NCR Hotels thread

[IU]

Interesting article on some of Delhi's earliest hotels built before independence:

‘Lodged’ in the heart of New Delhi

Civil Lines was the hub of European-style hotels in the city until New Delhi came into being in 1911. Established in 1903, the most famous among them was the Maidens Hotel — a stately hotel known for its magnificent colonial architecture and sweeping greens.

Then there were the Swiss Hotel and Hotel Cecil. The latter was owned by the famous Hotz family which owned Wildflower Hall and Cecil Hotel in Shimla.

But Maidens was where the rich, the famous and the royalty stayed till 1930s. The hotel also hosted Edwin Lutyens, the chief architect of New Delhi, during his early visits to Delhi after he was commissioned to design the new imperial Capital. And not many might know that the Maidens was a red-coloured building in its early days.

Though not as grand as Maidens, the Cecil, managed by Robert Hotz, was an exclusive hotel with hundred rooms and a swimming pool. Today, St Xavier’s School stands where it once used to be.

“Cecil was known for its homely environment. It had large apartment-like suites, which made it a favourite of many European families that visited India those days. Many foreign journalists had permanent suits in Cecil as well as in Swiss Hotel. But Indian businessmen and families who visited Delhi often stayed in hotels situated in the walled city,” said DN Chaudhuri, 78, author of ‘Delhi: Lights, Shades, Shadows’.



All the three hotels in Civil Lines were quite popular among elite British women who would often come here for idle gossip in afternoons and would return in the evening with their husbands for dinner and dance.

By 1936, New Delhi got its first major hotel — The Imperial, by far the most luxurious one in the city. It was Viceroy Lord Willingdon who suggested to Ranjit Singh—one of the major contractors of New Delhi—that he should build a hotel, something that had been a part of Lutyens’ original plan.

Designed by R Blomfield, one of Lutyens’ associates, The Imperial, spanning eight acres on Queensway (now called Janpath) had a unique blend of Victorian, old colonial as well as art deco style. It was inaugurated by Lord Willingdon in 1936 at a grand ball in the presence of 15,000 guests. The hotel got its name from Lady Willingdon, who took personal interest in deciding on the interiors of the hotel.

“She personally decided things like carpets, cutlery, chandeliers, which were imported from Europe,” said Vijay Wanchoo, senior vice president and general manager of the hotel. In fact, it was Lady Willingdon who conferred the lion insignia upon the hotel.



“It was the city’s first hotel built in the style of downtown hotels in America. It was the tallest building in New Delhi those days and quite different from the Maidens, which looked more like a housing complex from outside. Till the 1940s, the Imperial used to have offices on the ground floor to make up for the lack of occupancy. Not many people travelled to New Delhi then as there were no businesses or industries here,” said General Narindar Singh, 85, who has been visiting the hotel since 1940s.

No expenses were spared to make The Imperial New Delhi’s most luxurious hotel. Pink marble was imported from Italy; silver crockery and cutlery came from London, chandeliers from Europe, chefs from France and Italy.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the hotel’s pillared verandas, plush dining rooms, tea lounges, royal ballrooms and large green lawns saw many elite, exclusive social gatherings. “The room rate was about R29. The hotel was known for its western food. There used to be weekly dances in the Ball Room. It was the place where anglicised elite like civil servants, army men and Indian princes socialised,” said Singh. One could listen to the strains of Blue Danube during lunch, or an orchestra from London would invite everyone to the floor to end their evening after the candlelit dinner.

In fact, Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Lord Mountbatten also held meetings at The Imperial to discuss the Partition.

Apart from The Imperial, Hotel Marina in Connaught Place was another addition to the hospitality industry of New Delhi. The hotel was built by the Japanwala family (called so because of their business relations with Japan) in 1934 and thereafter managed by an Italian family till the early 1940s.

The hotel first opened with 46 rooms which could accommodate 52 guests. During World War II, the Italian family went back and the management of the hotel was taken over by the families of businessmen Sardari Lal and Girdhari Lal from Delhi. “The hotel had 26 garages for guests’ cars and 52 servant quarters for their servants. It had a restaurant and a large ballroom,” says Shashank Bhagat, managing partner of the hotel.

In 1934, Hotel India also opened in Connaught Circus with 12 rooms, a restaurant and a bar. Started by LC Nirula and M Nirula, it later expanded into the famous Nirula’s chain of restaurants across the country.

In 1945, Hotel Ambassador was built. Designed by British architect Walter Sykes George, who worked with both New Delhi’s chief architects Lutyens and Herbert Baker, the hotel was a favourite among travellers from across the world. It had a night club called Jewel Box where “men had to wear tuxedos and women had to be dressed in tailcoats to enter the night club. We had racks to keep the hats and umbrellas of our customers,” said Rajendra Kumar, the hotel’s director.

[World8115]

Interesting read

[indiafan]

Been ages since this thread was updated. Anything new on the hotel front ?

