Jamsetji Tata built the Taj Mahal Hotel to attract visitors to India and improve Bombay, while giving the city a hotel worthy of its stature. The popular story that he began the project after being refused entry to Watson’s Hotel is not established by the historical accounts cited here.
What Jamsetji Tata wanted the hotel to do
A Tata Group account quotes Lovat Fraser, a friend of the Tatas, recalling that the idea had long been in Jamsetji Tata’s mind. Fraser said Tata had “not the slightest desire to own a hotel”; his wish was to attract people to India and, incidentally, improve Bombay. Tata Group’s account of the project presents this as a civic ambition, not simply a bid to enter the hotel business.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
New York: Portrait of a City | $37.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Iconic Hotels of the World | $43.61 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris | $12.12 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Hotel: An American History | $41.54 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Disneyland Hotel: The Early Years 1954-1988 | $34.95 | Buy on Amazon |
Tata Group describes Bombay’s hotel options at the time as basic and says Tata wanted a hotel worthy of both the city and the country. In that telling, the Taj was intended to enhance Bombay and draw international attention to India.
Was the Watson’s Hotel refusal the reason?
The familiar anecdote says Watson’s Hotel turned Tata away because he was Indian, prompting him to build a hotel that would welcome Indians. The broader colonial-era context is relevant: Tata Group describes Watson’s as having an exclusive European clientele and contrasts it with the Taj’s welcome to Indians. But the cited account does not document a personal refusal or establish it as the event that set the Taj project in motion. Tata Group’s account of Jamsetji Tata’s civic role supports the contrast, not the causal anecdote.
#1 Best Overall
- Height: 13.75in / 35cm, Depth: 2in / 5cm, Width: 10.25in / 26cm
- By Reuel Golden
- Hardcover
- 560 pages
- Imprint: Taschen
A modern hotel and a long-term project
The Taj combined that civic ambition with a serious attempt to create a modern, high-standard hotel. Tata Group notes that it offered contemporary amenities for its time, including electric fans, elevators and Turkish baths. Tata Group’s profile of Jamsetji Tata describes these features as part of the hotel’s innovations.
The project took shape over several years. Tata Group’s timeline records that construction had begun by 1898 and that Indian Hotels Company Limited was incorporated on April 1, 1902. The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel opened on December 16, 1903, according to a separate Tata Group historical feature. Tata Group’s hotel timeline and its historical account provide those dates.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Rank #2
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
