Chennai's Taj Connemara to shut temporarily for restoration

Chennai's landmark hotel Vivanta by Taj-Connemara will be shut temporarily from May 10 for over a year for restoration, joining the Oberoi Delhi which has also been closed to guests for renovation.
Built in 1854, Chennai's only heritage 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", Vivanta by Taj-Connemara said in a statement.
The hotel will undergo renovation for over a year, it added.
"I would like to thank the people of this wonderful city who have supported us. We look forward to welcoming all of you, once we reopen this historic hotel." said Vivanta by Taj-Connemara's General Manager Ahmar Siddiqui.

It is the second landmark hotel in India to suspend operations temporarily after the Oberoi Delhi, which closed from April 1 for major renovations and is expected to be ready for commercial operations by April 1, 2018.
The Vivanta by Taj-Connemara was built in 1854 as the Imperial Hotel. It changed names, hands and brands over the centuries. The Connemara Hotel came under the Taj fold on a lease from Spencer's in 1984 and was initially called Taj Connemara.
In September of 2010, the hotel was rechristened Vivanta by Taj-Connemara.