The History of Asia's Luxuriest Hotel - The Imperial
One can not talk about the Imperial Hotel in Delhi without talking about one of the most fascinating part of history of the city as well as India. It was during the year 1911 when King Emperor George V had declared New Delhi as the Capital of India.
The task of creating a capital city which would replace Calcutta, was undertaken by Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, without doubt one of the greatest architects of the XX century, who put together what boldly wanted to be the plan of an ideal city. Much bigger than London itself, the new capital was built on a land dominated by history, but much unlike his predecessors, Lyuten has successfully incorporated various features from the local and traditional Indian architecture as well. He invented his own new order of classical columns, which is known as the "Delhi Order" and which he later used in several designs in England, such as Campion Hall or Oxford.
The project, completed in 1929 and officially inaugurated in 1931, also brought much deserved recognition to one other personality in the architecture field, Rai Bahadur Sardar Narain Singh.
He was first requested by the Maharaja of Patiala to build a tunnel and from there several other significant achievements are attributed to him such as the building of Dheradun followed by the building of other landmarks like the Prince of Wales College, Doon School, Forest Research Institute of India and all the bridges in the valley. The Empress herself on the occasion of the grand Coronation Durbar where he was presented with the title of Rai Sahib and awarded the Durbar medal recognized his great work.
His son S.B.S. Ranjit Singh continued his father amazing work and in 1931 together with one of Lutyens associates, D.J. Bromfield, he built The Imperial. The Hotel was meant to be the finest monuments of Lutyens’ grand vision and it succeeded thoroughly.
Bringing together an unique blend of Victorian, old colonial and a touch of informal art deco, the hotel was decorated, named and conferred the lion insignia together with its exquisite final touches by the Lady Wellington herself. The Hotel is even today one of Delhi’s landmarks, a silent witness to great moments in Indian history. Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah or Lord Mountbatten have discussed about the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan at its shelter. Nehru family had a permanent suite here and most of the Embassies were located in the premises of the Hotel.
Today amidst numerous restoration works, the Hotel has not lost anything of its former glory. In spite technological facilities subtly inserted to offer the comfort of a world-class hotel, The Imperial has managed to preserve its unique charm and old perfume. From furniture, to personnel attires everything comes together to recreate an era that was a milestone towards the country’s independence.
The original Frasers and Daniells paintings and the tavern named after them, the symbolically baptized “1911” restaurant and bar, the Royal ballroom were the places to meet for Indian and English aristocracy then and are still one of the most sought after places to go to even today. The Hotel is a jewel of architecture and its location in the heart of the city makes it the ideal venue for tourists around the world. The Imperial is not only one of Asia’s finest hotels but a different experience in itself and experience one should never miss while visiting Delhi.
