| That's for starters. As a main course, the book delivers on one level""it puts together, possibly for the first time in India, a collection of 50 heritage hotels from across its geography. But that's where the garnish proves more than the substance: for the reader, there is no strand that binds it together. Is this a design book? Or a hotel book? Or simply a book on architecture? |
| Possibly, the answer lies closest to its being a book designed to trigger the interest of the intrepid traveller looking for alternatives to the Hiltons and Holiday Inns, to properties that communicate a link with the soil and a historical, social or design context. So far, so good (and selections being subjective, there's no point disputing choices), but what's lost in the masala is a link to the places""how do you access them. So, all right, this isn't a guide, but reservation addresses at the end of the book might not have been a bad idea. |
| Another issue with the book is the lack of consistency in the text. Clearly, the material has been requested from each of the hotels, and picking up bits it has meant a loss of personal styling and commentary, so vital to a book of this nature. And this particularly when the author (for the record: a former colleague and a friend) is a raconteur who, given half a chance, would have spun some delightful tales around these hoary properties. |
| The problem with collated material is the hilarious mistakes that accrue""the American Hope Cook and the King of Sikkim's love story recounted "more than two decades after it happened" in the section on Darjeeling's Windamere Hotel, for instance, couldn't be more off the hook: the love story had died long before that. Nor would the maharaja of Jodhpur be amused to find his art-deco palace, probably the largest residence in the world, listed in the "mid price" range. Nor is there a "Shekhawati" dynasty, nor was the region of Shekhawati ever a "kingdom." |
| But these minor irritants aside, it is a lavish book, one that begs being flipped through again and again""the lush sections of the south (Kumarakom in Kerala, West End in Bangalore) being particular favourites. While some city hotels have been included (The Imperial in Delhi; The Taj Mahal in Mumbai), rarer (therefore more appealing) finds are The Verandah in the Forest (Matheran), Malabar House Residency (Cochin), Le Dupleix (Pondicherry), Kalmatia Sangam Himalayan Resort (Binsar), The Bungalow on the Beach (Tranquebar), Bhanwar Niwas (Bikaner), and Ahilya Fort (Maheshwar). |
| Kapoor writes: "Much of the charm of these heritage hotels is in the individual attention and personalised service. Families, often in residence for many decades, welcome visitors as they would guests in their homes." Perhaps. But for now, I'm more than happy to dip in at a hotel and a destination of my choice, to let the magic take over. Perhaps Devigarh Palace outside Udaipur...or maybe The Old Bungalow in Ramgarh...unless you'd rather follow me to the Amla Fort in Madhya Pradesh... |
| INDIAN HERITAGE HOTELS LEGACY OF SPLENDOUR |
| Anuradha Kapoor Lustre Press/Roli Books Price: Rs 695; Pages: 208 |
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