfect fit to do that with Cristiano, opening a new trend and a new way to engage with our fans”, he added.

The star studded list of TAG Heuer’s Brand Ambassadors includes Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Shah Rukh Khan, WTA tennis champion Maria Sharapova, Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier and the entire crew of 2013 America’s Cup winner Oracle Team USA.