From ashes to grandeur
Baldev S. Chauhan

SHIMLA now has the unique distinction of being the only city in the world to have three hotels owned and run by the Oberoi Hotel group.

This summer the Oberoi group commissioned a Rs100-crore five star hotel at the Wildflower Hall, which once served as the residence of Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the British armed forces during the Raj.

The two other hotels owned by the group in Shimla are The Oberoi Cecil and The Oberoi Clarkes.

Asked why M.S. Oberoi, the 103-year-old founder of the group, decided to commission a third property in Shimla when metropolitan cities like New Delhi and Mumbai have only two Oberoi hotels, Raman Khanna, general manager of the hotel at Wildflower Hall, said the decision was taken in 1997 to tap the tourism potential of Himachal Pradesh, especially for the upmarket tourist.

Khanna also acknowledged that Shimla held special importance for Oberoi as it was in this city that he began his remarkable career in the hotel industry as a clerk at the Clarkes Hotel, which he later purchased.

Perched at a height of 8,200 feet above sea level and barely 13 km from Shimla, the hotel built in a short period of three and a half years, is set in the midst of a Himalayan Cedar forest so thick that it is considered the thickest in Asia.

With a spectacular view of the snow-clad Himalayan range, the hotel "is a perfect getaway for stressed-out executives as the environment has a therapeutic effect," says Khanna.

"This is a perfect place to get in touch with your inner self. At the spa, experts work on your body and senses with aromatherapy, ayurveda and Western treatments, as your soul feasts on the view of the Himalayas."

Asked about the kind of clientele the hotel expected, Andrew Sildanha, another general manager at the hotel, said he expected that 50 per cent of the visitors would be foreigners. The history of Wildflower Hall would be a major attraction for them.

The only drawback was that the Wildfolwer was not easily accessible, especially for those who were short of time, he added.

The only way to avoid the gruelling Kalka-Shimla climb is to take a flight from Delhi to Shimla and then a chopper from there to Wildflower Hall. But it is unlikely that choppers will be allowed to operate from Shimla to Wildflower Hall which also houses the Retreat, where the president and the prime minister come for their annual summer breaks.

The hotel management is, however, hopeful about being allowed to use the nearby helipad, which remains unused for most of the year.

Wildflower Hall is steeped in history. At one time, the Shimla Royal House at nearby Koti housed the residences of three of the most powerful men of the British Raj — the viceroy, the governor general and the commander-in-chief.

An ego clash between India's Viceroy Lord Curzon and Commander-in-Chief Lord Kitchener in 1903, prompted Kitchener to build a residence at Shimla rivalling that of the viceroy. And so Wildflower Hall was built 1,500 feet higher than the Viceregal Lodge.

The story goes that on frosty winter nights weary and solitary travellers may see the ghost of Lord Kitchner in and around the woods of Wildflower Hall. Almost ten years ago Kitchner’s residence was reduced to ashes, allegedly due to the negligence of the HPTDC staff who ran a hotel here. Some say the devastating fire may have given peace to the soul of Kitchner, while others feel it could have caused even greater anguish to it. On the ashes of Kitchner’s magnificent monument, has come up another haunting monument which has to be seen to be believed.