Marriott International on Saturday announced the debut of its Autograph Collection in India, taking its total brand count in the country to 19.
Rather than picking a five-star tower in Mumbai or a business hotel in Delhi for its entry, Marriott picked a palace in Karnal, a mid-sized city in Haryana about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of Delhi. Noormahal, Delhi NCR Karnal, Autograph Collection may look unconventional on a map, but the choice is deliberate.
“Noormahal stood out because it brings a well-defined identity and a strong sense of place, brand prerequisites that are central to the Autograph Collection Hotels ethos of being ‘exactly like nothing else.’” Kiran Andicot, senior vice president for South Asia at Marriott International, told Skift.
Describing the 176-key property, which was built in 2009 using “traditional Mughal and Rajputana schools of architecture” per its website, Andicot added: “It is not a hotel built to a