Now & then: The hotel under construction and a model of the project. Pictures by Manik Bose

Ranchi, Aug. 10: Where would you hope to find sportspersons chilling out after a long day of hard play? If plans materialise, they probably would be spotted at the sports bar-cum-discotheque of the Radisson Grand coming up soon.

The state’s maiden five-star hotel is set to come up by mid-2009 as the construction work is going on at rapid pace at the posh Kadru Chowk area in the state capital.

The facilities in the upcoming hotel include a Kebab Factory (for Mughlai food lovers), a sports bar-cum-discotheque and a 24-hour-coffee shop among others.

All other facilities, including a multi-cuisine restaurant, a speciality restaurant, state-of-the-art gymnasium, health club with spa facilities, business centres, club lounge for corporate executives, many conference and party rooms and ample car parking space (covering the entire double basement) would also be offered.

Other features would include 112 rooms, six suites, banquet hall for 1,500 persons (approximately), swimming pool with landscaping and lobby bar.

“The entire hotel is being developed over 2,00,000sqft. We are hopeful of opening the same by mid-2009,” said Dilip Kumar Gupta, the chairman-cum-managing director of Jagmohanlal Gupta Estates Private Limited that has tied up with Radisson of Carlson Group.

The US-based group would manage the hotel while Jagmohanlal would act as a franchise.

For renowned contractor Chhavi Vermani, the project is a dream come true. “This is the sole project in Ranchi I am working with at present,” said Vermani, who is working under the guidance of Mumbai-based main architect Prakash Mankar and local architect Mayukh Virnave.

As far as a five-star certification is concerned, Gupta said that the things had been finalised by the Union ministry of tourism and its industry counterpart.

The state capital’s hotel industry has taken giant strides of late with Mumbai-based Saha Sprague announcing its intention to come up with a 150-200 room four-star hotel in Ranchi. The company is yet to announce location details, though. Moreover, the Lemon Tree chain has also announced plans to come up with a budget hotel here.