The Elgin Fairlawn - Kolkata - Heritage Hotel (Since 1783)

Staying at Elgin Fairlawn was an unforgettable experience. The service was truly incredible. Warm, attentive, and thoughtful in every detail. The food was delicious, and the overall value was excellent. What makes this place so special is its unique heritage charm. it’s a real oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. The character and history of the property shine through everywhere, creating an atmosphere you simply don’t find anywhere else. Highly recommended for anyone wanting an authentic and memorable stay.|The “puja special Thali menu” to celebrate Durga Puja 2025 was particularly special

This is a quirky but super interesting place to stay in Kolkata. It is a heritage hotel proudly displayed in photographs and artifacts throughout the hotel. Although in a grimy part of the City (to be fair.....all of Central Kolkata is grimy) the hotel itself is clean and safe. I found the service staff, the ones who deal with customers, excellent. The opem air restaurant serves really delicious Chinese and Indian foods. It serves continental as well. Breakfast is a modest buffet with cooked to order eggs, dosa, and pancakes. Your experience will partly depend on the room you choose. I stayed in 2 rooms in November 2025, room 18 was a deluxe room on the second floor , it was excellent, better than the Park Hotel, it was large, well decorated, with a nice bathroom. Room 12 was on the first floor, no windows, and a small bathroom with no separation between the shower toilet and sink...the floor fills with water if you take a shower, it is slightly horrific. Choose your room wisely and you will really enjoy this iconic hotel with loads of character. Easy walk to New Market, Metro, and other Central Kolkata attractions

Dining at Elgin Fairlawn felt like stepping into a beautifully preserved chapter of history, where elegance and warmth coexist effortlessly. The service was gracious and attentive, striking the perfect balance between professionalism and genuine hospitality. Every dish was thoughtfully prepared, rich in flavor, and beautifully presented, reflecting both tradition and finesse. The regal ambience, combined with excellent food and seamless service, made the entire dine-in experience truly memorable and worth revisiting. Food suggestion: Pork chops in Korean sauce, Desserts especially the coffee infused cream dessert (I forgot the name, but taste bud still remembers it)

Visited for dinner with friends and had a delightful vegetarian dining experience. The restaurant’s ambiance is warm and inviting, with elegant décor and comfortable seating. Service was attentive and friendly—staff were happy to accommodate our dietary preferences and made helpful suggestions. The food was well-prepared, flavorful, and beautifully presented. Dessert options were satisfying and rounded off the meal nicely. Prices are slightly on the premium side but justified by the quality of ingredients and overall experience. Highly recommended for a pleasant vegetarian dinner outing.

Save your money. Book ahead. Don't miss the opportunity to stay in this gorgeous hotel. Love how they cater for the single traveller. A holiday within a holiday. Luxuriate around the many beautiful public spaces. Hundreds of chairs to choose from with beautiful views. Exemplenary in giving service that is pitched just right. Professional, warm, non- intrusive. Well trained. So you can see I enjoyed my stay here haha!

You may be wondering why the photo is from ITC if the review is for Fairlawn, the reason is because we had such a bad experience before even being shown so much so as a menu here that we went to ITC instead for our lunch. TL;DR: We called ahead and were told we could walk in for lunch at Fairlawn’s Imperial Room, but upon arrival, we were ignored for 15 minutes, told the entire area was suddenly “reserved,” and even shooed away by another guest while staff stood by. Only after we complained did they apologize and offer another table — which had a stained tablecloth. Extremely poor management and communication for a heritage property. We left and went to ITC instead. Very poor service and management, cannot comment on food quality as we didn't even get that far. How does that happen? We called the property before visiting and checked that for 2 people for lunch the imperial room dining area is available and the lady who answered the call also affirmed that we didn't need a reservation and can walk in anytime after 1.30 pm. When we reached the place at around 2 pm, we had to wait at the lobby area for around 15 minutes before anyone from the outlet even acknowledged us let alone seat us, despite there being no rush of patrons in the vicinity and after the front desk had already notified the staff on our behalf. After that, the host who did show up, started explaining that they need to take our whole order at once as there is a significant waiting period for food to be freshly prepared etc instead of at least seating us first. When he did take us, he showed to a long table seat clearly meant for a larger group and then he said oh sorry this table is reserved, can move to a different one. 2 minutes or so later, he informed us that the entire outlet is reserved at the moment and we need to find a seat in their other semi-outdoor seating outlet which we didn't want to do due to rainy, hot, and humid weather. When we started asking questions on why we were not informed about this earlier on the call, the other client who had made the reservation for the whole area directly came to our table and started shooing us out and away which felt highly insulting and demeaning. There was no staff to at least intervene before this so that we could just interact and sort it out with them instead of facing this kind of a situation. The most funny thing is that when we contested this and raised our concerns only then more staff showed up and started apologizing whereas they saw us but ignored us earlier when we were waiting. When we mentioned that we will go to a different place instead for lunch, they asked us to give them another chance and they seated us in a different indoor dining area. We were still okay with considering it till my wife barely took her seat and immediately noticed a large stain on the table cloth. It was highly disappointing to see this kind of management of a heritage property. That's when we decided to leave and dine at ITC instead.

A beautiful heritage hotel and restaurant boasting of fine English dining. The decor is exemplary! We enjoyed the food by the double espresso disappointed! Could be way better. Staff are friendly and helpful and the location in Central Calcutta is just perfect. The only surprise was that the toilet is located outside in the courtyard. So when it's raining you have to navigate through the rain behind the restaurant where other people also have access. Not sure if they were staff themselves. Otherwise the place is kept very clean and surprisingly the toilets were very clean too.

Not squeaky clean but perfectly okay! I liked all the helpful staff. Their breakfast was awesome with Indian and British mix. Chai is good. You can hear the birds in the middle of a bustling city.