ITC Hotels is set to open a new 600 room flagship property in the incredible south Indian city of Chennai this November.

ITC Grand Chola will offer guests a taste of the grandeur of the Chola dynasty through its luxurious rooms and suites, innovative restaurants and array of leisure and spa experiences, while being run on renewable energy in line with the group’s stringent sustainability policy.

Reigning from the 9th to the 13th Century, the Chola empire ruled over most of South India.

Their legacy as active patrons of the arts lives on today in Chennai, with art, music, drama and poetry still flourishing in the region, while the temples and bronze sculptures commissioned by the dynasty remain a key attraction for visitors to Chennai today.

The magnificent ten-storey, three-wing hotel will include the first luxury serviced apartments in the city as well as 14 suites ranging from 615sqft to the 4380sqft six bay Grand Presidential Suite – the largest in Chennai – featuring its own swimming pool, gym, living room, drawing room and kitchen.

Guests will be able to choose from a range of accommodation options including ITC One rooms with private butler and exclusive lounge; the elegant Towers rooms and the Executive Club featuring workspace for the corporate traveller.

ITC Grand Chola will also feature an exclusive Eva wing, specifically designed to meet the needs of female travellers, with lady butlers, in-room video phones and special amenities all on offer.

Ten restaurants and bars will bring ITC Hotels’ acclaimed dining concepts to Chennai with highlights set to include the latest outpost of award-winning Peshawri, serving simple, delicious cuisine from the North West Frontier in a rustic ambience and The Royal Vega, an exclusively vegetarian restaurant.

A wealth of leisure facilities will include a 23,000sqft luxurious Kaya Kalp Spa, outdoor pools and spacious gyms for each of the three wings and a huge shopping area.

City.Mobi

Also in India today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Chennai.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Chennai.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.