Opulence Revisited

December 2011 marks the one hundredth anniversary of King George V and Queen Mary, then the Emperor and Empress of India, relocating the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi amidst great pomp a cerenomy.

In 1911 at the Delhi Durbar, the majority of the Raj met amid fantastic extravagances which India would not see again for a further century. Only with the opening of the most expensive luxury hotel ever built on the sub-continent has this level of opulence been revisited. Costing in excess of US$345 million, The Leela Palace New Delhi has brought the grand style of the Raj back to life.

From a distance, this luxury hotel resembles a huge London department store towering above its surroundings. The Leela Palace New Delhi offers a range of uniquely luxurious rooms and suites. Each room is furnished in an opulent yet contemporary style. The grandest suites even boast private infinity edge pools. The largest suite of all is called the Maharajah suite and comes complete with bulletproof glass. The suite is the size of a spacious house, at more than 4,300 square feet.

The Leela has been built in the very heart of the old imperial Delhi and is much in keeping with surrounding nineteenth century buildings, some of which were built by the greatest architect of the British Empire, Sir Edward Lutyens. But there's more to the chain of Leela hotels than initially meets the eye. The chain are the inspiration of a man called Captain Nair, who began life small village in Kerala. Growing up, his dream was to one day be financially independent. After reaching the rank of Captain in the Indian army, he became wealthy through his textile business. Then at the age of 65, when most self made men are looking at retirement, he moved into India's luxury tourism market.

He began by building the most expensive hotels that India had ever seen. Now, some twenty five years later, his efforts have culminated in the opening of the most luxurious of them all, The Leela Palace New Delhi.

A number of tour operators are already taking bookings for the new Leela, so you might want to start with one of our Thomson Promotional Codes and see what discounts are being offered on the ultimate luxury.

Catherine Prince