CHANDIGARH: The Himachal Pradesh government is planning to lease the century-old Hotel Wildflower Hall, located about 12 kilometers from Shimla.
The property, which spans 100 acres in the midst of a dense deodar forest, was originally constructed by Lord Kitchener in 1902 during the British Raj. After a two-decade-long legal battle, the state government regained possession of this prestigious property in January 2024.
In a cabinet meeting held on Saturday, the state government approved the hiring of a consulting firm to facilitate the leasing of the property.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ordered the execution of a 2005 arbitration award, which held that the Wildflower Hall, along with the adjacent deodar forest, be handed over to the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) in June 2023.
After the state government got back its possession, it has been exploring options to find a suitable partner to run the luxury hotel which will help in revenue generation for the state facing fiscal constraints.
The government is keen to attract players from the hospitality industry to lease this prime property, which is currently managed by the Oberoi Group as a world-class high-end resort.
The Himachal Government and the East India Hotels Ltd (EIHL) have been embroiled in a bitter legal dispute for almost two decade over control and profit sharing of the colonialera hotel.
Even though the state government had expressed its willingness to consider the claim of Oberoi Group for running the property, but it wants that the company should compete with other chain of hotels to get the lease of the Wild Flower Hotel, as the government will be floating global bids.
Originally owned by GHM Batten, private secretary of the Earl of Lytton, the building was destroyed in a fire and then Batten reconstructed the building and Lord Kitchner got the lease from him.
In 1909 Kitchner went back to England and after which it was sold to a British couple, who demolished the house in 1925 and build a three-storeyed 37 rooms hotel. After independence, this property was taken over by the Centre and there was an agricultural school running from here till 1973. It was then handed over to the HPTDC for running a hotel. The HPTDC built 11 cottages and four rooms, a multipurpose hall and a green room.
In 1993, the building was destroyed in a fire. It was then that the state government floated global tenders for running it as a five-star property. It was handed over to the EIHL to manage through a joint venture ‘Mashobra Resorts Limited’.