Crowne Plaza Dhaka Airport bets on integrated hospitality as city's travel demand surges

Dhaka : Three months after opening its doors, Crowne Plaza Dhaka Airport is positioning itself as more than another luxury hotel entering Bangladesh's growing hospitality market. According to Ashwani Nayar, Cluster General Manager of Crowne Plaza Dhaka Airport and InterContinental Dhaka Airport, the property is designed as part of a much larger integrated destination that could reshape how international travelers, airline crews, event organizers, and business delegates experience Dhaka.

"We opened towards the end of January or early February this year. It has been three months now and the experience has been wonderful," Nayar said in an exclusive interview with The Bangladesh Monitor. "The market has responded very favorably to us, both for accommodation and food and beverage. The product and service have been very well accepted."

Ashwani Nayar

Located adjacent to the capital's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the 284-room Crowne Plaza Dhaka Airport is the first hospitality component of the sprawling United Terminal Complex, a mixed-use development that combines hospitality, retail, convention facilities, and commercial space in a single integrated destination.

One-stop destination

For Nayar, the hotel's biggest differentiator is not merely its proximity to the airport but the ecosystem surrounding it.

"Once you come inside the complex as a whole, what you experience is something very similar to a lot of metropolitan cities across the world," he said. "It is a composite, well-integrated facility that offers not only hospitality but multiple lifestyle options."

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The development already includes the newly opened Crowne Plaza Dhaka Airport, a large convention center, a retail mall, and commercial office towers occupied by international corporations and garment buying houses. An InterContinental Dhaka Airport is also under construction within the same complex.

The retail component, Centrepoint, includes high-end shopping, dining outlets, entertainment facilities, and a Star Cineplex.

Combined with landscaped public spaces, business facilities, and convention infrastructure, he believes the development creates a unique proposition not previously available in Bangladesh.

Spacious suites blend modern luxury with views of the airport

"It is like a one-stop solution. Only major cities around the world can proudly boast of having such a facility, so well located near an international airport while simultaneously serving the city."

New face for Crowne Plaza brand

Beyond its location, Nayar sees the hotel as representing the evolution of the Crowne Plaza brand itself.

Traditionally recognized as a business and meetings-focused hotel brand, Crowne Plaza globally has increasingly repositioned itself toward lifestyle-oriented hospitality. Nayar said, the Dhaka Airport property reflects that transformation.

Guests entering the property are greeted by soaring ceilings, expansive public areas, and contemporary design elements intended to create what Nayar described as a distinctly international atmosphere.

Targeting corporate travel, airline business

As Bangladesh continues to attract international investment across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and development sectors, Nayar expects corporate travelers to remain the hotel's core customer base.

Recent infrastructure improvements are also helping strengthen the property's competitive position. The elevated expressway and metro rail network have significantly improved connectivity across the capital, making access to different parts of the city faster and more predictable.

Flexible meeting spaces cater to corporate events and semimars

The airport location also makes the property attractive for airline crews and aviation-related business travel.

"For airline crews, our complex becomes a one-stop solution. They have accommodation, shopping, dining and entertainment all in one place."

Betting big on MICE

A significant pillar of the hotel's strategy centers on meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

Nayar believes the integrated facilities within the United Terminal Complex could significantly enhance Dhaka's ability to attract large-scale international events.

The development includes what he described as the city's largest indoor convention facility, spanning approximately 18,000 square feet, alongside multiple event spaces capable of accommodating between 100 and 2,000 participants.

Within Crowne Plaza itself, event infrastructure includes a nearly 10,000-square-foot ballroom and multiple meeting rooms.

"When you combine the convention center, the meeting facilities, the hotel's 284 rooms and the upcoming InterContinental with another 251 rooms, it becomes an automatic attraction for MICE and event organizers," Nayar said.

He believes the development will not only capture a share of existing events taking place in the capital but also stimulate entirely new demand by enabling larger and more sophisticated international gatherings.

Culinary destination in its own right

Food and beverage are emerging as another major focus area.

Among the property's standout offerings is its all-day dining restaurant featuring what Nayar described as one of the country's most extensive international buffet concepts.

"This is the first time an international buffet has been laid out with four live stations in an all-day dining restaurant," he said. "The experience of discovering different food items itself becomes part of the attraction."

The hotel has also introduced Connexions, a 24-hour duplex café and lounge concept that allows guests to work, meet, or relax around the clock.

Adding further depth to the culinary portfolio is House of Han, a forthcoming Chinese restaurant that will showcase Sichuan, Cantonese and Hunan cuisines.

A particular highlight will be the introduction of Chongqing hotpot, one of China's most popular communal dining experiences.

"It will have ten private dining rooms where six to forty people can comfortably enjoy meals with family, friends or colleagues," Nayar said.