Twenty-one months after the deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel has reopened its heritage wing.

The 107-year-old hotel, which had partially reopened for business within a month after the attacks that left 166 dead, 31 of them in the Taj, started receiving guests for this iconic wing on Aug 15.

A team of 20 consultants from Britain, Italy, Singapore, the United States and India helped restore artwork and antique furniture damaged in the attacks, as well as redesign and upgrade fixtures and fittings.

The total cost of the repair work: Rs175 crores ($50 million).

The Singapore firm involved was James Park Associates (JPA).

The managing director of JPA’s Singapore office David Edwards told tabla!: "It was an honour to be asked to help with the hotel’s renovation and to work with Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces’ senior management who have taken a close interest in our design concepts and their development.

"The Taj Mahal Palace is a magnificent hotel and after the tragic events of 2008, it was vital that our design was sensitive and appropriate to this landmark’s history, as well as offering guests the utmost in luxury and comfort.

"Even though there have been many cosmetic changes over the years, the formality and grandeur of the original building’s design is unmistakable.

"We have drawn on those qualities, together with the hotel’s illustrious history and the rich culture of India, to give new life to the hotel’s interiors and to help it reassert itself as one of the world’s greatest and most magnificent hotels."

Most of the hotel has been overhauled, including its plumbing, wiring and furniture.

The CEO of Indian Hotels Company Raymond Bickson told The New York Times that the Tata-owned company tried to closely replicate period details like railings and mouldings because it wanted to preserve the hotel’s “Tajness”.

This article was first published in tabla!