Fortune Resort Central Darjeeling launches centenary celebrations

Company release, May 4, 2005

New Delhi

Fortune Resort Central Darjeeling,a part of the Fortune Park Hotels chain under the Welcomgroup banner, completed100 years of operations in April 2005. FortunePark Hotels Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Limited. The centenary celebrations were launchedon Sunday May 1, 2005, by Mr. Asok Bhattacharya, Minister for Urban Development and Hill Affairs,Government of West Bengal. A commemorative volume on Darjeelingtitled “DarjeelingRevisited”, sponsored by ITC andpublished by Fortune Park Hotels, was released on the occasion.

Mr.AsokBhattacharya, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion, said, "FortuneResort Central Darjeeling holds an important position as one of the oldesthotels in Darjeeling.It has not been allowed to fade away, but has been upgraded into a veryattractive hotel. Tourism to Darjeelingis showing steady growth and we hope that this favourable trend will spread tothe entire region.”

The launch wasfollowed by a special buffet lunch, in which dishes sported interesting names.There was 'Hastings Treasure' (chicken saladwith green mangoes), Jalapahar Korma (mutton curry), ‘Hill Railway ChickenCurry’, ‘Planter’s Delight’ (corn & mushroom), ‘Treasure from the Hooghly’ (fish in mustard sauce) and ‘Angrezi Babu’sDelight’ (brocolli in butter).

Mr.N.B.Madan,past owner of Central Hotel, as the property was earlier known, recalled,"Central Hotel was opened by my grandfather Mr.J.F.Madan a hundred yearsago. At the time, it was a 2 star hotel, but I am happy to see the transformedFortune Resort Central which can be considered as no less than a 4 StarHotel".

Dating back to1905, the Central Hotel, located on RobertsonRoad, was built by Mr. J.F.Madan. He saw anopportunity in the fact that in the summer months there was an acute shortageof accommodation in Darjeeling.Soon he proceeded to convert his departmental store and the four shops belowit, into hotel rooms. In 1910, the Central Hotel bought over the adjoiningbuilding owned by the Maharaja of Burdwan. 18 more rooms were then added to theHotel. In 1972, an annexe with 24 more rooms was added in the building acrossthe road.

In 1985, theproperty was sold to the present owner Mr.M.P.Agarwal. Mr. Agarwal signed anagreement with Fortune Park Hotels in 1999 to manage and market the property.Fortune Hotels began operations in April 2000. In these five years, FortuneResort Central has undergone some major design changes, conceived and createdby local architect Shashish Prakash.

Fortune Resort Central Darjeeling now has plenty of natural lightallowing foliage and flowers to flourish in the lobby. A Tea Lounge with aglass ceiling and French windows offers an enchanting view of the magnificentHimalayan range. The Lounge becomes part of the bar at night, giving you a panoramicview of the twinkling lights of Darjeeling.The Orchid Restaurant, located at a lower level just below the lounge, offers agarden ambience with potted plants including orchids.

Fortune ResortCentral now offers 31 rooms, including 11 Fortune Club Rooms and 5 StandardRooms, in the main building. There are another 15 Standard Rooms in the Annexe.The rooms have period décor and old fashioned fireplaces for log fires, and hotand cold running water. Rooms with CCTV and a varied room service menu are otherattractions.

Darjeeling is steadily becoming apopular conference destination. The Regal Room is a conference hall in the mainbuilding that can accommodate upto 100 people. The Banquet Hall is the largestin town (1496 sq ft) and is located on the 4th floor of the Annexe. There isalso a Board Room that can hold 15 persons.

The CentenaryCelebrations at Fortune Resort Central are slated to continue till December31st 2005. The Hotel is planning a series of events during this period. Theevents will seek to focus on various aspects and personalities of the region,who have helped to create the Darjeelingof today. Visitors to Darjeelingcan look forward to two interesting food festivals that are being planned inMay and June 2005. There will be a Parsee Food Festival, which will be followedby a Marwari Food Festival. A number of other events between August andDecember are still on the drawing board.

For furtherinformation please contact:

Shona Adhikari

Mobile: 9810631976

E-Mail:shona.adhikari@welcomgroup.com & adhikari_shona@yahoo.com

FORTUNE PARKHOTELS LIMITED

1001- 1004,10th Floor

DLF Galleria,Phase IV

Gurgaon – 122002