Burj Al Arab inspires hotelier

London-based Indian entrepreneur goes home to refurbish his grand Bentley hotel after a memorable stay in the Dubai landmark

A nine day stay at Dubai's fabulous Burj Al Arab provided the inspiration for a London-based Indian entrepreneur to complete the purchase of his own five-star establishment in the heart of Kensington.

Joginder Sanger, together with his wife and children, had the best time of their lives when they visited Dubai earlier this year and stayed at the Burj Al Arab.

What was meant to be a pleasant three-day stopover en-route to India, turned into a five-day adventure, then a seven-day experience and, finally, a nine-day odyssey that the family continues to remember with delight and appreciation.

"The gifts in our rooms alone were each worth $200," recalls 61-year-old Sanger, explaining that the Burj staff offered him a generous discount, amounting to two nights' free accommodation, if they extended their stay.

upmarket traveller
Back in London memories of the Dubai experience so captivated Sanger that he determined to take a leaf out of Burj Al Arab's book in refurbishing the 64-room Bentley hotel aimed exclusively at the upmarket traveller visiting the British capital.

It is not just the prices - £4,000 per night for the three bedroom Imperial Suite - that invoke memories of upmarket Dubai, but also the luxury furnishings, rich colours and haute cuisine that so many Gulf hotels have long taken for granted.

On Sanger's instructions the interior designers brought into refurbish his hotel have dispensed with the minimalism so popular in the 1990s and brought in marble, Louis XV furniture, crystal chandeliers and deep red silk fabrics for the walls.

"People want to be comfortable and cosy and they can't do this in a minimalist property," says David Cowdery, general manager. "So it's spend, spend, spend time, and only the best will do."
Other properties

Although Sanger readily accepts that the opulent Bentley could become the jewel in his crown of other hotels, it is the 120-room Washington Hotel, a four-star establishment in London's Mayfair, that is the current flagship of his expanding empire.

He also owns a budget hotel near London's Heathrow airport and a fourth boutique hotel near Oxford Circus that is due to open in the months to come.

Sanger is typical of the UK's enterprising non-resident Indians (NRIs) who have propelled themselves upwards and onwards through a combination of sheer hard work and business acumen.

Among his friends he is known as "Panditji". This is not just a reference to his Brahmin roots but also an indication of the high esteem in which he is held.

When he first came to the UK in 1962, Sanger opened a travel agency that led to his subsequent appointment as general sales agent, first for Air India and then Pan Am until it closed down in 1991.

Although he continues to operate a small travel business on Poland Street, off London's New Oxford Street, Sanger now spends more time overseeing his fast-growing hotel chain.

His nearest ethnic rivals so far are the India-based Taj group who own the prestigious St James Court near the Houses of Parliament and Kenyan-Indian businessman Jasminder Singh who recently took over the InterContinental on London's Park Lane.

Sanger is unfazed by the competition. He says there is plenty of room in the business for all who are prepared to work hard. It is a measure of the respect he commands that even his rivals defer to him as "Panditji".