New-look heritage wing of Taj to reopen

The heritage wing of Taj Mahal Palace and Tower will reopen on August 15.

Mumbai: The iconic heritage wing of Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, which bore the brunt of 26/11 terror attack, is being recommissioned on August 15.

The heritage wing of Taj Palace and Towers, owned by the Tata Group’s Indian Hotels and Company Ltd. (IHCL), has 285 rooms and has been refurbished at an estimated cost of over Rs 300 crore, a hotel official told reporters. All rooms, including those, which were severely damaged in the attacks, will adorn a new look. Each of them has been renovated at a cost of Rs one crore. However, 2-3 exotic rooms are still under renovation and will be opened later, the official said. The renovated structure would have around 42 luxury suites ranging from 500 sq feet to 2,000 sq feet, he said, adding that a few will be configured to look like duplex suites. The presidential suites such as Tata, Rajput and Dutch suites, which have arched balconies facing the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, will have some exclusive features and additional offerings, said IHCL Managing Director, Raymond Bickson. Tata Suite would be the largest in any Indian hotel and the only one of its kind in the IHCL portfolio. It has been designed to celebrate the Tata’s legend and is all done with white makrana marble, he said. The average room rate will be Rs 20,000-22,000 per night and the hotel expects an occupancy rate of 72 per cent on the first day of the opening, Bickson said. Of the total cost, the company had received Rs 180 crore from the insurance companies as claim money, he said. The oriental style structure underwent extensive renovation, wherein four leading international design and architecture firms put in their labour for almost one and a half years to restore the entire structure brick by brick. PTI