The Elgin Hotel is the oldest hotel in Darjeeling, built in 1887. It is now heritage hotel completely restored to its former grandeur. The property was originally owned by the royal family of Cooch Behar, once a princely state. It was leased and run by a succession of British families, the last being Madame Nancy Oakley. It was then bought by the late Kuldip Chand Oberoi of the Oberoi family of hotelier’s fame and has been ever since run by his son Diamond Oberoi to the present day.
As you enter Elgin, the warmth hugs you and makes you feel at home. You are greeting with a glass of sparkling cherry liquor and a silken Khada (traditional greeting scarf) draped around your neck. Snug and cozy in an interior decked with etchings of G.Douglas, lithographs of Daniell, period Burma teak furniture, oak floor boards and paneling, crackling fireplaces, candle-lit tables and strains of music from the grand piano, you realize the meaning of palpable ‘old world charm' which has played host to dignitaries like the US Ambassador and the Crown Prince of Sikkim to Dominique Lapierre and Mark Tully. The hotel has stories to tell from the time of its first owner the Maharaja of Cooch Behar to Nancy Oakley in the 1950s.
This description is based on information provided by the hotel.