Kolkata:

Gallops of horses then, dollops of history now.

Another feather will shortly be added to the city’s heritage hospitality industry as Astor Hotel opens its doors for guests.

Housed in a building that was a British barracks about a century ago, the hotel has retained the rooms of mismatching size and shape, and ironed out the colonial wrinkles with the precision of 21st Century.

“In its 120-odd years of existence, the interiors of the building never complemented its grand facade. Be it the electrical or plumbing system, it was a completely unplanned structure. A thumb-rule in construction is that a poorly-maintained building must be brought down and built over every 70-80 years,” said the hotel’s proprietor Vikram Puri.

“But with the help of the members of the heritage commission and a team from Delhi that specializes in restoring old havelis of Rajasthan, we managed to preserve the heritage elements of the building.”

Puri said the building used to be a British boarding house where soldiers would come riding on their horses and walk up the stairs to take rest in their rooms.

“What used to be the stable is now a lounge bar called Plush. We restored the same teak staircase the armymen walked up, instead of turning it into an elevator shaft. We retained the rooms with their mismatched dimensions, which gave us perfect material for a boutique hotel. A modern hotel resembles a block diagram, but here every room has a different character,” Puri said.

The guests here will use the same rooms that were once occupied by the army personnel of the imperialists, but the rooms have been fitted with modern facilities such as a big-screen television and air-conditioning.

“The main corridor of the hotel has a distinct Victorian look. But, we will adorn the walls with paintings and photographs of a century-old Kolkata,” Puri added.

To bring down carbon footprint, the hotel has done away with split air-conditioners and geysers and installed central systems. The corridor is not chilled but cool.

“This is not air-conditioned but filled with treated fresh air,” said a member of the hotel’s staff.

High ceiling, a four-poster bed and sepia-tainted lights give the suites the ambience of an era gone by. But water sprinklers, smoke detectors and Wi-Fi devices are a constant reminder of 2014.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Shounak Ghosal / September 12th, 2014