The main heritage hotel has 22 rooms, including heritage suites - Viceroy Suite, Vicerine Suite, Duplex Suite, Heritage Suite and Turret Rooms, and 32 rooms in an annexe building added later, according to the management officials. The hotel was inaugurated on September 13, 1974, according to a marble plaque embedded in a wall of the portico.įrom 2018 onwards, it has been operated by Jungle Lodges and Resorts, an entity of the Karnataka state government. The palace, which is said to have been built over nearly 10 years, shone as an architectural jewel in its heydays, but saw a period of faded glory after Independence and was later taken up on lease by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to run as a heritage hotel. But no celebrations have been planned as such for November 18 centenary anniversary day as of now," the manager had said on Wednesday. "We are happy that this iconic and historic building has turned 100. A row of twin Ionic columns on both floors in the facade support the structure, which has a dominating central dome and cupolas at the roof level. The majestic two-storied structure mirrors the styles of English manor houses and Italian palazzos with a projecting porch. The historic building, with its shimmering white facade surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens set in a sprawling 40-acre campus, sits on a hillock on the foothills of revered Chamundi Hills, and is located a few kilometers outside the main city of Mysuru.
The centenary of the palace comes ahead of the World Heritage Week held from November 19-25. The architect of the palace was E W Fritchley, as engraved on the foundation stone. It has a grand regal charm on its exterior and boasts of high-quality opulence in its interior," Manjunath, manager of Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, told news agency PTI. The great Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the then king of Mysore, had laid the stone and the palace was built for stay of viceroys and other state guests of the Mysore royal family. "The foundation stone is mounted in the lower portion of the portico. The centenary day of the once-regal palace, now a heritage hotel, was ushered in albeit quietly on Thursday as management and other staff went about their daily business, but everyone there knows the significance of the day.
Lalitha Mahal Palace, a celebrated architectural icon built by the Mysore royals originally for stay of viceroys and other state guests and equipped with a hand-operated heritage lift imported from England in 1921, has turned 100.Įxactly hundred years ago on November 18, 1921, the foundation stone of this palatial building, said to be modelled on St Paul's Cathedral in London and featured in many movies, was laid by Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the then maharaja of the Mysore Kingdom.