The first of August 1897 was a memorable day for the old Bengal Nagpur Railway(the forerunner of the present South Eastern Railway), when it linked Puri to Khurda and placed this unique Sea Resort with a natural beach on the Indian Railway Map . It also brought an unequivocal appreciation from the Calcuttans who got their gift of "Calcutta by the sea" for beating the summer heat of sultry Calcutta much dreaded by the then 'RAJ' .They named Puri as the "Brighton of India". "Capital", Calcutta came out in its issue on 22nd September 1916 with this interesting observation : "Resort ,like Puri are apt to rely exclusively on the endowments of nature whereas the most successful resorts embellish nature with art". The most imaginative holiday-goer scarcely expects to find a Brighton or Blackpool in India. The Bengal Nagpur Railway with the approval from the Home Board (at London) planned to setup a good hotel at Puri .The Railway Hotel at Puri thus came into being in 1922 with the acquisition of the picturesque "Ashworth Villa" .The hotel thanks to its personalised services soon found its place in the hearts of tourists from all over the world. In 1961 'BNR Hotel' earned encomium from no less a person than Prof. John K. Galbraith-the then American ambassador to India:"I am not what you would call a beach man .Not a dozen times in the past 50 years have I gone to the beach for as much as overnight , on these occasions with the single exception of a stay at the beach near Puri in India where the main attraction is an excellent hotel set well back from the sand ...." He, an "outstanding" person, in every sense of the word, was taken by surprise when he found that the hotel had overnight built a new extra long bed specially for him to make this very tall visitor feel comfortable !!!....

The tradition of extraordinary hospitality of the hotel continues with guests continuing their association and appreciating the warmth and value for their money, as is evident from the excerpts from the "Visitors' Books"

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