Residence of four successive Commanders-in-chief of the Indian Army with its first occupant being General Sir William Rose Mansfield in 1865, this heritage property, Woodville Palace, has become an institution of history itself, which can be traced to the ruler of former state of Gondal in Western India when Maharaja Sir Bhagvat Singh brought this property in 1926 for his daughter, Princess Leila Ba.
Today, Raj Kumar Uday Singh of Jubbal, is the proud owner of this heritage hotel and reminisces how it came into his possession, “My great grandfather told me that in 1881, Sir James Louis Walker was the last Imperial owners and then it passed into the hands of the Alliance Bank of Simla. But as the Bank collapsed in 1923 it took almost three years for them to decide to sell the property to our family.
I still have an old document of the Old Building, dating 1859 showing who all possessed this Palace before my family, but no other previous ownership records have been found. And to my amazement my grandmother once told me that a report was submitted to the then Superintendent of Shimla whether Maharaja of Gondal should be sold this magnificent property as it was in a very desirable location, to which a reply was received that there was ‘no serious objection’ and then it was finally bought for almost 1.5 lakh in 1926”.
I still have an old document of the Old Building, dating 1859 showing who all possessed this Palace before my family, but no other previous ownership records have been found. And to my amazement my grandmother once told me that a report was submitted to the then Superintendent of Shimla whether Maharaja of Gondal should be sold this magnificent property as it was in a very desirable location, to which a reply was received that there was ‘no serious objection’ and then it was finally bought for almost 1.5 lakh in 1926”.
Shimla was mainly developed for the English, as Viceroys used to come here, the Superintend of Shimla being here as before 1947 most of these properties were either owned by the British or the royal families, he stated. Raj Kumar said that parts of India was under British India and parts under the States. British did not interfere with the working of the states unless there was a murder or misrule, but then wished to be acknowledged as the Paramount Power. Since British expected assistance during the First World War, I remember “My grandfather too sent troop from the Jubbal Army. There was peace as long as we were not invading Bhushar and Bhushar was not invading us”. He said, “My grandmother told me that during Independence the fight was against the Britishers and not against royalty and we thought that once the war was over we would gain royal status again. But this did not happen and as the states merged we too had to give in”.
After buying the property in 1926, the royal family did not move into it as there was no immediate hurry to do so, and lived in Hainault. It was only 12 years later, in 1938 that Raja Rana Sir Bhagat Chand decided that time had come as his sister was to be married, hence the original structure was completely brought down and what now stands is the Woodville Palace with its pristine lawns, immaculate artwork and décor and strewn with antiques, lined with Persian carpets and lithographs which are over a century old, which was completed in 1940.
Raj Kumar adds “When I married in 1976, I did have an idea of opening this place to guests and the fact that a German family stayed with us for a month and paid Rs 4,000 as rent, only strengthened my resolve to do so. We opened one room and the dining area for them which included meals. We were quite amazed at the family’s response as they were quite happy when they left. Soon that room was rented to a French family who also paid Rs 4,000 as room rent for a month”. After this few renovations were done and nine rooms were opened to guests on 1st April, 1977. “For the promotion of the Hotel I got few photographs clicked, only one was coloured of the building and rest were black and white, prepared a brochure and personally went to Delhi to submit those in various Embassies. The response was quite good as we had full occupancy during the initial days. The room rent was Rs 215, which included all three meals”.
The decision to open the property as a hotel was also influenced from the fact that Rambhag Palace (1957) and Udaipur Palace (1962) were opened to guest and since ours too was a huge property, up keep of such a building was difficult. “Now we occupy the first floor of Palace, and the ground floor and the second floor has been opened for the guests. The private cottages too were renovated and opened especially for honeymooners”. In 2004, a section of the building was modified to build a conference room, upgraded with latest amenities. The Royal Suite would make you feel like royalty as the beds date back to 1926 and the vintage ambience will fill your senses. The Tiger Lounge, the Hollywood Bar, the Imperial Banquet Hall or perhaps the House of the Rising Sun are other areas that can be explored and tingle your senses as these are equally enriched with history.
“After that the Palace was further developed as a Hotel and with film units coming in, first one being Khudrat (1981), the heritage concept gained momentum”, Raj Kumar said. Since then the Palace has been a host to number a film units and well known Bollywood stars such as Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Raj Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Amitabh Bachchan to name a few.
A walk in this glorious Palace is like walking past history. Each room, each lobby as well as the stairways ooze history with huge portraits and photographs being hung from the walls capturing time. One can easily spend a day marveling at its glory and antiques collected over a period of time. The private dining area is only for few close friends of Raj Kumar and one can easily be amazed at his collection. From miniature collections of vintage cars to intricate pieces of art, a nice compilation of books and crystal ware are a thing to marvel.
On a personal note, Raj Kumar Uday Singh says, “People in the city are more impersonal than in Jubbal, as had I to travel in a rikshaw or perhaps drive a fancy car, people would treat me as royalty, but now things have changed. Not much regard is given to ones status unless you are a politician. Though people are respectful and polite at present I have no inclination to join politics. The scenario is such that even those who are in power are trying hard to protect their own seat that very little is being done to serve the people”.
Even if it is only a concept of royalty but feeling like one when you walk the lawns or the corridors, Woodville Palace is and stands for everything is ever written or said about it. Its historical significance is just enough for making a stop at this place.
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