Hotel Name: Windsor Lodge
Address: Kalika Estate, Dadgallia, Ranikhet, Uttarakhand,263645, India
Contact Person:
Tel No: 91-11-46035500
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.welcomheritagehotels.in
Hotel Profile
Ranikhet was first established as a cantonment town by the British Raj in 1869 and is the only cantonment in India to enjoy heritage status. It remains an important army town and is the headquarters of the Kumaon regiment. The vestiges of the colonial era are still clearly apparent in this neat and tidy settlement with various heritage hotels from that period and old churches, including a couple that are no longer in service but have been converted into tweed and shawl mills with hand operated looms.
The original Windsor Lodge was a hunting lodge built in 1909 amongst the thick and untamed forests of the region that were then teeming with wildlife. This retreat remained a prime favourite with the British and Indian upper strata of society till 1948, when a devastating fire reduced it to ruins. After half a century of neglect, renovation began on the Lodge in 1999. Painstaking efforts were made to restore the Lodge to its original architecture and hauteur, with solid blocks of stone in the rough hewn walls and liberal use of solid timber. Modern comforts were woven into this period style to maintain the best of both the old and new centuries and worlds.
WelcomHeritage Windsor Lodge is located at a vantage point on a wooded hillock with a commanding view of snow-capped mountains, thick pine and cedar forests and the sweep of the Ranikhet Golf Course. It is located in Kalika Estate, in the village of Dadgallia, on the outskirts of the Ranikhet cantonment town, just high and removed enough to seem remote and yet within easy reach of all the hill station’s amenities and activities.
Hotel is made of wood and it gives a special wood smell in the rooms. The interiors of rooms have been provided by the taste of antique furniture. It is the only Heritage property in Ranikhet. Liberal use of timber in the interiors and of rough hewn stones on the exterior ensured its vibrant antiquity. The century building is successfully synergized with modern day amenities.
