Nainital

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Metropole Hotel

Pankul Sharma, July 30, 2023: The Times of India

Metropole Hotel, Nainital
From: Pankul Sharma, July 30, 2023: The Times of India

Built in 1880, Nainital’s Metropole Hotel was a lavish place frequented by celebrities — Jinnah spent his honeymoon here and Hungarian painter Elisabeth Sass Brunner created the ‘Last Winter’ while she was one of its guests. It was also one of the first designated enemy properties. Over a 100 families that had encroached on its land were recently evicted, reports Pankul Sharma

The recent demolition of encroached areas at the dilapidated Metropole Hotel in Nainital has put into focus the changing image of what was once the haunt of celebrities. Built in 1880, the hotel was spread over 10 acres and the roof design became so famous that it was replicated in other parts of the country and came to be known as the ‘Nainital-pattern roof’. 
The building was constructed by the British, later owned by Raja of Mahmudabad, Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the leader of the Muslim League at the time of the Independence movement. When Khan moved to Pakistan after Partition, the hotel was leased by several people over the years, including famous historian Satyaketu Vidyalankar.


Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan, spent his honeymoon here in 1919. Hungarian painter Elizabeth Sass Brunner, along with daughter Elisabeth Brunner, was among the hotel’s many celebrity guests. Brunner created a painting titled ‘Last Winter’ here, inspired by the hotel’s surroundings. 
Nainital-based historian Ajay Rawat said, “Traveller and writer Rahul Sankrityayan stayed here for a long time while completing his book ‘History of Kumaon’. Since Satyaketu (Vidyalankar) and Rahul were good friends, the latter came here on the former’s invitation and they spent time discussing the history of the place. Kailash Nath Katju, a former cabinet minister in the Nehru government, often stayed here. Since the hotel does not have a lakeside view, it was less preferred by cine stars, but Vinod Khanna stayed here when one of his relatives was commissioner of the Kumaon division. ”

The decline began with encroachments after the hotel was declared “enemy property” in the early 1960s. The old building with 16 cottages and over 70 exclusive rooms became shabby due to disrepair. Encroachers built their houses on the hotel’s open land.

About 134 families have been living in the hotel’s compound for decades. They were involved in a long struggle to stop their eviction after the Centre made the district magistrate custodian of enemy properties in 2017. They were eventually evacuated this month following the Supreme Court’s orders, setting into motion the plan for the encroached portion to be converted into a parking lot.