Novotel hotel opening delayed

Renovations for luxury hotel coming up in place of Hotel Holiday Inn in Juhu still on, following its Jan 31 fire

Renovations for luxury hotel coming up in place of Hotel Holiday Inn in Juhu still on, following its Jan 31 fireu00a0

A major fire gutted the third floor of the under-renovation Hotel Holiday Inn, Juhu, on Saturday Pic/ Bibishan Kumar

YOU may have to postpone your visit to Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach (called Hotel Holiday Inn earlier). This beach-facing hotel, that was once a celebrity attraction, was supposed to open by April-end 2009 but a major fire gutted the third floor of the hotel and blackened the exterior of three other floors on top.

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Dinesh Khanna of the Holiday Inn Group said, "The opening will be more or less on schedule, but this fire has surely affected the ongoing renovation work."

At around 12 noon, smoke began billowing out of the windows and by 12.15 pm it turned into a huge fire. A security guard from a neighbouring building who saw the fire said, "I immediately whistled for the workers who were working at the back of the hotel, five-six storeys high on the scaffolding." The fire brigade, consisting of eight fire engines, four tankers and an ambulance, managed to douse the fire by 2.15 pm. V R Kuvaskar, Additional Divisional Fire Officer, says, "The fire spread after it caught onto the old scrap kept on the open terrace."

Adds Khanna, "The new materials bought for renovation have been destroyed, but the total loss in monetary terms is yet to be ascertained." Unconfirmed reports point the cause of the fire to a burning beedi left by a worker on a sofa. None of the workers were hurt, though most of their machines, clothes and money were burnt.

How big Novotel will be
The hotel is being renovated at a cost of Rs 100 crore. This beach-facing hotel placed on 2.5-acre land will feature 203 guest rooms and suites post-transformation.