January 26, 2011 - Langham Hospitality Group, the owner and operator of luxury hotels on four continents, is set to take off in India with an aggressive expansion plan which will see it become a new force on the sub-continent.

The first of the new hotels will open in the first quarter of 2011 under the Eaton Smart brand at New Delhi Airport followed later in the year by its modern, tech-savvy property – Langham Place in Pune. The group also has also signed a management agreement with Lavasa Corporation for two new hotels in the eco-friendly hill city of Lavasa.

Brett Butcher, Chief Executive Officer of Langham Hospitality Group said, “India is one of the world’s most robust and dynamic economies. It stands at the heart of the New Silk Road between China and the Middle East. The trade dynamic between these three economic powerhouses means there are significant prospects for Langham Hotels to expand and become a well-known operator within five years.”

India’s City of the Future Partners with Langham Hotels

Langham Hospitality has signed a management agreement with Lavasa Corporation, part of the Hindustan Construction Corporation, to manage two properties in Lavasa which will open in 2013. Located in Western India and nestled in the Sahyadri Mountains by Warasgaon Lake, the new hill city of Lavasa offers a high tech urban lifestyle in a sustainable setting.

Both properties will form part of the second phase in the walkable city of Mugaon. The development’s key focus will be on R&D centers, tourism and corporate and educational campuses.
Nathan Andrews, Executive Vice President of Lavasa Corporation said, “Langham Hotels brings significant value to the Lavasa project. Their eco-friendly principles and the caliber of the hotel operations across the globe mirror the values we want to see in our new development.”

Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport Transit Hotel

The group will launch the country’s first airport transit hotel at New Delhi Airport in the first quarter of 2011.The 93-room Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport Transit Hotel is located inside Terminal 3 of the new airport building and is designed to make unpleasant layovers a thing of the past with its intelligent modern design and comfortable facilities, convenient services.

Passengers with valid tickets are able to check in into the 36-room domestic wing or into the 57-room wing in the international terminal after customs controls. The property offers modern rooms for a minimum of five hour slots allowing guests to relax before and after a flight. In addition to guestrooms, guests are able to reserve the Aqua Pods in which to freshen up while allowing access to the hotel’s services and facilities.

Services include the Essentials Spa concept that offers a range of treatments for pre and post flight pampering to alleviate jetlag or head and foot massages. A fully-equipped gymnasium allows guests to work out and re-energize.

Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport Transit Hotel aims to make mass-produced, bland airport cuisine a distant memory. The property features a high quality all-day café dining restaurant serving freshly-prepared international comfort foods and local culinary favorites.

New Delhi Airport Terminal 3 handles around 34 million passengers a year and is reputed to be the world’s sixth busiest airport.

Langham Hospitality Connects in Pune

Langham Hospitality Group will bring its highly successful brand of stimulating hospitality to Pune at the end of 2011.
Langham Place, Koregaon Park, Pune will appeal to travellers who are adventurous, fun-seeking early adopters. Featuring the latest technology to support connected lifestyles, Langham Place, Koregaon Park in Pune will blend with the city’s reputation as the technological and academic hub of India.

The property will feature an expansive atrium with eye-catching transparent walls seamlessly merging indoors with the outdoor environment. In keeping with its sense of modern living, the centerpiece of the atrium will be a DJ booth overlooking the lobby with a resident DJ setting the mood of the hotel with stylish music.

The hotel will also feature India’s first Chuan Spa, bringing a signature wellness journey based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

About Langham Hospitality Group
Langham Hospitality Group encompasses a family of distinctive hospitality brands which include hotels, resorts, residential serviced apartments, restaurants and spas, located on four continents.

It takes its name from the legendary Langham in London which was opened in 1865 as Europe’s first Grand Hotel. For almost 150 years, this flagship hotel has represented sophisticated and gracious hospitality, a philosophy that reflects elegance in design, innovation in hospitality, genuine service and captivation of the senses across all properties.

The brands include the luxurious Langham and international five-star Langham Place, the upscale Eaton Luxe, midscale Eaton Smart, the award-winning Chuan Spa, and Yat Tung Heen restaurants.
The Langham is where guests can enjoy service with poise and be enchanted by our innovation and traditions while Langham Place, the fun sibling of The Langham, is about living the 21st century through design, technology and attitude, epitomizing stimulating and artistic hospitality.

Eaton, a premium member brand, aims to surprise and delight our guests with a value-for-money proposition that delivers a stylish, modern level of comfort with spirited, can-do service.

Currently 29 hotels, including affiliates, are open or in the pipeline across four continents.

Langham Hospitality Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great Eagle Holdings (Stock Code: 0041) which was founded in 1963 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.

Reservations for Langham hotels can be made by logging onto langhamhotels.com or for Eaton Hotels log onto eatonhotels.com.