Know about the History & Growth of The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai

INTRODUCTION

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is a chain of luxury hotels founded by Jamsetji Tata, in 1903 who is also the founder of the TATA group. The company employs over 15,000 people not only in India but all around the world. As of 2018, the company operates a total of 100 hotels and resorts spread across India and other parts of the world. 84 of these Hotel and Resorts are in India and 16 are in other countries which are Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, South Africa, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK, USA and Zambia. The Taj Mahal  Palace located in Mumbai is also India’s first 5 star hotel and is now a iconic historical landmark.

HISTORY & GROWTH

Founded by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (founder of the TATA group) opened the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai (Bombay) on 16 December 1903. It’s said that he decided to open the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai because he faced racial discrimination at the Watson’s Hotel in Mumbai, where he could not get entry because the hotel was permitted to only Europeans. When he was about to enter, one of the guards stopped him there and asked him to read the board there which said “Dogs & Indians are not allowed” . As it was the Pre-Independence time, hotels in British India only accepted European guests mainly. There’s one more story on why Taj Mahal Palace was opened and it was that one of Jamsetji’s friend told him that he doesn’t like the hotels that were present in Bombay back then and as Indians faced discrimination. There is one more reason on why the hotel was opened and it is said by Lovat Fraser who was a close friend of Mr. Tata and one of the early directors of the IHCL group. He said that Mr. Tata had this idea of opening hotel since a long time and he was studying on this subject. He had no desire to own a hotel but he wanted to attract people to India from all over the world and improve  the conditions of Bombay. Jamsetji Tata traveled to places like London, Paris and Berlin to arrange materials and furniture’s for his hotel.  

The construction of the Taj Mahal Palace was started in 1899 at a cost of around 500,000 pounds and was finished in 1903 to its first 17 guests. Some sources say that the hotel was built the wrong way because the hotel’s architect held the hotel’s blueprint the other way and then the hotel was also built facing in the wrong direction, after knowing that it was built wrong the hotel’s architect jumped from 5^th floor of the hotel and suicided but other sources says it was deliberately built facing inland for ease of access by carriages and cars arriving from the city not the sea. When it was opened, the hotel shined all over Mumbai and the Maharajas considered it a second home because of luxury the hotel had. The hotel even had his own power plant to provide electricity to the guests all the time and was a true luxury in its own time.  Mr. Jamsetji Tata was happy because his dream was now finally fulfilled and the hotel had some British employees after, those Britishers who once stopped him from getting inside one of their hotels just because he was an Indian. One of the first major speeches representing Independent India in 1947 was also given at the hotel.

During the first world war, the Taj Mahal Palace played its role by being converted into a 600 bed hospital to the injured soldiers in the war and also for providing accommodation. It was a hospital for a few years till war ended and then was re-converted into the hotel as we know it today.

As years passed and the Taj Mahal Palace grew more and more, it started getting recognized in  all over the world. Soon enough the hotel started opening more hotels in India and acquiring other hotels and resorts and became a chain of hotels. One of it was first conceived in 1972, a Tower Wing in sync with the ethos of the Taj, was a 23 stories of arches and balconies created by Melton Bekker, a renowned American architect. It’s capacity was increased to 560 rooms. One of the first hotels that was opened by Taj outside India was the Taj Sheba Hotel in Sana'a, Yemen. In 1982 The Taj Palace, New Delhi was opened for the Asian Games. More Years passed and the hotel chain kept on increasing and now is India’s largest and finest global hotel company. From world-renowned hotel landmarks to modern business properties, beach resorts to Rajput palaces, each Taj Hotel offers world class luxury service of the modern hospitality era.

The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai is also popular for one of the most tragic terrorist events of India, the 26/11 incident when it was one of the spots of the terrorists and many people inside staying were killed.

Different brands of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces are TAJ, VIVANTA & THE GATEWAY.