Opened in 1929, at the height of the British Empire, the Cecil is a good example of what one might call a typical British colonial hotel. That assessment is supported by the fact that great figures of the imperial age, such as Somerset Maugham and Winston Churchill, made this their base when they were in town. The British Empire has long been dead and buried, however, and today the recently renovated Cecil is a modern hotel in a modern, bustling city.
