All great cities have a great historical hotel full of character. And The Imperial, built in 1931 by F. B. Blomfield, an associate of Sir Edwin Lutyens, is Delhi’s.
The iconic hotel was designed to be one of the finest monuments of Lutyens’ grand vision of the capital city’s original master plan presenting a unique blend of Victorian, Old Colonial and Art Deco styles. The hotel was named and conferred the exquisite Lion Insignia by Lady Willingdon. It was the first amongst the legendary Four Maidens of the East, which some say included The Strand hotel in Rangoon, Raffles Hotel in Singapore and The Great Eastern & The Oriental in Calcutta.
The Imperial claims to serve the best High Tea in Delhi. We’ve eaten quite a few and are pleased to say we are yet to find a more enjoyable experience than sitting amongst the cane furniture in The Atrium tea room.
The very heart of Delhi is a hop, skip and a jump away. Walking to the upmarket shopping of the grand colonial circular arcades of Connaught Circus is easy and you’ll pass all manner of interesting shops along the way.