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Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala has achieved a milestone by securing the distinction of having the highest number of five-star hotels in the country.<br /><br />This was revealed in the latest data available in the National Database for Accommodation units.<br /><br />Kerala has surpassed states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Goa which are popular amongst the tourists and corporates as convenient locations.<br /><br />According to the rankings, Maharashtra has taken the second position with a total of 35 five-star hotels, Goa ranks third with 32 five star properties followed by the national capital Delhi with 27 five-star hotels.<br /><br />P.B Nooh, director, Kerala tourism stated while the government plays a major role in developing infrastructure and amenities, private players develop amenities provided to them, helping increase the influx of national and international tourists to Kerala.<br /><br />Rahul Raj, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, a recent but notable addition to the state's five star property portfolio said not only does this put us on a pedestal projecting Kerala as a most sought-after destination for leisure and MICE but also plays a major role in creating more opportunities for career development in the hospitality sector.<br /><br />Shruti Shibulal, CEO and Director, Tamara Leisure, said this accomplishment serves as a strong catalyst, motivating us to actively promote and enhance the hospitality and tourism industry in Kerala.<br /><br /><br />

This state has beaten Goa and Maharashtra with the highest number of five-star hotels in India

15 of the most over-the-top examples of wealth and luxury I saw on my first trip to Aspen, Colorado

I stayed in a 5-star hotel for the first time after years of booking cheap Airbnbs. Here are 10 things that surprised me.

<p><span></span></p><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelPrague/photos/a.392031681727.173864.205354106727/10154530582431728/?type=3&amp;theater">Facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelPrague</a></span></p><p class="caption">The Four Seasons in Prague, Czech Republic.</p>Getting some shut-eye at a stylish hotel will cost you significantly more in certain cities around the world.<p><span>As part of the bank's annual survey of global prices, Deutsche Bank analysts released a report on where in the world a stay at a five-star hotel will cost you the most.</span></p><p><span>To come up with the ranking, Deutsche Bank compared the cost of a one-night stay at a Hyatt Regency property, in a king- or queen-sized room, in mid-November. If a city did not have a Hyatt Regency location, analysts considered Park Hyatts or other hotel brands of similar quality.</span></p><p><span>Here's where a one-night stay at a luxury hotel will cost you the most. </span></p>

The 25 cities with the most expensive five-star hotels

<br /> The <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword>’s verdict on banning all liquor shops within 500 metres of state and national highways has been made effective since yesterday. While food entrepreneurs thought that five star <keyword id="6368036" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotels">hotels</keyword> and fine dining restaurants would be kept off the purview, but that didn’t really happen. Last Friday, the apex court has ruled that December 15 order on banning liquor across national and state highways will be applicable on hotels and restaurants as well.<br />
<br />
The people in the business of hospitality now fear loss of jobs that may count upto one million across the country.<br />
<br /> "As an industry we are completely shocked. States like Maharashtra, <keyword id="6354915" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Assam">Assam</keyword> and <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword> were of the opinion that the ban would be imposed only on liquor shops. We are pegging the loss of revenue to about 40% ,” <keyword id="646692" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradeep-Shetty">Pradeep Shetty</keyword>, member of the legal committee at the Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India told <keyword id="6474066" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-times">Economic Times</keyword>. He added that incidental losses will lead to retrenchment and the loss of employment could be about 1 million.<br />
<br /> In <keyword id="66" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword> NCR, premium hotels like Westin, Trident, Leela and a few in the Aerocity will be badly affected by the ban in terms of business. Cyber hub, a home to an array of resto-bars would be hit.<br />
<br /> Cities like Goa, that would see the maximum loss in business as almost 3000 liquor joints would be shut are pinning their hopes on the new CM <keyword id="6363133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manohar-Parrikar">Manohar Parrikar</keyword>.<br />
<br />
However, the Supreme Court has ruled that most car accidents in India happen due to drunk driving. Delhi records 1,500 to 1,700 road fatalities and 6,000 to 75,500 grievous injuries in road accidents every year. Out of this, government record shows, 70% of fatalities occur due to drunken driving.

