An iconic hotel that changed a city’s cultural landscape undergoes a transformation of its own—but holds on to its heart
In the 1970s, before his films became internationally lauded, Ismail Merchant treated the lobby of The Oberoi in New Delhi as a sort of private office. The late film-maker could be found parked there from breakfast onwards, meeting friends and associates, and making free calls from the reception’s complimentary telephone.
He was not the only one. Over the years, the great and the good of the world have nested here—from Omar Sharif, the Beatles, Mick Jagger and Giorgio Armani to generations of Bollywood stars, along with heads of state such as Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai. Many of the capital’s denizens treated it as a sort of public drawing room-cum-pleasure dome, while corporate and official paladins retreated here to confer over matters of import.
NEW YEAR, NEW TRICKS
On 1 January this year, when the Oberoi Group’s flagship property reopened after a two-year makeover, steered by its 89-year-old executive chairman PRS “Biki” Oberoi, the hordes flocked back. A mix of old patrons, revellers and groups from the travel trade gently steered through the glittering expanse of its marble lobby, multiple restaurants, bars and lounges. The job of accomplishing the mammoth Ì€ 600 crore renovation went to New York-based hospitality designer Adam D Tihany, whose work includes the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas; The King David Hotel, Jerusalem; and The Beverly Hills Hotel. Stationed between the Delhi Golf Club and Humayun’s Tomb, Tihany was conscious, he says, of The Oberoi’s iconic location; yet his effort was to bridge “innovation and time-honoured tradition…while preparing it for the next generation of guests and admirers.”
Denne historien er fra May - June 2018-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2018-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A two-hour drive south from San Diego, the Mexican wine region of Valle de Guadalupe-dotted with fertile vineyards and family farms-has remained mostly under the radar, even to food-obsessed Americans.
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Coconut palms and banyan trees in sizzling jungle greens, cascades of bougainvillea and the scent of frangipani in the air—a tropical explosion of foliage that would have led Monet to abandon Giverny.
BANGALORE CLUB'S MAIN LAWNS, WITH A MAGNIFICENT RAIN TREE, GET A NEW UMBRELLA BAR AND COLONNADE BY AD100 ARCHITECTS SANDEEP KHOSLA AND AMARESH ANAND.
Time appears to come to a standstill when one enters the Bangalore Club.
FROM HER STUDIO IN LLOYD WRIGHT'S 1927 HOME, DESIGNER VICKI VON HOLZHAUSEN IS REFINING THE SCIENCE OF HIGHPERFORMANCE, PLANT-BASED MATERIALS.
It seems not only fitting but poetic that Los Angeles-based designer and eco-preneur Vicki von Holzhausen chose architect Lloyd Wright's own 1927 studio and residence as the symbolic headquarters of her namesake company, von Holzhausen, a pioneer in the development of high-performance plantbased materials.
IN THE LADAKHI HAMLET OF TURTUK, A KITCHEN GARDEN SUPPLIES FRESH PRODUCE TO THE BALTI KITCHEN OF BOUTIQUE HOTEL VIRSA.
To get to the most exquisite yet humble meal of your life, you'll have to take a six-hour drive from Leh and reach Turtuk, one of the only four Balti villages that fall on the Indian side of the border.
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Smell the tea, feel the carpets, enjoy the space”—such is the invitation from Rudra Chatterjee, chairman of Obeetee and managing director of Luxmi Tea Group, at the launch of fine tea brand Makaibari’s experiential store in October, at the Taj Bengal in Kolkata.
ARTS OF HINDOSTAN PIECES TOGETHER A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MUGHAL FLOWER-FROM ITS ORIGIN IN ATELIERS IN MEDIEVAL INDIA TO ITS UBIQUITY ACROSS TIME.
The Mughal emperor Jahangir was famously enraptured by the beauty of flowering plants that he saw on his visit to Kashmir in the spring of 1620.
A FURNITURE-ARTWORK PAIRING COMES TOGETHER AS PAOLA LENTI'S CAMPANA BROTHERSDESIGNED BENCH IS REIMAGINED TO MATCH ARTIST HUGO YOSHIKAWA'S PLAYFUL STYLE.
Vegetation has been the central subject matter of many Hugo Yoshikawa artworks for the past few years.
FROM SCULPTURES TO JEWELLERY, ARTIST LYNDA BENGLIS'S DESIGNS FOR LOEWE FEATURED IN THE BANCA MARCH GARDEN IN MADRID EARLIER THIS YEAR.
This spring, when the gates of the private Banca March Garden in Madrid's Salamanca neighbourhood opened to the public, visitors could experience four monumental fountains, emerging from the ground and soaring towards the sky.
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