An immaculately manicured lawn with seasonal flowers in full bloom prepared us for Princeton Club’s new avatar as we entered the club located at Prince Anwar Shah Road. Swanky at the core, matching the aesthetics of a star hotel, Princeton Club, post its renovation, is emerging as a new hub for millennials who love to eat, play and lounge. Over the last two years the club has gone through total overhaul and The Telegraph was thoroughly impressed with Princeton Club 2.0’s latest features. Before we checked out the property that was established in 2004, we sat for a quick tete-a-tete at the club’s PDR with founder and real estate baron Sushil Mohta (inset) of the Merlin Group. Excerpts.
Club culture has gone through a sea change in the last decade, how has Princeton Club evolved over the years?
The club was developed purely out of passion. When we were growing up, I found that it was tough to get membership of clubs, particularly for younger generation. We believed that a club membership is more needed for the youth as they have more opportunity to socialise with like-minded people. So, from day one we decided that we will develop the club and keep the ownership with us, maintain and manage it and give membership to the apartment owners and also give it to outsiders who fit the criteria.
The club will be turning 20 in the next two years and it needed renovation. So, we started by stripping down all the old furniture and fixtures, electrical fitting, flooring, wall fitting etc; basically, adding and updating facilities. Everything is freshly developed now and post-refurbishing we have got fantastic feedback from members and we are also getting enquiries for new membership.
A state-of-the-art gym with trained instructors helps the members stay fit
Tell us about the facilities that are on offer for the members.
In terms of facilities, we have state-of-the-art gym — spacious and fully loaded, with trained instructors, card room, swimming pool, squash court, pool and billiards for proper recreation. We are also popular for events like anniversary, birthday parties and corporate events as we have large functional rooms with good set-up for F&B and formal meetings or any celebrations. We have a wonderful kitchen with good service and amazing food. Princeton Club is a combination of a club with good hospitality. We run it like a five-star hotel. We believe that the members must feel valued.
Attached to Michael Phelps’s swimming programme, the coaches are thoroughlly trained giving an edge to swimmers
We learnt that the swimming training is attached to Olympian Michael Phelps’s swimming programme. Tell us about that.
We do lot of things to attract members and the collaboration is one such endeavour. Michael Phelps has an academy in India and we have a tie-up with them for their training courses. This collaboration makes us the only centre in Calcutta and Eastern India. And it has generated a lot of interest in members who are taking swimming more seriously now. Similarly, we have yoga, karate and dance classes for children.
The snooker room attracts young men who unwind at the club
Do you intend to give all other sports facilities in the club the same benchmark?
As and when we get the opportunity we definitely will if they add value. We are also developing a sports academy near Rajarhat, Merlin RISE —The Sports Republic, and we have tied up with world-class brands like Ronaldinho’s R10 Football Academy, Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence for cricket and Tiger and Krishna Shroff’s MMA MATRIX Learning Centre for combat sports.
The PDR is a hit among members who love throwing intimate parties in the club
How does the remaining calendar of the year look like for Princeton Club?
With Durga Puja knocking on the door, we will be having a special food festival followed by musical programmes for the year-end festivals. Apart from this there will be regular activities for the members.
Architect Vivek Rathod revamped the terrace on the first floor with green grass-like flooring and cool furniture, making it a favourite hangout for guests in the evening
The smoking zone is thoughtfully created. It is strategically situated beside the PDR and the restaurant
Members don’t need to scout for a good spa to rejuvenate their senses. It’s available at the club
