Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / India / Shimla / The Oberoi Cecil
The Oberoi Cecil
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India · Oberoi · Grand Luxury
In 1922, a jobless young Mohan Singh Oberoi took his first job weighing coal for this Shimla hotel's boilers; two decades later he owned it, the founding acquisition of what became The Oberoi Group. Built in 1902 on the site of Tendril Cottage, where Rudyard Kipling once lodged, it operated for decades as Faletti's Cecil before Oberoi's 1943-44 takeover. Closed in 1984 for a full restoration, it reopened in 1997 with a skylit atrium and a Raj-era ballroom turned restaurant.
- 75 rooms
- Opened 1902
- Neighborhood: Chaura Maidan
- Rooms from 237 sq ft (22 m²)
About The Oberoi Cecil
- The site began as Tendril Cottage in the 1860s-1880s, where a young Rudyard Kipling stayed and is said to have written works inspired by Shimla.
- In 1902 the Hotz family demolished the old cottage and built the Cecil Hotel, later run by the Associated Hotels of India as Faletti's Cecil Hotel.
- In 1922, a jobless young Mohan Singh Oberoi found his first job weighing coal for the hotel's boilers, the start of the career that built the Oberoi empire.
- Oberoi acquired the hotel in 1943-44, renaming it The Oberoi Cecil; it closed in 1984 for restoration and reopened in 1997.
- It won the National Tourism Award for Best Heritage Hotel in 2017, honoring its long Shimla legacy.
History
The Oberoi Cecil crowns Chaura Maidan at the quieter, upper end of Shimla's Mall Road, at around 7,000 feet in the Himalayan foothills. The site began humbly as Tendril Cottage (from the 1860s-1880s), where a young Rudyard Kipling stayed and is said to have written works inspired by Shimla. In 1902 the Hotz family purchased the Tendrils estate, demolished the old house and established the Cecil Hotel; the core of today's building was subsequently built out by A.H. Pook and John Faletti to around a hundred rooms. Transferred to the Associated Hotels of India (formed 1916), it became known as Faletti's Cecil Hotel, celebrated as one of the finest hotels in the East.
It was here, in 1922, that a jobless young Mohan Singh Oberoi found work weighing coal for the hotel's boilers—the start of the career that would build the Oberoi empire. Oberoi acquired the Cecil in 1943-44 through the takeover of Associated Hotels of India, renaming it The Oberoi Cecil. The hotel closed in 1984 for extensive restoration and reopened in 1997, rebuilt around a soaring skylit central atrium with period interiors, a Raj-era ballroom (now The Restaurant), a heated pool and around 75 rooms. It won the National Tourism Award for Best Heritage Hotel in 2017.
Restaurants and bars
- The Restaurant — Restaurant
Amenities
- Spa
- Indoor pool
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Kids' club
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- The Oberoi Rajvilas — Jaipur, India · Grand Luxury
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- Clarkes Hotel, Shimla — Oberoi · High Luxury
- Chapslee — Independent · Accessible Luxury
- Royal Tulip Shimla — Royal Tulip · Accessible Luxury
- WelcomHeritage Woodville Palace — WelcomHeritage · Accessible Luxury
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