The 120-year-old Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai is Indian Hotel Company Ltd’s (IHCL) flagship property. It is also the company’s biggest money spinner contributing around ₹800 crore in annual revenue.
Four years from now, Mumbai will get another hospitality landmark that will match Taj Mahal Palace in its revenue.
On Monday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekaran performed the ground breaking ceremony of the Taj Bandstand hotel.
Taj Bandstand will have 330 luxury rooms, 85 service apartments, 20,000 sq ft of convention halls, shopping areas and multiple dining options.
Taj Bandstand, which was late Ratan Tata’s dream project, will come up in place of Sea Rock hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea.
The Taj Bandstand site is opposite Taj Lands End and together these will offer over 800-850 rooms.
IHCL is investing ₹2,500 crore in the project and this includes land acquisition and pre-construction expenses, said company’s managing director & CEO Puneet Chhatwal. He added that Taj Bandstand will have a revenue potential of ₹1,000 crore a year upon stabilisation.
IHCL is awaiting clearance from the municipal corporation to begin construction and hopes to ready the hotel before end of 2028. Four acres of space at the site is being set aside for public facilities like park, amphitheatre and so on.
Chandrasekaran said the hotel will be built with the highest standard of luxury and will become another symbol for the city. The open space outside the hotel will provide a unique and enjoyable experience for citizens, he added.
Sea Rock saga
Sea Rock was suburban Mumbai’s first five star hotel and a popular jaunt for its celebrities. It was built by the Luthria family in 1978. ITC took over its operations in 1986 following a licence agreement with its owners. The hotel was damaged in a terror attack in 1993. It did not open thereafter following a dispute between its owners and the ITC group.
In 2005, Suresh Nanda of the Claridges Hotel purchased the property for ₹300 crore. Four years later IHCL checked in, acquiring 85 per cent stake from the Nanda family. However the development plans remained stuck due to litigation and environment clearance issues.
IHCL acquired the remaining stake in 2020 and thus became the hundred per cent leasehold owner of the Sea Rock hotel site.