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The lobby of The Connaught is where you will often find Bhalla greeting guests and chatting with staff .
Bhalla ’ s next stop . For him , it was the perfect place to scratch his peripatetic itch . He landed at The Berkeley , which , like The Connaught , is one of London ’ s iconic luxury hotels , with roots also dating back to the late 19th century , when it gained a reputation as a popular destination for debutantes , whose mothers trusted The Berkeley ’ s staff to uphold their modesty .
Keeping a watchful eye on a debutante ’ s propriety is not necessarily an employee of the hotel ’ s responsibility any longer , but ensuring a discreet environment still is for the mostly affluent and demanding clientele . For Bhalla , it was about growing and being entrusted with more responsibility . “ It was a time when I really wanted to develop a long-term vision for my career ,” he said .
Arriving at the hotel at the outset of the Great Financial Crisis was not the best timing ; the hotel immediately had to close its flagship Gordon Ramsay restaurant . Despite the inconvenient timing of the GFC , he arrived at the hotel as it set out on a multimillion-dollar renovation , valuable experience for Bhalla , who , after arriving to The Berkeley as director of food and beverage , would be promoted to the position of hotel manager five years later . Bhalla ’ s time at The Berkeley lasted 11 years and when it was up , there was no landslide reset ; he remained in London and didn ’ t stray far . In fact , he just crossed the east edge of Hyde Park into Mayfair , joining The Connaught in 2018 . Change , yes , but there was continuity : Like The Berkeley , The Connaught is part of Maybourne Hotel Group , a Qatari-owned hotel company , which also operates Claridge ’ s in London , The Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and The Maybourne Riviera in France . It will open The Emory , also in London , in Spring 2024 .
Each hotel within the portfolio is distinct , with a unique personality , but as Bhalla points out , “ There ’ s a common Maybourne DNA that runs through all
30 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2024