Armani sews up India hotel deal

The Armani brand of luxury boutique hotels, which primarily cater to premium customers, is setting up shop in India, starting with markets like Mumbai, Delhi and Goa. Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties will launch the luxury hotel by 2008. Emaar MGF had recently tied up with France-based Accor group to launch the 100 Formulae 1 hotels in the Indian market.

Emaar will handle the construction, management and operations, of the hotels while leading Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani will oversee the content, design and style including interiors. "The construction activities have started and we are deliberating on the number and size of the rooms for each hotel. It's going to be a 7-star hotel and will come up only in major metro markets," says Shravan Gupta, executive vice chairman and managing director, Emaar MGF.

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