TUESDAY, September 26, 2023, will go down in the history of the Hinduja family as a spectacular night to remember.
On that day, the Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to mark the reincarnation of the Grade II-listed Old War Office (OWO) in Whitehall, London, as the OWO Raffles hotel and residential complex.
“Today was always going to be a special day for us,” said Gopi Hinduja, 83, who considers the restoration of the building over an eight-year period as his “legacy”.
The OWO, with its marble staircases and floors and chandeliers, now features 120 guest rooms and suites, plus 85 luxurious apartments.
The inaugural party was held in the courtyard, which was festooned with fresh flowers. Ballet dancers weaved in and out, while composer Andrew Lloyd Webber on the piano accompanied the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Among the 600 guests were top hoteliers Jasminder Singh (The Londoner and the May Fair), Surinder Arora (Fairmont Windsor Park and the O2 in Greenwich) and Joginder Sanger (The Washington and the Berkeley), possibly checking out the rather glamorous new kid on the block. Other senior businessmen present included Adar Poonawalla (Serum Institute of India), Sri Prakash Lohia (Indorama) and Yogesh Mehta (Pickford).
