Claridges Hotel, possibly the first luxury hotel in Delhi or the country after independence, opened in 1952 on APJ Abdul Kalam Road (formerly Aurangzeb Road) in the capital. Four years later, the Ashok Hotel opened in 1956, followed by the Oberoi Intercontinental Hotel in 1965. Claridges Hotel is currently in the news. The reason is that its management will be overseen by Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), a company of the Tata Group. It also manages all the Taj Hotels. It can safely be said that before Claridges Hotel, only Imperial (Janpath) and Oberoi Medins (Shamnath Marg) existed in the capital.

When did Nanda Buy Claridges ?

Claridges Hotel was bought by businessman Suresh Nanda in 2003. Suresh Nanda's father, S.M. Nanda, was an Admiral in the Indian Navy during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Suresh Nanda's son, Sanjeev Nanda, was in the news for the widely publicized BMW hit-and-run case. It is said that Suresh Nanda had earned a lot of money as a middleman in the buying and selling of weapons. He was also in the Navy like his father. He used to have a Lambretta scooter back then. Some insiders have said that Suresh Nanda handed over the management of Claridges to the Tata Group because his son Sanjeev Nanda has been living in Dubai for a long time. He rarely comes to India. He is also married. Suresh Nanda's daughter Sonali is married to industrialist Peter Punj. She lives in Malcha Marg. Therefore, there is no one in the Nanda family who directly oversees the Claridges Hotel. Suresh Nanda is also turning 84 years old.

The Grace of the Colonial Era

Upon entering the Claridges Hotel, located in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, one experiences a unique feeling. It is as if you have entered a different world. Since Claridges Hotel was built just a few years after British rule in India, its architecture combines the grace of the colonial era and modern elegance. Its interior is stunning. Its wooden panels, furniture, and vibrant artwork create a grand and luxurious ambiance. Dr. Bhai Mohan Singh, the founder chairman of Ranbaxy Pharma, used to say that whenever he felt restless at home, he would sit in one of the restaurants at Claridges. The hustle and bustle here generated new energy within him. Bhai Mohan Singh lived a short distance from the hotel.

How Many Hotels Does Tata have?

The Tata Group has signed an agreement to take over the management of Claridges Hotel for the next 25 years, starting from April 1, 2025. However, the Tata Group's Taj Hotels in the capital were established in 1978 on Man Singh Road and in 1980 on Sardar Patel Marg. Both are at the pinnacle of luxury. On one side, paintings by M.F. Husain, Manu Parekh, and Jamini Roy are displayed. The Taj Man Singh's scaffolding and Chinese restaurant have carved out a niche for themselves from the very beginning. Before Claridges Hotel, the Tata Group had also taken over the management of the Ambassador Hotel.

The favorite 'Dhaba' of the Affluent Punjabis

There is hardly an affluent Punjabi family in the capital who has not come to their Dhaba restaurant and enjoyed the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in a proper manner. The whole atmosphere here is designed like a highway Dhaba. The dishes served here are something else. During the wedding season, Claridges Hotel is abuzz with weddings. The Dhaba was started in 1986. People say that after its opening, Claridges Hotel came out of its royal image. Then, the nouveau riche society also started coming here in large numbers. It is also true that after Dhaba, several restaurants offering excellent Punjabi dishes opened in Pandara Road, West Delhi, etc. All these are no match for Dhaba. Claridges also has some other excellent restaurants like The Concord, The Long, and The Garden Café, which are Continental and Chinese restaurants.
Meanwhile, the government is seriously considering to sell capital’s Ashok Hotel to some private player.
Notwithstanding the fact that Ashok Hotel ( The Ashok since 2006) does not host head of the states or big ticket celebrities any longer, yet it is second to none in terms of its regal architecture. “ I have not seen such a spacious hotel with massive lobby, big rooms, huge convention hall. Ashok has a touch of royalty. It is unreliable that such grand hotel came up almost six decades ago,” says Pt. JP Sharma ‘Trikha’, a noted author and an acclaimed Vaastu expert.
After it was came up way back in 1956, Prof. E.B. Doctor designed structure remained as the monarch among luxury hotels in capital for decades together.
There is a fascinating story behind the making of Ashok hotel. It is said the then Prime Minister Pt. JawaharLal Nehru was attending the UNESCO summit in Paris in 1955. There he requested the governing body of the summit that India would like to host the next year meet in New Delhi in 1956. That offer was accepted there without opposition. When Pt. Nehru returned from Paris, his advisors told him that New Delhi has no worthwhile hotel to accommodate several head of the states. That was the time when Pt. Nehru asked his staff to identify vacant spaces for new hotel without any delay in New Delhi area. Without delay, the search committee selected and entrusted Prof. E.B. Doctor of JJ College, Mumbai, to design new hotel in national capital. And he designed arguably the first grand building of capital post independence of the country.
And it was a challenge for Doctor to create a hotel on the 25 acres of space. Those were the days when entire Chankayapuri was a jungle with thick bushes all- around. There was virtually no life in entire area. Undeterred, the Parsi architect had created a masterpiece in a very short period. Impressed with the work of the likes of Edwin Lutyens and Harbert Baker, Doctor had given space for Jharokhas and jaali-work in Ashok Hotel. He created an absolute regal building.

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