Dwindling fortunes of Bristol Hotel, Gurugram's 1st 5-star property

Gurugram: Situated in one of the most central areas of the city, the news of Rs 150 crore Bristol hotel resulted in a large number of citizens enquiring of what had happened. From the time it became operational in 1998, Bristol hotel was a go-to place for the residents at a time when the nightlife of the city had not fully developed.

Even though it was widely acknowledged that the hotel belonged to former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, it never faced much of problems even though there have been rumours that various illegal activities occurring at the hotel. Of late, the hotel had begun incurring heavy losses due to the competition from other hotel brands and the commercial malls that also took away the business of it neighbouring Edmonton Mall.

According to sources, the land of the hotel that is spread at the area of three acres is situated at the junction of Gurugram Faridabad Road and MG Road. Interestingly one of the most famous structures that had come up in the area, the area where the hotel is situated is also known as Bristol Chowk. Having lost out to its peers in the business of selling room, the management of the hotel had begun to position its hotel for various banquet functions and conventions. According to employees even though there was a substantial business that was coming in it was still not enough for the hotel operations to be in the green.

"With the opening of the major hotel brands in the city, we had incurred a lot of losses but we were relying on the set of the loyal customers who had been there for us more than 20 years. We are one of the first hotels that began functioning in 1998. Moreover, the Edmonton Mall that is situated alongside it also had a lot of commercial units much before the malls came in," said one of the employees who also expressed fear about his future following the attachment of the hotel.