A Dream Comes True

Capital View

Rabindra Seth

What has the commissioning of the Shangri-La Hotel got to do with Sanjay Gandhi? A lot if you have long memories. Cut to the Emergency era (1975-77). At a presentation on tourism infrastructure, Sanjay Gandhi who was taking a special interest in the sector, was appalled to see a three star hotel planned on a plot on the junction of Ashoka Road and Windsor Place in the heart of Latyen's Delhi. He told the functionaries of the department of tourism and ITDC (which was to implement the project) that such prime piece of land deserved a five star hotel (the concept of five-star deluxe category was still taking shape). As was to be expected the message went home. Within weeks the drawing were revised to reflect the superior stars and approvals obtained. But before the land could be cleared for start of construction (it housed old bungalows occupied by CPI MPs and their party office), the Emergency ended and the Janata government came to power.

The tourism minister in the new government made it clear to the ITDC that 5 stars were 'anti-poor' and the Janata government would prefer a hotel worthy of the Janata. Let us call it Yatri Niwas and keep the tariff at Rs 15. He even gave an assurance to Parliament about the room rent. Fortuitously the then chairman and managing director, ITDC, the late Anand Dave thought out an alternative plan which with a fair amount of lobbying through influential MPs, was acceptable to the minister. There would be two hotels on the same plot, one a Yatri Niwas with nearly 600 rooms and the other a three star hotel with over 300 rooms. (Dave rightly thought three stars could be upgraded to four later on). Work on the two properties had to be fastened because of the impending Asian Games of 1982. This is how Ashok Yatri Niwas and Kanishka came up. Kanishka did eventually get its fourth star, still one short of what Sanjay Gandhi was keen on.

Came the economic reforms and with them disinvestment. The Eros Group, which already owns the Park Royal Hotel in the capital, acquired the Kanishka for 90-odd crores of rupees in 2002 and has spent another Rs 200 crore refurbishing it into a super deluxe property. It is not known whether the group chairman, Jagdish Rai Sood, or his son Satish Sood, who presided over the soft opening of Shangri-La on September 14, are aware of the Sanjay Gandhi connection. But the family has certainly made his dream come true.

The occasion's significance also lies in the fact that room-starved Delhi has over 300 superior rooms added to the inventory just as the peak season is setting in. To the Eros Group also goes the credit for encouraging Shangri-La, the prestigious Hong Kong based hotel chain to enter India with a management tie up. With a toe-hold in Delhi, Shangri-La has already spread its wings in India with hotels coming up in Chennai and Bangalore, where it is also introducing its Traders brand (a notch below Shangri-La).

Gilbert Jung, French-born and Swiss and America trained hotelier is general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi as it will now be known. He has throughout been associated with the renovations which were designed by Leese Robertson and Freeman Designers. Jung says that apart from its location, Shangri-La offers world class services especially for the business traveller with speed internet access and wireless LAN throughout the hotel as well as a business centre, three meeting rooms and a 600 sq. metre ballroom divisible into four.

Jung says the hotel soft opens with a limited inventory of guestrooms and suites. Dining and entertainment options include Cafe Uno with open kitchens, live cooking with terrace overlooking the swimming pool. There is Uno 2 Go, a patisserie, the designer Island Bar and Lobby Lounge offering an array of refreshments. A health club and spa features a gym, treatment room, sauna, steam room, indoor and outdoor whirlpool set in landscape gardens. When the hotel is fully commissioned early in November, there will be the Horizon Club on the top four floors comprising 76 guest rooms and suites which will offer an exclusive retreat with a host of special privileges and amenities including an exclusive lounge with complimentary refreshments and dedicated concierge services. Additionally, the hotel's signature Pan Asian restaurant "19 Oriental Avenues", serving Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine will also open.

In a message, Shangri-La's CEO and Managing director, Giovanni Angelini, says "Shangri-La Hotel New Delhi is a landmark property representing the introduction of our signature Asian-style hospitality to the capital (of India) and an important milestone in our expansion in the sub-continent." The tourism fraternity will welcome a new big league chain, more rooms and a hotel with for the prime land.

(The author is a freelance columnist and can be contacted at rabseth@yahoo.com)