[1] The hotel was established in 1884 by the British but was later purchased by one of its employees, Mohan Singh Oberoi, who later founded the Oberoi Hotels group, which presently owns and operates the property [2][3] The Cecil had a modest beginning in 1883 as a one-storied house, the Tendril Cottage with its famed inhabitant, Rudyard Kipling.
It is claimed that Kipling frequented the house where he wrote his novels, including Plain Tales from the Hills, which was inspired by Shimla.
According to an account, Kipling would book himself into the cottage every summer for five consecutive years, making his journey from Lahore to the British retreat.
[4] Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi came to Shimla while he was a jobless newlywed to find work in the government.
However, he was employed at The Cecil in 1922, starting as a staff in the boiler room, tasked with weighing coal sacks for the hotel's water heaters.