White Sands: A ‘Fun’ Concept

Goa is not as overbuilt and charters have not robbed it of quality tourism as is the most common view says Rabindra Seth

Capital View

Rabindra Seth

An NRI multinational, Unicorn Holdings, based in the UK and Kenya, is all set to commission a classy resort in India’s beach country , Goa. Unicorn is pegging its future to charters at a time when the hospitality industry is yet to recover from the fall out of 9/11. Unicorn Holdings with interests in trading, finance, computers software and telecoms is making a foray into hotels with a resort in Goa and acquisition of an operational hotel in Mombasa now under negotiations.

For its debut in India, Unicorn Holdings has tied up with the fast growing Carlson Hotels with a franchise of its Radisson brand, christened as Radisson White Sands Resort, it will open its doors to guests in December with 110 rooms with 50 more to be added in phase two. The project has cost Rs 100 crore. Briefing news persons at the Capital’s Radisson Hotel in the presence of president and MD of Carlson Asia Pacific, Paul Kirwin and chief of Carlson India operations, Bhushan Kachru, Unicorn’s executive vice-president, Hari Ravindranath explained how White Sands hoped to get more out of charters as well as domestic travellers. He said Goa has so far been exposed to low spending charters a bulk of which came from the UK. Secondly, while hotels do provide plenty of relaxation, there is little or no fun to be had. White Sands, he claimed, will fill this gap.

On charters, Hari said White Sands will depend more on those from Russia, a fairly new market with a younger crowd of holiday makers and deep pockets looking for value for money. A major campaign is being launched in Russia and tour operators were being persuaded to include Goa in their offerings. A similar campaign aims at the 30-40 year old executives in our own metro cities has also been released. Spanning 39 acres of beach front in Varca in south Goa, Radisson White Sands Resort was built in a record eleven months from Bhoomi Puja to project completion. For its general manager Unicorn has hired Detlef Meisalein, a German expert who has specialised in commissioning new hotels for over a quarter century including a stint in Goa a decade ago when he was associated with the opening of Ramada. Hari said that in south Goa, White Sands will be the third ‘best’ hotel after The Leela and Taj Exotica. It is being positioned as a ‘fun place’. He added,”It will be the only hotel which is going to talk of fun and life.” There will be no formal management infrastructure. The staff will wear jeans and t-shirts.

The telephone operator will respond with a ‘hi’ rather than ‘thank you’ for calling White Sands. Limousines that transfers guests from and to the airport will play Konkani and Portuguese music. And, within the hotel there will be a choice of three or four channels of World Space Music, satellite based transmission with the clarity of CD level.
Among the activities for guests Hari said there is 4,000 square feet of games area - a bowling alley (Goa’s first), computer games, a video game arcade and a separate children’s games room, a mini theatre, pool tables and a library of films. Specially trained teams will provide in-house activity from morning till night, a clown or a Mexican amigo to entertain children along with interactive working sessions for those interested in enhancing their culinary skills. Entertainment by artists from Africa like the Masai dancers (thanks to Unicorn’s Kenya connection) will be a regular feature. Added Hari, “We want the guest to be a participant and not a spectator. The key is to think like a guest and not a hotelier.”

Among other distinguishing features of White Sands are the Beach Bar and the swimming pool. The bar is housed on top of a fishing trawler and the pool is long enough to look like a shore line. And, of course, there will be the health spa, yoga, meditation centre and ayurveda massage. Flavours of India is the speciality restaurant for dinner with many cuisines and Water Falls Cafe will be a 24-hour dining affair.

Carlson Hotels, a big league player in the travel world, has some 770 hotels and resorts under its belt as well as six cruise ships. There are more than a dozen Radisson hotels in India. Other brands introduced in this country from the Carlson stable are Country Inns and Suites, Park Plaza and Park Inns. Asia Pacific president and MD, Kirwin says, “The opportunities for growth of our brands in India is immense. Since, globally Radisson is the leader in the hotel industry, we are destined to become a vibrant, and exciting new travel industry powerhouse in the next decade.”

White Sands has enough time to live up to its claim of Goa’s first fun place.