Our Hotel Project - Jaipur......The Brand is a Secret!

That's right......a secret......to soon be shared with the world. Well, I will share the announcement when appropriate on this blog site, which is certainly "open" to the world to see, but not as far reaching as the other media channels. Keep your eyes and ears open everyone......there was a huge amount of hard work that went into securing the brand for the hotel.....a true team effort.

This is exciting.....very similar to the unveiling of a new work of art.....hidden to those who have been anticipating the artist to reveal his/her work......but before the draping is removed, let me tell you a little about it.

The hotel is located in a great location in Jaipur and is perfectly positioned to serve both the business traveler and the many tourists that visit the city.....I have shared with you that Jaipur is Linda's favorite city so far (although it is the only one she has visited outside of Delhi).

Nevertheless, the "Pink City" is a very special place and this hotel is special in it's own way. Here are the "stats"!

Brand: International....one of the most recognized names in the World.....and certainly in India.
Number of Rooms: 115 very well appointed rooms (see photographs)
Restaurants: One restaurant with beautiful views of the Aravali mountains.....that will soon become a favorite "Eatery" in the city as well as a "Deli".....serving those who are on the go, or who will want to have a picnic lunch to carry with them as the tour the city. How fun does that sound...I want one!
Health Club and Pool:these are both located on the 4th Floor of the hotel and have the same great views that the restaurant does.
Banquets/Ballroom: very beautiful....again with those gorgeous views.

The hotel has a boutique feel to it.....very intimate lobby which which will help us create the warmth that a guest expects when they arrive.....the designers have been asked to create a "Family Room" atmosphere on the 3rd floor...just outside of the restaurant; a place for guests to sit next the fireplace to read a book...gather with friends after a fun filled day of exploring the city....walk a few steps to the "Bar" for a refreshing Mocktail or favorite adult beverage of their choice....cozy, warm, relaxed, comfortable...and served by a staff that will be just as friendly and hospitable as I have found everyone to be here in India.

There is no doubt in my mind that the "Blank" "Blank" by "Blank" Jaipur will be a huge success.

The anticipated opening date of the hotel is July 1st......a soft opening.....staff will need to be in place at the beginning of June.....yes.....less than a month away.....we will start training. Things will be extremely busy for me and I will find myself spending a huge amount of time in Jaipur in the next few months.

The great thing is my team is ready....the excitement is building.....the first of several hotels is here for them to wrap their arms around....and embrace as "theirs".

Stay tuned.......when all of the paperwork is complete....I will unveil the name......and proudly announce the property.

For those of you following the blog and have been wondering about the property in Visahakapatnam (Vizag)......it appears that the two hotels will be opening back to back......I will update everyone and take some new pictures on my next visit.

In the meantime.....if there are any interested readers looking for a career.....send your comments.

Return to the "City of Destiny"

Jeff Sheehan,Jessica's(Parker's friend)dad, was our first house guest. How he managed to find himself in India was because of me. This is a story of it's own, that I will share, but let's just say that it was another one of those strange things that took place that made me think that India was where we belonged.....destiny.

Luckily he was here on business, a trip that I was to attend with him, but was unable to because of my need to be in Vizag. The Doubletree in Vizag is positioned to be open in a few months, and we are in the window of identifying our Management Team.

Notice periods are long in India, a minimum of one month and they can be longer.....3 to 4 months for the more senior positions.

Two other members of the team and I were returning to Vizag on Monday January 19th for 3 1/2 days of final interviews for key positions throughout the hotel.

Although this marked the first overnight trip for me, I was comfortable leaving Linda and Preston to experience India without me.....all in all they had 18 days in Delhi, and they were adjusting amazingly well. Linda was getting a bit more adventurous and learning.....and Preston was busy at school.

