Governor Devanand Konwar speaks at the inauguration ceremony of Gargee Grand in Patna as agriculture minister Narendra Singh (seated left) and tourism minister Sunil Kumar Pintu look on. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, May 10: Foreign tourists to the state have yet another luxury address in the state capital — Gargee Grand.

The hotel that opened to the public today adds to the list of luxury hotels like Hotel Chanakya and Hotel Maurya.

Owner of Gargee Grand R.K. Singh said: “It took me more than four years to build this hotel. The idea of having a five-star hotel in the city was always in my mind. We have ensured every facility and fulfilled all norms, which are required in setting up a five-star hotel. Now, tourists will have one more option when they visit the state capital and I am sure we would be their first preference.”

The hotel promises to provide world-class hospitality, food and ambience to customers. Gargee Grand has five conference rooms and two restaurants — Gandhali and Galangal — with a seating capacity of 70 and 50 respectively. The hotel’s bar, Galverch, which would serve Indian and imported wines, liquors, cocktails and mocktails, can seat 50 people.

Singh added: “The number of tourists to the state capital has gone up in the past couple of years but the hospitality sector is yet to match the growth. The few four-star and five-star hotels are struggling to provide guests the desired space. On several occasions, guests return disappointed from the hotel of their choice failing to get a room according to their liking. But we are completely different and would give the best facility to our guests.”

Reaching the hotel will be easy for the tourists. The hotel, located in the Exhibition Road area, is 1.5km from Patna Junction and 3.5km from Patna airport.

General manager of Gargee Grand Abhishek Debnath said the hotel has 31 rooms, starting from Rs 8,500 to Rs 25,000 a night, with two premium suites and one standard deluxe suite.

Food is an important part in every hotel and Gargee Grand has designs to satisfy their guests.

Uma Shree Singh, the managing director of the hotel, said: “In every hotel, guests look for the best food. We have made this our priority and have brought in a chef trained in Switzerland who has also worked at Taj Mumbai. We will serve Oriental cuisine, including Chinese, Thai, Mongolian and Korean.”

Governor Devanand Konwar inaugurated the hotel today with agriculture minister Narendra Singh and tourism minister Sunil Kumar Pintu.

Sunil said: “Tourists coming to Bihar used to complain about the dearth of good hotels in the state. But courtesy, such people who have taken the initiative to build five-star hotels, good hotels are coming up in the city. Our department will extend every support to the hospitality sector in the future.”

The agriculture minister said while earlier it was not possible for investors to put in money in the state, the Nitish Kumar government has allowed change and development in every aspect of the state.

The governor, however, differed from the two ministers. Konwar said: “It is good that new things are happening in the state. But tourism in the state has still miles to go. There should be less talk and more work in the field. Tourism can generate good revenue for the state but the department needs to work hard for it.”