22.4.16

Taj Connemara to be Shut for Renovation

The iconic Vivanta by Taj-Connemara -a landmark heritage hotel in the heart of Chennai -will be shut down for major renovation from May 10. Operated by the Taj Group on lease from Spencer's, the property is expected to take more than a year for the facelift.
The 150-room art deco hotel is one of the oldest heritage hotels in Chennai. “...the legendary hotel, when fully renovated, will ensure that the discerning traveler finds all modern amenities and conveniences discreetly placed beneath the hotel's old world charm, colonial legacy and heritage for which it has been admired for over a century,“ the hotel said in a statement.
Apart from Vivanta by Taj-Connemara, Taj Group operates four other properties in the city which include Taj Coromandel, Vivanta by Taj ­ Fisherman's Cove, Taj Club House and Gateway Hotel IT Expressway. A spokesperson for the hotel chain did not disclose the investment set aside for the renovation.
This is the second landmark hotel in India to be shut down temporarily after the Oberoi Delhi, which closed from April 1 for major renovations and is expected to be open by April 1, 2018.
Built in 1854 as the Imperial Hotel, the property was renamed Albany in 1886, and finally re-established as The Connemara in 1890 in honour of Robert Bourke, the Baron of Connemara; the Governor of Madras from 1886 to 1890. The Connemara Hotel came under the Taj Group on a lease from Spencer's in 1984 and was initially called Taj Connemara. In September 2010, the hotel was re-branded under Vivanta.

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