1 million people to lose job in
India: Blame drunken driving for it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Midscale <keyword id="11898228" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hotels" source="Orion">hotels</keyword> in <keyword id="11906678" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="thailand" source="Orion">Thailand</keyword> fared the worst during the pandemic.</li><li>Now, five-star hotels are lowering their prices to four-star levels to draw in travelers.</li></ul><p>The Village Coconut Island Beach Resort, a five-star hotel on the Thai island of Phuket, is located on a private beach. In online reviews, guests rave about its location and its staff. It has two swimming pools, a spa, and a "very good" rating from nearly 1,500 visitors. And right now, its prices are down from a pre-pandemic $336 a night to $186 a night.</p><p>It's not an outlier. Top-level hotels across Thailand are advertising similar price drops. The Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort (five stars, private balconies, wine cellar) has dropped prices from $268 to $123 a night; Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa (five stars, 20 acres, three bars) has dropped its nightly rates from $368 to $118.</p><p>With price cuts like these, hotels are making an obvious play at drawing in travelers now that Thailand has <a href="https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/thailand-travel-restrictions">relaxed</a> its border restrictions. But what they are also doing is eating into the middle-tier hotel market share. Consider the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket, a four-star hotel with a "fabulous" rating currently priced at $134 a night, or the Four Points by Sheraton and its undiscounted, $149 night price tag.</p><p>With prices like these, why would anyone pay more — or the same amount — for a lower-rated hotel? </p><h2><strong>The middle is falling out</strong></h2><p>A January 2021 Statista survey looked at the effect of the pandemic on Thailand's hotels, broken down into four categories: budget, midscale, upscale, and luxury. The survey examined hotels across 20 Thai provinces, including Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai.</p><p>It turns out, a mere 2.5% of Thailand's luxury hotels were severely affected by the pandemic. In comparison, 29.4% of midscale hotels — the highest of any group — were severely affected.</p><p>Now, as Thailand <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/phuket-missing-russian-tourists-not-that-badly-war-impact-thailand-2022-4">welcomes back visitors</a>, part, but not all, of the <keyword id="11970523" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hospitality" source="Orion">hospitality</keyword> industry is in <a href="https://www.insider.com/post-pandemic-travel-thailand-phuket-bangla-road-sunday-night-photos-2022-4">recovery mode</a> — and midscale establishments are again falling on the wrong side of the curve. In addition to the fact that five-star hotels are bottoming out their prices to compete with four-star hotel fees, what's also working against four-star hotels is that pent-up demand is driving some people to spend more on their vacations.</p><p>"I hate the word 'revenge <keyword id="11896628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword>,' but there is pent-up demand, and so people tend to spend a little more," Bill Barnett, the founder and CEO of Phuket-based hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks, told Insider.</p><div type="image" title="Aerial view of a cove and buildings lining the beach" height="2280" width="3040" msid="91490901" hostid="261"></div><p>Barnett added that the list of things working against four-star hotels is longer than the list of things working for them right now.</p><p>"They lack distinction," Barnett said of four-star hotels. "They're not sitting on prime land, they're not beachfront, so people are saying, 'Why would I want to stay there?'"</p><p>It also comes down to room count. A quick search on Booking.com shows that Phuket, one of Thailand's top tourist destinations, has nearly six times as many mid-scale hotels as luxury hotels. "They have too many rooms," Barnett said of the middle tier.</p><h2>Domino effect</h2><p>The slash in Thailand's hotel prices comes as hotel prices in the US soar. The average hotel price in the US right now is around $147, per <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/travel-prices-rising-summer-vacation/">The Washington Post</a>, citing travel research firm STR. That's $42 higher than last year and $15 higher than 2020.</p><p>But what's bad news for the hotels could be good news for travelers.</p><p>"It's a weird phenomenon," Barnett said. "Because if five-star becomes four-star prices, then people will say, 'Why should I book four-star?'"</p><p>That proved to be the case for Lauren Wedge, a logistics and imports professional from the UK, and her partner.</p><p>The pair recently traveled to Phuket for a friend's wedding and stayed at the Amari Phuket, a five-star beachfront resort.</p><p>"Amari had uninterrupted sea views with the balconies looking right over their little beach," she said of their decision to book a stay at the high-end resort, where a night currently goes for $247. "It also had a good deal available."</p><p>"My partner hasn't really experienced five-star hotels before, so was really blown away by the whole experience," she continued. </p><p>"On the holidays we've been on as a couple, we tend to stay in mid-range small hotels with not many facilities, or rent an apartment. So this was a new experience for us as a couple and one we'd definitely repeat after our wonderful experience at Amari," Wedge added.</p><p>As for what the market implications will be if five-star hotels continue to take on four-star prices, Barnett was blunt.</p><p>"Domino," he said. "The guys in the middle who have the most hotel rooms, they're screwed."</p>

