Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd, India’s third largest hotel chain, opened its first international hotel in Dubai, and said it will also open in Bhutan and Nepal.
The Dubai Lemon Tree hotel will be managed by Lemon Tree via its subsidiary Carnation Hotels Pvt. Ltd. and will be owned by Al Waleed Real Estate LLC.
Lemon Tree Hotels Limited is India’s largest hotel chain in the mid-priced hotel sector, and operates around 8,000 hotel rooms across 79 properties.
The Dubai hotel is less than a kilometre from Sheikh Zayed Road and Jumeirah Open Beach, and is the first branded midscale hotel in the area, according to the company.
“The hotel features 114 well-appointed rooms, complemented by a multi-cuisine restaurant, Lemon Tree Café, with a beautiful al fresco extension, a conference room, a swimming pool, a well-equipped fitness center and more,” it said.
Rattan Keswani, who heads the Carnation Hotels units, claimed the hotel — which targets both leisure and business travelers — holds immense potential.
“We have a location advantage, with the hotel strategically situated close to famous destinations like Burj Al Arab, Kite beach and the Mall of Emirates, and are equidistant from Business Bay and JLT, the two major business districts of Dubai. Such is our proximity to the Burj Al Arab, that our guests can enjoy unhindered views of the iconic building from the pool deck, and even some of the rooms,” he said.
The company taps into the need for the familiarity and comfort of a brand in the mid-tier (3 star) hotel business, which often tends to be dominated by local players.
“The UAE and GCC is a resilient market in the long term and we could foresee the need for a recognized midmarket hotel in the branded space. We hope to have many more hotels in the region in the future,” Keswani added.
Lemon Tree Hotels opened its first hotel with 49 rooms in May 2004 and currently operates in 47 cities under its various brands including Aurika Hotels & Resorts, Lemon Tree Premier, Lemon Tree Hotels, Red Fox by Lemon Tree Hotels, Keys Prima, Keys Select and Keys Lite.
The company has another 2,500 rooms in the pipeline.
It focuses on the National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, as well as smaller cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Indore.
New hotels are being scheduled for opening in Bhutan and Nepal, it added.