Grand Imperial

The Grand Imperial was built in the early 1900s as a colonial hotel for the British, trading first as the Metropole and later as the Imperial Hotel. Lala Bishambhar Nath bought it at auction on 1 January 1944 as a running hotel. It later closed for 45 years, and reopened under its present name in 2006 after refurbishment. Earlier guests included Lady Edwina Mountbatten, the Shah of Iran and Jawaharlal Nehru.

The building is colonial Victorian mixed with Mughlai work, built of Lahori biscuit brick, with high ceilings, wide arcaded corridors and verandas. Fifteen Chamber of Princes suites of 575 sq ft are named after Indian kings and queens and face the pool on one side and the garden on the other. Regal Rooms of 350 sq ft look onto the poolside courtyard; Deluxe Rooms of 325 sq ft have handmade floral heritage tiles and garden views.

Shahenshah, the restaurant, has chandeliers, marble floors and portraits of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, with the Maikhana bar beside it and a Mughlai gazebo at the pool. The Sheesh Mahal hall runs to 3,500 sq ft, the front lawn to 10,000 sq ft and the poolside lawn to 7,500 sq ft.