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ADRIAN MOURBY sheds tears of joy. On Wednesday, 15 July 2020, one of the most important buildings in Athens reopens to the public. It’s not the Acropolis, nor is it the Hellenic Parliament (although that building, originally the palace of King Otto I, is its next-door neighbour). The building I’m talking about is, of course the Hotel de la Grande-Bretagne … more
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Located on Mackinac Island in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, the Grand Hotel stands proud and truly grand since 1887. It is – of course – a Select Member of The Most Famous Hotels in the World.
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Not just travel, Indian royalty were also creating second homes in the international playfields of the rich and famous or in the exclusively secluded places that kept them away from the public eye.
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When the Indian Royalty travelled abroad, they travelled in style. Even their luggage planning was a big affair. Bespoke, monogrammed luggage with the Royal family's insignia, were specially crafted out of finest leather by the likes of Louis Vuitton.
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Being an Indian royal was all about the finer things in life, cultured discernment and a predilection for arts, letters and fashion. The exposure the royal class had to the West, cultivated in them love for western music and arts.
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After being insulted at a Rolls Royce showroom during one of his foreign travels, the Maharaja of Alwar bought seven Rolls-Royce and employed them to cart his city’s municipal waste.
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Indira Devi, the Maharani of Cooch Behar, had a fetish for shoes. Salvatore Ferragamo, the legendary Italian shoe designer, reveals in his Autobiography about the time the Queen ordered more than a hundred pairs of shoes.
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India's kings and queens always had a deep fondness for jewellery. The “Patiala Necklace,” – the House of Cartier – Maison Boucheron — all these names were associated with the maharajas of the subcontinent.
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Fanciful Prediction, the Definition of “Turnpike”, The Pineapple as a Symbol of Hospitality and Hokusai, the Great Japanese Printmaker
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Concierge stories are told at famous hotels like good Jewish jokes. They are always a success.
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Baron Hausmann commissioned the Pereire brothers, powerful bankers who heavily financed the reconstruction of Paris, to build a luxurious new hotel. Designed by the architect Alfred Armand, the Grand Hotel du Louvre was opened in 1855, just in time for the International Exhibition staged in Paris that year. It was the first luxury hotel in France and the first 'Grand Hotel' of Paris.
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Two books by Adrian Mourby, famoushotels roving reporter and tireless collector of hotel anecdotes, should interest all hotel aficionados: "Rooms of One's Own — 50 Places That Made Literary History" and his latest work "Rooms with a View — The Secret Life of Great Hotels“.
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