Asia's Legendary Hotels. William Warren
Peninsula, such as the intricate stuccowork (left) in the main lobby and the Roman-style pillar (right) in the swimming pool
Rolls Royce limousines are available to transport guests to and from the airport or wherever they want to go around the city during their stay.
In 1911, a year after his coronation, King-Emperor George V laid the foundations for New Delhi, which would replace Calcutta as the capital of India. It was to be no ordinary city but one that expressed, in the most monumental way imaginable, what the King’s Private Secretary called “the power of Western civilization.”
Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Edwin Lutyens were the architects of this greatest of Imperial projects, built on a hillock called Raisina outside the walls of Old Delhi, and it took more than 30 years to complete. A broad ceremonial boulevard called Kingsway led past the imposing Secretariat buildings, designed by Baker, to Lutyens’ crowning achievement, the splendid Viceroy’s palace. Bigger than Versailles, this amazing structure covered four and a half acres (one and a half hectares), had 12 courtyards, a vast hemispheric dome inspired by a Buddhist stupa and gardens that were partly in English style and partly in formal Moghul; it was staffed by close to 6,000 servants, of whom 400 were gardeners.
A city conceived on such a scale naturally called for a suitably grand hotel, and New Delhi acquired one in 1931, appropriately called the Imperial. Designed by D. J. Bromfield, one of Lutyens’ associates, in a blend of Victorian and colonial styles with whimsical touches of art deco, the hotel occupied an eight-acre (three-hectare) site facing Queensway (now Janpath or “the Peoples Boulevard”), the main north-south artery. The hotel was luxuriously appointed with Italian marble, English silver and china, and European chandeliers, as well as a huge mirrored ballroom, where the Vicereine, Lady Willingdon, presided over the opening festivities.
Over the years that followed, under British rule and afterwards, the Imperial played host to a steady stream of distinguished visitors from all over the world, who either stayed in one of its over-sized suites, dined in one of its restaurants, or danced in the famous ballroom (which has springs beneath the flooring to reduce noise and bear the weight of 500 people).
By the early 1990s, however, it was beginning to show its age; a guide to India published in 1985 calls it “a haven of peace and relaxation amid city bustle” but also mentions “hideous floral carpets” and “reluctant air-conditioning.” Its present owner, Jasdev Singh Akoi, therefore decided to embark on an ambitious five-year program of restoration and upgrading of facilities, aimed at incorporating the latest technology while preserving the hotel’s unique historic flavor.
Some Indians, even today, have an ambivalent attitude about the colonial era, but Jasdev Singh Akoi is not one of them. He celebrates the Raj throughout the renovated Imperial by means of an extraordinary art collection assembled from many sources, from auction sales to princely palaces, and scattered about the hotel’s 230 guest rooms, restaurants and public areas.
A few examples may suggest the nostalgic flavor of his choices. Emily Eden, a sister of Lord Aukland, Governor-General of India, came to visit in the 1830s and spent several months traveling around the subcontinent with him. In addition to a witty book of letters, Up The Country, Miss Eden produced several expert drawings of places and people, including a portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the “Lion of the Punjab,” one of the most important people she and her brother met. The portrait now hangs on the third floor of the Imperial and both a suite and one of the hotel’s choice meeting rooms are named after her.
There are works, too, by James Ferguson (1808–86), the leading authority on Indian architecture; James Bailie Fraser, whose subject was the Himalayas; Charles Stewart Hardinge (1822–94), who produced 26 lithographs entitled “Recollections of India”; and Anne Eliza Scott, an amateur artist who produced some charming views of Simla between 1850 and 1858.
1911, a restaurant and bar named for the year New Delhi’s foundation stone was laid, is a veritable museum of Raj relics. There are old photographs and paintings of the great Durbar that celebrated the event, a spectacular 70-foot (21-meter) watercolor mural painted by A.P. Mongin around 1807, and cabinets displaying British regalia and awards for gallantry.
“One of the most arresting public displays of colonial images and memorabilia in all of Asia,” Anthony Paul of Fortune magazine wrote of this vast collection, which is being catalogued in collaboration with the Smithsonian Museum of Washington.
Thanks to such priceless works of art, its award-winning restaurants, modern conveniences and an attentive staff of 657, the Imperial continues to maintain the high reputation it first established nearly 75 years ago.
The Imperial’s lobby forms an impressive introduction to the rest of the hotel.
The Imperial Hotel, on New Delhi’s broad Kingsway boulevard, was designed in a blend of Victorian and colonial styles by an associate of Sir Edwin Lutyen, the great architect who was responsible for many of the city’s most splendid edifices. Towering royal palms provide a stately touch to its spacious gardens.
A colonial atmosphere prevails in the Imperial’s 1911 bar, named after the year New Delhi’s foundation stone was laid.
The door leading to the bar incorporates intriguing art deco details.
Daniell’s Tavern, specializing in food from the Raj period, is named after an uncle and nephew team of engravers and painters who came to India in the late-18th century to record their impressions of the country. Many of their works have been collected by the Imperial’s owner and are displayed here.
The San Gimignano is the Imperial Hotel’s Italian restaurant and serves a wide variety of pasta dishes and premium Italian grappa and wines.
The private dining terrace of the Royal Imperial Suite is one of the few areas of the hotel that still retain much of its original decor. The original black and white floor tiles remain although in the rest of the hotel, they have been exchanged for a softer look of beige and white.
Potted palms, a breakfast table with wicker chairs and the black and white floor tiles help to retain the colonial feel of the Royal Imperial Suite.
The Imperial’s spacious Deco Suites are 650 square feet (60 square meters) in size and and derive their names from their art deco interiors.
Paradiso DiVino is the name of the dining terrace in the hotel’s Italian restaurant, the San Gimignano. The Paradiso DiVino’s gazebos, trickling fountain and greenery create a very pleasant and relaxing ambiance for diners.
Two identical vases guard the entrance to the private dining terrace in the Royal Imperial Suite. The suite is 2,100 square feet (195 square meters) in size