You can kiss your 4-star Thailand vacation goodbye — and that's a good thing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I've been lucky enough to stay in five-star hotels around the world.</li><li>I cherish any amount of time in a hotel, but I think money is best spent when you're there for multiple nights.</li></ul><p>As bellhops grabbed my bags, a valet driver swiped my car keys, and a receptionist handed me a key to my room at <a href="https://www.thelittlenell.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">The Little Nell</a>, a five-star hotel in Aspen, Colorado, I was already feeling the pressure of time.</p><p>Check-in for the luxury hotel had started at 4 p.m., and my friend and I arrived just before 5 p.m. This meant we had already lost a precious hour of our $848 stay.</p><p>Since this was only my <a href="https://www.insider.com/luxury-five-star-hotels-most-surprising-things-2022-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second time in a five-star hotel</a>, I planned to maximize every second. I wanted to soak in the hotel's hot tub, sip cocktails at the hotel's bar, dine on truffle fries at the on-site restaurant, and utilize the hotel's free car rental.</p><p>Before I even had a chance to blink, it felt like my luxury experience was over. I lamented over the fact that I didn't have enough time for everything on my Little Nell bucket list. </p><p>Since then, I've been lucky enough to stay in four more five-star hotels thanks to my job as a travel journalist, bringing my grand total to six five-star stays. And the times I've felt the shocking price tags were worth it were the times I stayed more than one night. </p><div type="image" title="The lobby at The Hotel Britomart." height="1536" width="2048" msid="103791597" hostid="261"></div><h2>A single night isn't enough to enjoy all the amenities</h2><p>When travelers shell out hundreds of dollars for a five-star hotel, they can expect luxury. According to <a href="https://www.fivestaralliance.com/article/what-5-star-hotel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Five Star Alliance</a>, hotels earn five stars with amenities like a concierge desk, 24-hour reception, room service, and nightly turndown service.</p><p>From experience, the amenities go beyond that. I've learned that a five-star hotel is typically in a city's prime location — which means I'll have easy access to restaurants, tourist attractions, and shopping. Beyond a room filled with comfortable bedding and lavish toiletries, there are typically perks like a pool, gym, on-site restaurant, and even a hotel ski shop.  </p><p>To take advantage of all you're paying for, you need time. Meanwhile, most hotels have a check-in time that starts around 4 p.m., while checkout is typically around 11 a.m. the next day.</p><p>If I'm factoring in eight hours of sleep (which I typically am in a hotel bed with high thread counts and down pillows), that means I'm left with less than a full day in the hotel.</p><p>If I never left my room, a one-night stay might be long enough to appreciate a hotel room's soaking tub, rain shower, and cozy bed. But one night is not nearly enough time to take advantage of every amenity. </p><p>At the <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise</a> in Banff, Canada, for instance, my friend and I raced to the hotel's bonfire for s'mores night, but since we spent our evening devouring the campfire snack, we missed swimming in the indoor pool and taking a fitness class. </p><p>At the <a href="https://www.crystalbrookcollection.com/albion" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Crystalbrook Albion</a> in Sydney, Australia, I checked in late and missed the hotel's daily gin-and-tonic happy hour. It wasn't the end of the world, but I would've added it to my itinerary if I had another night in the five-star accommodation. </p><p>Meanwhile, in the hotels where I spent more than one night, like the <a href="https://thehotelbritomart.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Hotel Britomart</a> in Auckland, New Zealand, and <a href="https://www.star.com.au/sydney/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">The Darling</a>, a five-star hotel in Sydney, Australia, I was able to take advantage of more amenities. </p><p>For example, at the Hotel Britomart, I spent an entire day wandering around the city on one of the hotel's free bikes — something that wouldn't have worked with my schedule if I stayed only for one night. At The Darling, I used the hotel's gym, basked in the outdoor pool, soaked in my hotel room's shower, and ate breakfast at an on-site restaurant. These four things would've been impossible if I needed to check out by 11 a.m.</p><p>Plus, I typically stay in five-star hotels in new cities, which makes every decision more challenging. Do I spend time enjoying the expensive hotel I spent hundreds of dollars on? Or do I explore a new destination that I might not visit again anytime soon?</p><div type="image" title="The pool at The Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado." height="1536" width="2048" msid="103791598" hostid="261"></div><h2>I'd splurge on extra nights at a luxury hotel</h2><p>The times my five-star stays weren't worth it were the times when I didn't spend enough time in the hotel.</p><p>I travel to learn about new cultures, dive into a city's rich history, and meet locals — three tasks that are impossible to do from a hotel bed. </p><p>More times than not, I'll opt for an affordable hotel. I save money, which means I can stay in a destination longer and there's no pressure to spend time at my hotel.</p><p>But that doesn't mean I won't ever splurge on a luxury stay. Every now and then, there are instances when I want to relax on vacation, and I've decided that if I'm going to splurge, I might as well truly splurge and stay for more than one night. That way I can take advantage of every amenity all while truly decompressing, which to me, is the point of staying in a five-star property. </p><p>It's a privilege to have a decision like whether to enjoy a hotel's pool or visit a nearby art gallery, but when you're paying hundreds of dollars for a place to sleep, it's a decision nonetheless. </p><p>For any future luxe trips I'm saving for, I'm going to save even more so I can vacation in style for two nights instead of one. </p>

