NEW DELHI: US-listed hospitality firm Orient Express may feel that an alliance with Tata Group will hurt its premium brand value but the two have been ranked alongside in a list of world's best hotels by a top travel magazine.
Tata's Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai and Orient's Le Manoir Aux Quat'saisons at Oxfordshire, UK, are among the world's 17 best hotels for having food, according to the 2008 Gold List prepared by British magazine Conde Nast.
Besides Taj, three other hotels in India found a place in the world's best hotels in other categories. Leela Palace Kempinski in Bangalore was included in the list of best hotels for rooms; while The Imperial in New Delhi is in the category of hotels with the best service. Oberoi Group's Wildflower Hall near Shimla is ranked among the best hotels in terms of locations by the international travel magazine.
The list comes days after Orient Express rebuffed a proposal by Tata group firm Indian Hotels, which runs the Taj brand of hotels, to form a business alliance. The super-luxury US hotel chain firm had said tying up with the "predominantly Indian" hospitality firm will erode its brand image.
The magazine complemented the eight restaurants of Taj Mahal Palace that offer a wide range of cuisine, including eastern Mediterranean and contemporary Japanese.
While there is only one Taj hotel in the Gold List, Orient has properties in different categories also, including among the best hotels in terms of location and service.
Conde Nast described Leela's spacious, contemporary rooms as its X factor, and added that these rooms are decorated in creamy tones with outside terraces and marble bathrooms.
It also gave a thumps up to The Imperial's employees, saying "The X factor of the hotel is the multilingual staff who speak English, Hindi, Thai and French and follow the premise that 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (Guest is God)".
