Our Story

The name Ajit Constructions would probably ring a bell in the old-timers of the Gujarati community living in Pune. If not – here’s the Flashback Friday version! My dad Ajit Mehta came to this beautiful city for his education way back in the late 1940’s ( seems like a century ago, doesn’t it? ), and instantly fell in love with the city. Unsurprisingly, he decided to put down roots there and started a company called Ajit Constructions soon after receiving his civil engineering degree. Through sheer hard work, grit, and determination, he rose up the ranks and had a real-life rags-to-riches story. Hotel Ajit was built in the year 1973, long before Pune was the bustling metropolis it is today. Back then, it was a sleepy old town playing second-fiddle to Mumbai and content being known simply as a pensioner’s paradise.

Hotel Ajit and its bar Amrapali quickly became landmarks, especially as virtually everyone visiting the city comes to the central Deccan Gymkhana area. Hotel Ajit was home to many renowned sportsmen who came to the city to play tournaments. For the vintage car lovers among us, it also helps that my dad decided to keep his first car there for posterity. (A 1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe for the curious / autophiles). While the lodging eventually had to be shut down due to many factors both within and outside our control, the bar remains a key attraction to loyal patrons from both near and far.

About three years ago, I saw the potential in converting the rooms of the hotel into a banquet hall and went ahead with that plan with all guns blazing. The city had been transformed in the nearly fifty years since Hotel Ajit first opened its doors– making it an opportune time for us to transform too!