The Associated Hotels of India and Delhi

This is a section from article on the Associated Hotels of India Ltd., a company which managed hotels all across British India. It’s most popular property, the ‘Maiden’s Hotel’ (today’s Oberoi Maidens) can be seen above. This article was featured in a magazine in 1931 and documents the successes of the company in maintaining its properties in places like Lahore and Delhi. As far as I understand the magazine this was published in – ‘The Annual of the East’, was a government publication and this article comes in the wake of the inauguration of New Delhi.

 

The Maiden’s Hotel was popular with European tourists (I have mentioned the hotel when writing about Imre Schwaiger’s museum which was opposite) and I imagine this piece was targeted at visitors or potential visitors to Delhi for the event of the inauguration. There is scant information on its managing director, J.B. Faletti. What I can gather is that Faletti was an Italian immigrant to who came to India and changed his name from Giovanni to John. He managed an extensive network of properties and became a ‘Member of the Victorian Order’ in 1921. As with Schwaiger from Hungary, here is another case of entrepreneurship, migration and Empire. 

 

Anyway, under the Associated Hotels, Maidens went from strength to strength. It was revamped before the inauguration of New Delhi to accommodate 200 guests and ran a range of private tours around what was then called ‘Old’ Delhi (Mehrauli). It even published a tour guide for guests with a range of recommendations of where to bivouac and how long to spend at various attractions. Once back at Maidens, guests were encouraged to enjoy the ballroom and orchestra, the latter was a particular highlight. 

 

On the one hand, Maiden’s Hotel began an enclave of European sociability, away from native habitation and located in the salubrious Civil (‘Civilised’) Lines, an area to the North of Shahjahanabad. On the other, Maiden’s was (and is) a large employer of Indian personnel, providing training and experience to Delhiwallas in the burgeoning hospitality sector. Maidens now operates as a 4* heritage hotel in Delhi, in case you are interested.

 

See you next week.