My flight was scheduled to leave Delhi at 5:55am, which means with the tightened security at the airport my day started at 3:00am, to be ready to leave the house by 4:00am; by 4:15 the driver and I were to reach Sonya's house and then on to the airport. Although the driver was here on time, the fog was so thick I instructed him to go very slow....I did not want him to hit anything, or anyone! This is Delhi after all and there were people walking on the side of the road at 4:00am, and we were using it to guide us as me crawled along. Winters in Delhi are notorious for fog....and having grown up in Louisiana, I am intimately familiar with fog, but honestly, I have never experienced FOG like this in my life until moving here.
It is thick......very thick and dense,mixed with smoke, which is common in Delhi due to the many people that use wood for keeping warm, and cooking. It made the journey to Sonya's and to the airport very long. We arrived to find that our flight had been delayed 5 hours.
By 11:00am the fog had cleared enough that we were able to take off and were airborne. Vizag and several candidates were waiting for us. Monday was a very long day of interviews, but the end of the day was most special.
The team and I had been invited to the owners home for dinner with his family. although we were interviewing candidates for Executive Chef for the Doubletree, I am convinced that the best Chef in Vizag is Sarat's wife, Bhavani.
Her food was fantastic......and was such a treat at the end of such a long day.
Tuesday was similar, but without the flight delay.....interviews started at 9:00am, and went throughout the day. Lunch was prepared by a candidate for Executive Chef.....it was very good, and dinner was prepared by another culinary team candidate. We selected both of them.....
Wednesday more interviews......and two hours touring the hotel site with our General Manager, Shoeb. Things are falling into place and the Doubletree by Hilton-Visakhapatnam is "destined" to open in a few short months. After the tour of the property, we had approximately an hour or so before the sun disappeared, so we took a quick drive north on Waltair Beach Road......Vizag was named "Waltair" during British Colonial times. Sonya urged us to take a walk down to the beach even though we were all in business clothes. While I was on the beach, I missed Preston's second soccer game.....this time against the French School......another loss for his team.....
Vizag is gorgeous......and each time I visit the city I fall in love with it again......here are some snapshot's of my most recent trip to the "City of Destiny".
The pictures: The Doubletree by Hilton-Visakhapatnam, Ashish Hasrat, GM F&B;Shoeb, GM of the Doubletree;Sonya, Corporate Director of Human Resources on the beach in Vizag, Visakhapatnam Sunset, Tombs, Vizag Fishing Boats at the end of their day.

Doubletree by Hilton Vizag.....someday...and another cultural experience!

For those of you wondering how our first hotel in India is coming......Slooooooooowly! For those of you who saw the first set of pictures I took in August on my inaugural trip, not much has changed...besides having to go there to assess the status of the hotel, a huge part of my job is establishing relationships with the owners. Many of you will recall my telling you that the owner, Sarat Kumar Reddy, wanted to open the hotel on the date of his father's birthday, October 15th...I had promised him back in August that I would be in Vizag for his father's celebration....no matter what. Opening the hotel on his father's birthday was Sarat's dream, but it was clear to me back in August that we would not open the hotel.....but I was going to be there for him. There was a ceremony scheduled that day, but it didn't involve a ribbon cutting...it involved another "Puja". Now this was my second puja and there were many familiar aspects ....remember ...no shoes.....and a priest....alot of chanting, flowers, incense, candles, gods, more flowers.......and something unfamiliar....sitting on the table were two clear containers with two different liquids in them...and one of those little spoons! Now keep in mind that I am standing in this room, watching intently at everything happening, which is easy to do when you don't know what is being said....I don't know if he was singing the Hindi version of "How Great Thou Art" or what, so all I can do is observe.....when the priest picked up the container with the "milky, cloudy, liquid" and then saw Sarat form his hands into a cup......I admit I was having second thoughts, but I couldn't back out at this point.....OK..."second thoughts" is being nice...I was thinking "Oh Shit, what am I about to drink"? I watched Sarat drink the liquid from his hand, then he rubbed the remaining liquid in the palm of his hand through his hair. I say to myself.."OK, I got this down....cup hands.....drink liquid (I was worried about making a slurping sound, and then rub the remaining through my hair...I can do this", but I am still a little nervous. Well obviously I am still around to write my blog; so I didn't die or get deathly ill, but my story can't stop there.....Brace yourselves....I executed the task at hand flawlessly, but did not take into account that rubbing liquid through my hair would have different results than Sarat, who has a thick hair.....yes.....the liquid as it turned out was coconut juice with something sprinkled in it.....but it did not stay in my hair......it ran down my forehead! Yes.....another "cultural" experience for Lloyd in India.....I am guessing that Gandhi has the same problem.....so I wore the coconut droplet that reached my left eyebrow with pride....and I had to do so because the ceremony was not over....Have any of you stopped laughing yet?? So then we were given something to eat, which was sweet.....I think it was called "ghee"....Indian clarified butter with sugar.....it tasted better than it looked....almost like a praline flavor without the pecans. Well...when the ceremony was over , I excused myself and wiped the droplet inconspicuously from my brow...but i had strands of hair and flower petals plastered to my head....because coconut juice is sticky....and I had to walk around like this all day long! Well here are a couple of pictures of the hotel.....like I said, not much has changed and I estimate that the hotel will open sometime at the beginning of March. The last picture is of "Sonny", at least that is what I think I heard them call him.....he sleeps just outside the door to the temporary office at the project site. I miss you Murphy!