I've slept in 5-star hotels around the world and think the splurge is only worth it if you stay for more than one night

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">These deals won't last forever.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Dubai has a whopping 703 hotels with 111,864 rooms, the vast majority of which are in four- and five-star hotels.</li><li>Many experts and industry researchers say the city's hotel industry is suffering from oversupply, which is pushing down revenue and room rates for even top-of-the-line hotels.</li><li>I found on a recent trip to the city that I could get incredible deals on luxury hotels that would cost a fortune in the US and Europe.</li><li>Over the course of a week visiting the city, I stayed almost exclusively at four- and five-star hotels and never paid more than $180 a night.</li></ul><p>Dubai is jam-packed with five-star hotels, beaches, luxury malls, and newly minted landmarks designed to be the biggest of everything - tallest building, largest indoor theme park, second-biggest mall, etc.</p><p>It's all part of the city's <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/uae/dubai-plans-to-be-world-s-most-popular-tourist-destination-by-2025-1.776970">aims to be the most popular tourist destination</a> in the world by 2025.</p><p>Already, it is the fourth-most visited city in the world, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-visited-cities-in-the-world-2018-9">a projected 16.7 million visitors</a> this year, <a href="https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/big-cities-big-business-bangkok-london-and-paris-lead-the-way-in-mastercards-2018-global-destination-cities-index/">according to Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index</a>.</p><p>But all of that development aimed at the future of Dubai comes with growing pains. If you're someone who's been itching to visit the city, now's the time to take advantage.</p><p>Currently, there are <a href="https://www.visitdubai.com/en/tourism-performance-report">703 hotels with 111,864 rooms</a> in Dubai, a city of 3 million people. That's slightly <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/hotel_industry_nyc_rpt2_2017.pdf">more than the supply in</a> New York City, a city of 8.6 million people.</p><p>Only about <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/403433-how-bad-is-the-squeeze-on-dubai-hotel-revenues">20% of Dubai's rooms</a> are in one- to three-star hotels. By comparison, 43% of Paris's hotel rooms are in one- to three-star hotels.</p><p>And development is far from over in Dubai. The city is currently ramping up to host the World Expo in 2020, when it is expected see 25 million visitors over the course of the six-month event.</p><p>The number of hotel rooms is set to rise to 132,000 by the end of next year, and an additional 53 five-star hotels <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/403433-how-bad-is-the-squeeze-on-dubai-hotel-revenues">will open before 2020</a>.</p><h2>TL;DR - Dubai has a lot of fancy hotels and a lot of open rooms</h2><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.dukesdubai.com/">Dukes Dubai</a></span></p><p class="caption">The lobby of Dukes Dubai, a five-star beachfront hotel.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><p>What does all of this mean to you? Well, you can get amazing deals on top-of-the-line hotels that would cost a fortune in the US or Europe.</p><p>While visiting Dubai over the last week, I stayed at four- and five-star hotels almost exclusively and never paid more than $150 a night.</p><p>First I stayed at <a href="https://www.form-hotel.com/home">Form Hotel</a>, a chic, design-centric four-star hotel that opened in May, for $88 a night.</p><p>Then I stayed at The Canvas Hotel, a glam five-star hotel by Sofitel in central Dubai that features a hip rooftop pool bar, for $103 a night.