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Francis Wacziarg, co-chairman Neemrana Hotels, talks to DEEPA H RAMAKRISHNAN about the group's passion to restore old homes and convert them into hotels

PHOTO: T. SINGARAVELOU

AT HOME IN INDIA Francis Wacziarg, co-chairman of Neemrana Hotels.

After a tired week, wouldn't you just like to curl up in the bed and read a novel? You needn't necessarily be at your home to be comfortable and cosy, you can feel the same at one of the 11 Neemrana properties in the country. Theirs is what you call a "non-hotel hotel chain" because Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg want their hotels to look and feel like home.

Recently, the Nawab of Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore wanted Neemrana to manage their property near Delhi. Francis and Aman have given the place "a fresher and happier look". They get down to the basics when it comes to doing up a place. "Aman and I are involved with every detail. Even a spoon or a tablecloth do not miss our attention. It's a hands-on operation," says Francis, co-chairman, Neemrana Hotels.

And with the same care they are now adding two more hotels to the chain — one in Kochi, a beautiful house that belonged to the Dutch governors and located inside the fort, and the other is a typical Tamil house in Tranquebar.

Francis, who was in Pondicherry recently on a visit to Hotel De L'Orient, one of the Neemrana properties, spoke about his passion for heritage.

"We don't just have a commercial interest in setting up these hotels. We call our chain `non-hotel hotels' because they are home away from home. The buildings should look like a house from which the family has moved out leaving behind furniture, photographs and other objects. Ideally the house should have 10 to 15 rooms. These hotels are not money-spinners but can take care of themselves." Talking about how it all began, Francis says, "It's been long-time interest. The fun is in restoring the houses and making sure that they are self-sustaining. We started it as a hobby and now it has become more than that. When we restore a building there is minimum intervention. It's a western concept of letting the home be. But of course we have to do up certain aspects such as the bathrooms."

One of the founder members of INTACH, Francis avers, "there is a new consciousness among Indians to preserve the old. Earlier, they would construct a new building when the old one crumbles. Another thing is that India has always been a country of builders. They keep building in memory of their elders (pitru pooja). This is good in a way because India is full of treasures. Now is the time when you have to try and avoid demolition of old buildings. Through INTACH we are trying to create that consciousness."

On people's growing interest in preserving heritage properties, he says that presently the trend is to acquire properties and convert them into hotels. "We get about three proposals a week. It's amazing. It has taken off like a house on fire. Everybody who has a property wants to convert it. We ask for the plan of the house. The location is very important. It shouldn't be on a noisy street, it has to be beautiful, it has to be a destination by itself." Aman and Francis are not interested in owning these properties as "we don't have the funds". The family gives the property on lease and Neemrana converts it into a hotel and gives the owner a share of the revenue.

Besides preserving the old, people now also love to live life kingsize. So, more people these days prefer staying at these hotels. "Initially, there was some reluctance. There is no television or even a phone connection in some of our hotels in remote areas. But people seem to be getting used to the concept. They come to seek peace and not luxury."

Francis was born aboard a Portuguese ship in the Caribbean Sea, and spent his childhood in Cuba, Morocco and France. He came to India in 1969 after his MBA and travelled around the country. "After four months of travelling in third class compartments and local buses, I went and met the French Consul General in Bombay and told him I cannot live anywhere else but in India. He asked me to apply for the post of a commercial attaché in the consulate. I did that and settled down in Bombay. Later, I moved to Delhi and have been there since."

Francis became an Indian citizen in 1990 and then there was no looking back. He also became a part of the new movement in cinema and art here. "I particularly love the South India — anything that is south of Mumbai is my territory," he smiles.

During his first trip to the country, he stayed with a family of blanket weavers in Karnataka. "This is how I got a real feel of the country."

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