HistoryWhat a hotel! What a history!
The Strand opened in
1901, on Strand Road, Rangoon, at the time one of British India's
largest and most prized cities.
It was built by British entrepreneur John Darwood and acquired
by the Sarkies brothers, who collected more than a few of Southeast
Asia's grand colonial hotels including Raffles Hotel in Singapore,
Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang, Malaysia and Hotel Majapahit in
Surabaya, Indonesia.
From the beginning, The Strand
was regarded as 'the finest hostelry east of Suez', and Murray's
Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon, 1911 edition, says
the hotel was 'patronized by royalty, nobility and distinguished
personages'.
The distinguished and less so, have continued to patronize the
three-storey hotel in the decades since. There have been, of course, a
few interludes over the years. A major renovation took place in 1937
for instance. During World War II, the occupying Japanese used part of
the hotel, as stables for military horses. Then there was the war time
bomb that plunged through The Strand roof to land, unexploded, in what
was known as Princess Hall and is now the hotel manager's office. There
it remained for a few days, drawing curious crowds, before it was
finally carted away.
Following a total renovation to the hotel in the early 1990's, The Strand
reopened in January 1994 as an Amanresort. By then, Burma was known as
Myanmar and Rangoon had become Yangon. In September 1999, The Strand
appointed General Hotel Management (GHM) as the new management company.
The Strand has long been
recognised as a national landmark, a model of auspicious, colonial
repose. The hotel's Victorian influence is visible even from the
colonnaded entranceway. Inside spells the same story; the
marble floor inlaid with teak wood, the rattan furniture and potted
palms, the chandeliers and black-lacquered ceiling fans – all of its
imbues The Strand with a
personality as welcome as it is inimitable.
With the renovation of the early 1990s, the room inventory was reduced
from 50 to 32 spacious, elegantly appointed suites. All suites are
located on the two upper floors and all suites are serviced 24 hours a
day by a team of butlers – the men in sporting Burmese dress jackets or
‘tighpone’, the women in Shan-style blouses, and both wearing sandals
and the local wraps known as ‘longyis’.