Iconic Great Eastern Hotel reopens in Kolkata: All you need to know

One of Kolkata’s most prominent and iconic structures from the British Raj era started its second innings this week after a soft launch on Tuesday. The 172-year-old heritage hotel formerly owned by the West Bengal government has been refurbished in a new avatar as Lalit Great Eastern Hotel.

The heritage hotel, located on five acres, bang in the middle of the city’s central business district, was born in 1841 as Auckland Hotel. Itwas named after the then Governor General of India, Lord Auckland. Until 1865, it was popularly called Wilson’s Hotel. It changed hands many times and its guest list, reportedly included British Royalty, author Mark Twain and cricketer Frank Worell .

During its heyday, the hotel was known variously as the “Jewel of the East” and the “Savoy of the East” and was prosaically described by Kipling in his short story City of Dreadful Night. In 1915 it was rechristened as the Great Eastern Hotel. In 1961 it evenhosted Queen Elizabeth II and her entourage and this could well be called the curtains for it before Naxalite terror started to spread and the hotel started to epitomise the worst of capitalistic decadent culture .

[caption id=“attachment_1241811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Iconic Great Eastern Hotel. Image: Wikipedia Commons[/caption]

Thus began the decline of this colonial hotel whichcontinued into the 1970s when its management was taken over by the state government. The CPI(M) thensold it to the private group The Lalit Hotels, Palaces and Resorts in 2005 at an auction for a mere Rs 52 crore.

According to a report in Mint , thetotal renovation cost of the hotel would be around Rs 320 crore but the West Bengal government had only set the reserve price for 90 percent stake in the hotel at a mere Rs 47.4 crore. The government faced a lot of flak to see through the divestment since a public property was being privatised.

It was the first major privatisation effort of the then Left Front government but there was was stiff resistance from the trade unions and the workers. In fact,s labour unions had blocked an attempt by the Jyoti Basu government to hand over the property to Paris-based hospitality company Accor Group in the 1990s.

A report in the_Business Standard_ pointed out that the deal was a complex one as a lot of renovation work was still to be done and all the existing employees had to be given voluntary.

In 2007, renovation work finally started at the heritage hotel and the gates were finally reopened on 19 November 2013 asThe Lalit Great Eastern.

Pieces of original furniture and other paraphernalia that belonged to the heritage property have been retained in the new one. All 195 room and other facilities are likely to be opened by December.

For Kolkata, the reopening of the iconic hotel is a moment the city has waited for a very long time.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid her tribute to the Lalit Great Eastern in her unique way - by executing a painting at the inaugural function.