This was back in 1956...

India was a young country, and the passion to build India - to bring it to the world forum - was at its peak. In 1955, in a UNESCO forum in Paris, the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru extended the invitation to hold the summit in India in 1956. The invitation was promptly accepted by the organisers. But India had neither a hotel of any standard nor a convention centre at that time. When his advisors reminded Nehru about the lack of facilities in New Delhi, he decided to build a hotel and a convention centre. In a period of 15 months, India built its 1st 5-star hotel. This was a colossal edifice representing the country's post-independence-instilled Revivalist architecture with the rose-pink walls of Kota stone, with Moghul style arches, and the Natraj Suite, the Kashmir Suite, the Rajput Suite and the Presidential Suite, all representing the diversity of the country. Starting with a 3 story grand building, it grew into a hotel with 550 rooms and 111 suites, spread across 25 acres of land. Nehru used to come and personally supervise the construction. The cost of such a construction for India was huge at that time - Rs. 3 crores (Rs 30mn). Dr Karan Singh, then the Sadar-i-Riyasat of Kashmir State, and who later became the Minister of Tourism in '60s recalls: "Panditji said the princes should contribute money to make a good hotel in Delhi. We have nothing to count. He said I will give you land but will you all put in your money? And so we did," (The state of Kashmir along with two more states contributed funds to construct the hotel, but soon the funds shared out for it went dry) "We spent about 10 to 20 lakhs and then ran out of money. We went back to Panditji and the government had to chip in." And that is how India's first 5-star hotel - Hotel Ashok - came up. And so did Vigyan Bhawan - Asia's First Convention Center! ... Those were the days when govt and business were not inimical (the issue was not about capitalism vs. socialism, as it is now - but about how does one contribute to building a nation). The staff of the Hotel Ashok got trained by the existing Oberoi Maiden staff (just as the initial training of SAIL technical staff happened at TISCO) In years to come, this place also became the platform for many well-known pubic personalities including Yamini Krishnamurti, Raja Radha Reddy, Hema Malini, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Pt Uday Shankar. It hosted Queen Elizabeth II, Marshall Tito, Margaret Thatcher, Prince Aga Khan, Fidel Castro and innumerable heads of states who came to India (During . Sometime in the late '70s nearly 40 heads of states stayed in the hotel at the same time... And a Saudi Arabian ambassador who stayed in the hotel's presidential suite for three years and held his daughter's marriage reception in the hotel). Hotel Ashok got a bad reputation when in 1982-83, Zubin Mehta and his team walked out the hotel

because of a cockoach! This year, Hotel Ashok celebated its Golden Jubilee anniversary. According to one obsevation: "The hotel, at 50 B in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri overlooking the posh Diplomatic Enclave, has plodded through as many as 50 years of life since then, but en route, has not only lost the sparkle of 1956 but also defeated its great history. Sad that no Indian heart today turns fonder at the mention of The Ashok, no heads of state check in there anymore. Like any other state-run establishment, it has long reeled under the weight of demands for free sarkari service from the politicians and their minions, red tape and a fading semblance of maintenance. At least that is the general idea on the street."

http://alternativeperspective.blogspot.in/2006/12/indian-history-trivia-5-indias-1st-5.html