What new hotels are coming up in Gurgaon/Delhi in the next 6 months?

[IU]

2 new hotels in the Aerocity designed by CP Kukreja Architects:

JW Marriot - opening 2013 with 500+ rooms







Concept design of MGM Grand - opening 2014 with 500+ rooms







Edit: Here's a model of the project:

[IU]

Lebua New Delhi- in Dwarka with 394 rooms - opening in December
Website
Copyright Twangoo

[livchamps]

^
Woah! When did they change the name? Wasn't it Wyndham Hotel?

[IU]

Initially, the property was all set to open with Wyndham branding. In fact, the Wyndham branding was displayed a few months ago on the hotel’s façade. But in the latest move, the developer of the property, Starex Developers, decided on the lebua Hotels & Resorts brand for its management. Speaking about the plan, Deepak Ohri, CEO of the group said, “lebua Hotels & Resorts is known for its luxury and opulence. Now, after Thailand and New Zealand, India will be our new market as we see a huge potential here. Our focus will be on people going to upscale malls, baby boomers, etc., who are a captive audience for our kind of model. The hotel in itself will be able to address their needs.”

Source

[IU]

Hilton, Mayur Vihar - opened earlier this month.
Website
Copyright Amit8082

[sidney_jec]

Damn!! these buildings were looking more beautiful when they were under construction

[Master of Disguise]

They still look good Bhai...yes, pictures can be misguiding...

[Euromast]

Bhai, when our talented photographers are out of India, who will take good fotos.

Originally Posted by sidney_jec

Damn!! these buildings were looking more beautiful when they were under construction

[IU]

Another shot of them

Copyright jdrpc

[azzi282]

image hosted on flickr

Trees of Delhi by Mayank Austen Soofi, on Flickr

[Cov Boy]

Hilton could have design a better exterior than the one above which is quite ordinary & plain.

[IU]

Hotel brands have little say in the design of a hotel unless they're building it themselves. In this case, Eros Group built the hotel and signed Hilton up to use it.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Still both hotels looks nice...

[gradybush]

Originally Posted by Cov Boy

Hilton could have design a better exterior than the one above which is quite ordinary & plain.

I agree - the Hilton buildings look like the ones constructed in the US cities in the 1970s.

[raghavyadav]

Kempinski Hotels has signed a management agreement to open the Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi in the second quarter of 2012.

The five-star hotel will be set within an office and conference complex, about a 45-minute drive from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, in the historic neighbourhood of East Delhi, Shahdara.

It will feature 480 rooms and suites, four restaurants and a bar, and conference and banqueting facilities, including a Grand Ballroom accommodating up to 5,000 people.

The property will also offer extensive spa and fitness centre with a sauna and hammam and two swimming pools.

The hotel group said that the opening of the Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi does not affect the 25-year marketing and sales relationship between Kempinski Hotels and Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts.

In 2011, the parties agreed that it was in the interests of both groups, to optimise the relationship, by aiming for a progressive and controlled phase-out over the next few years.


There are very few details available for this on internet, and may be only one hit of the hotel image as well. Anyone crossing Kadkaduma / Shahadra CBD could probably click some pictures.

[raghavyadav]

Anant Raj group is coming up with Service Apartment / 5 star hotel in Manesar in one of their IT Parks. This was supposed to be run by Hilton. Already under construction and also quoted on their website. Howevrer, doesn't mention Hilton, instead says "To be operated by a Renowned Professional Hotel Chain"

[raghavyadav]

Vivanta by Taj Gurgaon

http://www.axisvertical.com/taj-vivanta-hotel

http://wow.sg/#/projects/vivanta-gurgaon


Vivanta Gurgaon
Delhi, India

Business Hotel

200 rooms, 25,000 M²

Architecture

2007-2011

Another business and leisure hotel under the umbrella of the new Vivanta brand by Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, this project resides in the city of Gurgaon, often dubbed the ‘face of new India’. Overlooked as a small town just a decade ago, Gurgaon has developed into an IT hub and a home to the offices of many MNCs, partly due to its proximity and connectivity to the national capital of New Delhi.

Vivanta by Taj – Gurgaon offers a high-end designer urban resort concept for local city dwellers. The Vivanta brand, positioned to offer a fresh, vivacious and stylish take on ‘cool luxury’, appeals to the cosmopolitan world-traveller synced into an immersive and sensory lifestyle. Upon entry, guests are greeted by a grand triple-height volume space in the lobby. To moderate the harsh climate swings between sweltering summers and cold winters, the design offers a series of spacious and breathtaking interior courtyards.

The façade is inspired by the jali, the latticed and perforated screen traditionally used in Indo-Islamic architecture to filter the sun’s glare, heat, and enable privacy. The architecture is designed to suggest a gradual unveiling of the internal spaces brought about by the unpeeling of layers of screens, starting from and through the façade. Skinning the building reveals the swimming pool, restaurant blocks and other public spaces behind.