</p><p>Afterwards, I jetted over to <a href="https://www.rovehotels.com/">Rove Trade Centre</a> for $94 a night. While Rove is technically a three-star hotel, it's a brand new concept targeted to millennials that feels like a hotel mated with a WeWork. It was as nice as any of the others I stayed in.</p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.rovehotels.com/">Rove Hotels</a></span></p><p class="caption">The lobby of Rove, a new mid-tier hotel concept geared toward millennials.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><p>Finally, I grabbed a room for $180 at <a href="https://www.dukesdubai.com/">Dukes Dubai</a>, a five-star beachfront hotel on Palm Jumeirah, the palm-tree shaped artificial island you see in pictures of Dubai.</p><p>I got all of these deals during Dubai's winter, when temperatures drop from a hellish <a href="https://services.dubaiairports.ae/dubaimet/MET/Climate.aspx">105 degrees Fahrenheit</a> (41 degrees Celsius) to a more pleasant 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius).</p><section><p><em><strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-dubai-has-so-many-malls-2018-11">Dubai has more than 65 malls in a city of 3 million people, and it's not because they're obsessed with shopping</a></em></p></section><p>My experience may be anecdotal, but experts and industry researchers are sounding the same alarm. The issue is less a lack of demand for rooms, which keeps rising, but too many hotels opening.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/harrisonxjacobs">Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider</a></span></p><p class="caption">The rooftop pool bar of Canvas Hotel Dubai.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In July, STR reported that <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/local/dubai-hotel-room-rates-hit-14-year-/low" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average room rates in Dubai</a> had dropped to a 14-year-low "due to pressure from increased supply."</p><p>Last month, STR <a href="http://tradearabia.com/news/TTN_347481.html">reported that hotels in Dubai</a> saw declines in occupancy and revenues for October, the start of the high season, despite "significant growth in demand."</p><p>Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing <a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/local/dubai-hotels-must-adapt-to-price-sensitive-tourists">reported similar difficulties</a> for the hospitality industry related to supply last year.</p><p>At the Gulf &amp; Indian Ocean Hotel Investors' Summit in February, Russel Sharpe, COO of Citymax Hotels, lamented that <a href="http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/271570/Oversupply-likely-to-stifle-Dubai-hotel-performance">oversupply was pushing down revenue</a> for hotel investors.</p><p>"The last three years have seen a steady deterioration of [revenue per available room]," Sharpe said.</p><p>Many hotels, STR reported, are trying to overcome the imbalance in supply and demand by offering more attractive rates to travelers, a point that Sharpe touched on in February.</p><p>"The line has been rubbed out in terms of rate between upper four star and five star," he said. "Where is the demand coming from, and at what price? We were considered an expensive destination, and that is now not the case."</p><p>That may be a bummer for hotel investors, property speculators, and multinational corporations, but that means one thing for you: You can get some pretty sweet deals on fancy-shmancy hotels in Dubai.</p><p>So go, have a ball.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hot-to-cook-perfect-turkey-90-minutes-thanksgiving-dinner-2016-11">You've probably been cooking your turkey all wrong - here's how to do it in 90 minutes flat</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

If you've ever wanted to visit Dubai, there's likely never been a better time than right now. Here's why.

