Just half an hour drive from Chandigarh city centre, is an urban resort in the picturesque Morni Hills area in Panchkula, Haryana. In the last three years of its existence, Golden Tulip Chandigarh Ambient Resort & Spa, has established itself as a weekend getaway for families and a corporate offsite destination for the MICE market By Sudipta Dev
Golden Tulip Chandigarh Ambient Resort & Spa is a three year old property that has created a distinctive identity for itself since it came into existence – just a short drive from Chandigarh city and guests find themselves in a beautiful resort amidst the backdrop of hills, within a forested area. While some might think that not being a city hotel is a disadvantage, on the contrary some innovative concepts and smart marketing is turning the property into a popular destination. Adding to it is the fact that the urban resort concept is now catching the fancy of both the leisure and corporate segments.
The leisure crowd is usually there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and according to Vinayak Chaturvedi, GM, Golden Tulip Chandigarh Ambient Resort & Spa, a lot of weekend food promotions help in getting this crowd. The corporates and MICE market are the focus from Monday to Thursday. “Also, Chandigarh is a hub for people going by road to Shimla, so they stop over. Instead of staying in Chandigarh city, they prefer staying here for the night. On their return from Shimla also they again stop here,” states Chaturvedi.
The property that is being promoted as a resort has also become popular for weddings. The large banqueting facilities and expansive lawns are ideal for weddings. “You are aware that weddings are very big in Punjab. On an average, during the marriage season, you will find a wedding daily,” states Chaturvedi.
Chaturvedi is also trying to develop many activities in the resort. There are plans to set up a kid’s section and an activity area for adventure activities. “There is a river nearby which becomes dry in certain months of the year. One day I noticed a lot of army trucks there; when I spoke to them, I learnt that the drivers were being trained for rough terrain driving on the river bed. Then the idea came, why not start a jeep safari? I spoke to these companies and they are coming up with a proposal. These jeep safaris will be organised in association with the hotel. It should draw a lot of people as it will become our USP,” he says. The existing recreational facilities include table tennis, cricket kit, a volley ball court is also in the offing. The spa is being outsourced and is mostly used by in-house guests.
Leveraging on F&B
F&B is one of the strengths of the property, and is one of the factors that has attributed to its popularity. There are two restaurants – Patio Terrasse is the multi-cuisine restaurant that, as the name suggests, has a wide terrace that opens to the hills; the Oriental on the ground level offers authentic pan-Asian delicacies.
The hotel has been organising some innovative food festivals. “We do not hold conventional food festivals here because our property is away from the city. Food festivals usually start on Friday and end on Sunday next week (ten days), which we cannot do. We organise brunches on Sundays. I am trying to club it with spa and swimming pool, so that it is a compete family outing. There is a package in which we give you a day use room also. You can use the pool, spa and checkout by evening,” informs Chaturvedi, pointing out that they have also been organising barbeque nights which are getting popular. The Holi party organised in the hotel this year attracted 600-700 guests. “The party was at the poolside. This part of the country pool parties are a rage. Our pool parties have been popular and we are trying to encash on that, every alternate Sunday we will organise a pool party,” informs Chaturvedi.
An interesting social phenomenon in the region is the kitty system, which is a captive guest segment. Chaturvedi explains, “There will be a group of 10 to 20 people, on a weekend or a weekday together they will travel in a bus, stay, enjoy themselves and go back. It is a very regular feature. They do hotel stays, restaurant outings, we get a lot of these kind of kitties coming out of Jalandhar, Ludhiana. They might book 20 rooms and the entire families will be here. They will always be sitting around together, having breakfast together.” The property gets significant crowd not only from Panchkula and Chandigarh city but also Ambala, which is not very far. “We are also looking into Jalandhar, Ludhiana. These are close by markets where we are making the people aware that there is a resort here,” mentions Chaturvedi.
Market potential
Panchkula in itself has a big housing area and is populated well. A few IT companies have also moved in.
“The way the market is you have to be aggressive and you have to innovate. Earlier we were not promoting the property much, but now we have taken the initiative. Chandigarh has only one mall called Elante, which gets a footfall of 50,000-60,000 people over the weekend. We have started promoting our property in the mall – we have taken up a section and also gone on the radio,” points out Chaturvedi.
As a destination, Chandigarh attracts both business and leisure traveller, and Chaturvedi is focused on convincing the former how a stay at his property can benefit them. “We are looking to attract business clientele, while we are a resort and away from the city but we are trying to change the mindset and work that to our advantage – we can provide them relaxation after a hard days’ work which a city hotel cannot provide. We can also offer pick up and drop facility. We are open to corporate tie-ups, we go and ask them what they want. The Army has a big base here and that is potential market,” he says.
For MICE, the company now has a Delhi based corporate sales setup who take care of different markets. As a MICE destination Chandigarh has great potential – the city is just three and a half hours by train from Delhi. Chaturvedi acknowledges that they are looking at that market where corporates can have an offsite and not go very far, they can save money on transportation. Chandigarh also has excellent flight connectivity to major metros, for instance multiple daily flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru.
“We are trying to create a forum with other GMs in the city so that if there is a spillover from other hotels I can take it or since I have a big banquet hall but not that many rooms and if there is an event, they can be accommodated in other properties,” he informs.
Golden Tulip Hotels has properties coming up in Manali and Kufri which, points out Chaturvedi, will give them the scope of three city circuit. “For Manali and Kufri, Chandigarh is a hub, so we are looking at how we can support each other’s business,” he disclosed.