Asiana making an impact

Sangeetha Neeraja - Chennai

Situated in a landscape of 2.25 acres on the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) of the IT Express Highway in Chennai is the Asiana Hotel. According to Sriharan, its managing director and CEO, "The hotel is a beautiful blend of opulence and hi-end technology. This five-star property with 114 luxurious rooms and suites has refined taste of design and style besides the modern amenities to suit the demands of the discerning customer."

The hotel rooms provide internet protocol (IP) telephone services thereby allowing guests to use the colour touch screen phones to access services - airline flight status, weather (for local or worldwide destinations), dining options, group directories, etc - that would otherwise require a laptop or a call to the front desk. These phones, equipped with Percipia applications, feature vibrant displays and intuitive, easy-to-use hospitality functions. The system permits increased personalisation and guest recognition, which helps the staff deliver better services and simplifies work processes. Asiana Hotel offers a 24-hours coffee shop, Carmel that serves elaborately planned themed buffets and à la carte dishes, from around the world. Chef Balagurunathan Venkatesan, corporate chef says, "We do our best to give authentic dishes by bringing in the homemade aromas to our recipes and make our guests, feel at home."

Other restaurants include I-Lounge, Silk, which serves Thai and South Indian cuisines and Wild Fire, offering grill and steaks themed cuisine with an interactive kitchen and in-house wine cellar can be found. Its spa and fitness centre Prana provides Thai spa experience run entirely by a Thai spa specialist. Furthermore, a 25,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, can accommodate a variety of designs including theatre, classroom and cluster style for groups of up to 2,500 people. Even its Grand Ballroom, spread over 5,250 square feet offers an elegant ambience with modern technology and state-of-the-art facilities. "We are planning to open up in 20 destinations across South India and are looking at opening a resort in the pilgrimage town of Rameswaram. Other probable sites include Sriperumpudur near Chennai, Karaikudi, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy," informed Leo J Fernando, director - operations, Asiana Hotel.