<br />
<br />
 A meal at any five-star property is an elaborate affair- and one that stands apart from any other meal you have had the fortune of relishing or liking. Naturally, the curiosity regarding how this very meal tastes is always at an all-time high. What sets it apart? Is it the ingredients, the finesse of the chef or maybe, the techniques used that blows our mind away and tingles our tastebuds like never before?<br />
<br />
Instead of wondering about the possibilities, we decided to get our hands dirty (in a five-course meal) and give a sneak-peak at how a meal at a five-star looks like and why.<br />
<br />
Our destination of liking was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Tim-Cooks-India-visit/articleshow/52310569.cms">The Leela Palace, Delhi</a> known across the country for its elegance and grandeur. Lucky for us, the hotel was celebrating the appointment of <keyword id="3646816" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chef-Adrian-Mellor">Chef Adrian Mellor</keyword> as their Executive Chef, who brings with him over 28 years of culinary experience, which included a stint as the private chef to the royal family of Jordan.<br />
<br />
Though he’s English by birth, Chef Mellor insists that his heart remains in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=asia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Asia</a>. After past stints at the Waldorf Astoria, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=malaysia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Malaysia</a>, The Oberoi Rajvilas, India and the Peninsula Manila, Philippines, he’s all ready to transform the kitchen of <keyword id="775294" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Leela-Palace">The Leela Palace</keyword>, New <keyword id="66" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword>.<br />
<br />
 His immediate aim, he says is to identify how the popular food trends of the West can be tweaked to suit the Indian palate. “Knowing my guests better will make my job incredibly easier,” he claims, before serving the most dreamy and delicious five-course meal anyone would dream of tasting.<br />
<br />
Each dish served was a thoughtful creation inspired from the European classics and the way he re-imagined these classics. The idea was to have a menu which used all classic techniques like pickling, poaching, roasting, slow cooking and brining in a modern, unique way.<br />
<br />
If this meal was anything to go by, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that Chef Mellor has already succeeded in knowing his guests.<br />
<br />
Here’s how that looked-

This is what a meal at The Leela Palace, Delhi's five-star property looks like

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Why would a five-star hotel want to make itself a less luxurious and more crappy? That's the questions observers asked themselves this week after Chen Miaolin, vice president of the China Tourism Association, was quoted <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-01/19/c_119033709.htm">by Xinhua news agency</a> as saying that 56 five-star hotels had pledged to to downgrade themselves to a four-star rating last year.</p>
<p>"I've been in the business for decades and I've never seen this before," Chen reportedly <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-22/chinas-five-star-hotels-are-desperate-for-lower-ratings">told the Chinese publication</a>. The comments were apparently so shocking that the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2014/01/23/chinese-hotels-drop-stars-to-score-political-points/">Wall Street Journal called to confirm he actually said it</a>.</p>
<p>While hotels generally strive to be as nice as they possibly can, the situation in China has changed over the last year due to President Xi Jinping's recent anti-corruption drive. "In the past, hotels and restaurants competed for stars, to be high-level, but now they compete on who is more low-profile," said He Jiahong, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/18/chinese-uni-course-anti-corruption" title="">an anti-corruption expert at Renmin University</a>, told <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/23/china-hotels-shed-stars-woo-customers-austerity">the Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>"The series of anti-corruption measures in 2013 was quite strong, compared to the past, although it has still not fixed the problems in the system," He said. "The decline in the hotel and restaurant business shows that in our country, the luxury hotel business, or high-grade consumption in this area, is supported by government spending."</p>
<p>The decision to remove stars has been made not only for financial reasons - operating revenue amongst 4,000 star-rated hotels in China had dropped 25% over the last year, Chen noted - but it may also show a shifting conception of luxury: New hotels are delaying their applications for five-star status, <a href="http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/01/22/dropping-stars-the-latest-vogue-for-chinese-hotels/#axzz2rFoDC14X">the Financial Times notes</a>, hoping to avoid the stigma currently surrounding luxury products.</p>

Why Luxurious Five Star Hotels In China Are Deliberately Making Themselves Crappier

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Cara-Foto/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>I've been working in the room-service department of a five-star hotel for six months.</p><p>Actually, it's a five-<em>red</em>-star hotel: The <em>red</em> part is a special distinction awarded by <a href="http://www.theaa.com/travel/accommodation_restaurants_grading.html">AA Hotel Services</a> (an organization specific to the UK, which is where this hotel is located) that means we go above and beyond normal five-star hotel requirements.</p><p>Basically, it's the fanciest kind of hotel you can possibly stay at. </p><p>Yes, we cater to well-known celebrities and high-profile guests. But the beauty of our service is that all guests are treated equally as nicely - whether we like you or not. </p><p>Saying that, your hotel experience will be much more enjoyable if we <em>do</em> like you. So here are some important do's and don'ts for your next stay, from the girl who brings you breakfast and restocks your mini bar.</p>

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