In Lahore, an artisanal boutique hotel pays tribute to Pakistan’s rich heritage

LAHORE: The mid-century villa sits at the end of an alleyway lined with antique doors. Inside, light spills from intricate ‘jail-cut’ windows into rooms filled with colorful bolstered divans, glazed pottery and a collection of carefully curated contemporary art and antique artifacts. Teak wood doors open into an ivy-kissed courtyard.
Here, under the comforting shade of mango and black plum trees, Lahore’s bon vivants and lovers of art gathered earlier this month to view an exhibit of images of loss and resurrection painted by Belgian artist David De Graef.
The setting for the show is anything but grim: Wusaaq is Lahore’s first artisanal boutique hotel, an establishment that less than a year since its launch has already acquired a reputation for hosting bespoke experiences for locals and outsiders.
The five-room hotel, at once homely (Wusaaq means home in Persian) and ethereal, is the brainchild of Faaria Salahuddin, a former banker and passionate preservationist who acquired the derelict villa in 2012 and painstakingly restored it to its original glory.
In 2018, Wusaaq opened its doors to the public and has since welcomed both Pakistanis visiting the eastern city of Lahore from around the country, as well as writers, literary-festival goers and connoisseurs and creators of art arriving from distant corners of the world.
It is no wonder that Lahore is where Salahuddin decided to open the hotel -- a city of consequence for nearly a thousand years with a bittersweet history manifest in its many
palaces and parks, tombs and mosques, teeming alleyways and vast boulevards. Having passed through many conquering hands, the city today boasts of intricate Mughal architectural masterpieces as well as commanding brick structures built by British colonizers.
Like Lahore, Wusaaq too is a tryst between past and present, where Salahuddin has tried to amalgamate the nostalgia for a time gone by with the aim of creating a 21st century salon.
“The aim is to showcase the fascinating lifestyle of the bygone era of the subcontinent,” Salahuddin told Arab News while sipping mint juice in the hotel’s courtyard. “I wanted the locals to experience the feeling of being transported to their ancestors’ mid-century homes; to create a space where guests from around the world mingle...under the shade of mango and jaaman trees.”
The hotel’s master suite is listed on AirBnB at $215, around Rs30,000, for single occupancy, rates comparable to those charged by swanky five star hotels peppered around the city. But Wusaaq, Salahuddin insists, offers something different: a serene oasis that is a reflection of her lifetime of travel, her wide-ranging friendships and her exuberant interests. An assemblage of classical objects juxtaposed with a vast selection of contemporary art on display provide just one glimpse into her artistic repertoire.
“I have curated the space with my private collections,” she said. “Just as one would decorate an abode, not a commercial entity.”
Salahuddin described traveling across the country sourcing locally crafted mid-century designs with a particular South Asian aesthetic to give Wusaaq a distinctively authentic touch.
“I crisscrossed Pakistan to find artisans with the ability to recreate old designs using traditional methods; who had learnt the ancient techniques passed down over generations,” she said.
As a result, every item in the hotel is exquisitely crafted. From the door hardware to vintage style switchboards to the upholstery and textiles, the attention to detail is delightful. Salahuddin smiled when complimented on her skillful curation and preferred to pass on credit to the skilled artisans and talented local artists who she has commissioned and to the support and love of her family and friends.
“It is as if everyone’s passion and skill miraculously came together to restore and reinvigorate this space,” she said. “As a tribute to our rich cultural heritage.”
As members of Lahore’s eccentric art community trickled in to view artist Graef’s collection earlier this month, Mahnaz Fareed Sheikh, who curated the exhibit and is a well-known social worker and patron of the arts, spoke about the inspiration the city of Lahore offered.
“Lahore is one of the most aesthetically pleasing cities in the world: the colors, the mayhem, the handicrafts,” she said. “You are inspired all the time.”
During a private tour of his collection, Graef explained that his work used the simple philosophy of contrasts -- light and dark, good and evil; hope and betrayal -- quite like Wusaaq.
“Wusaaq has proved to be the perfect backdrop for my inaugural exhibit in Pakistan,” Graef said. “A space entrenched in preserving heritage, yet dotted with collaborations with contemporary local artists, striking the perfect balance between contrasts.”
The hotel, he said, had provided the perfect calming backdrop to his unsettling exhibits.
“Wusaaq,” Graef said, smiling gently, “is where you come back to sleep.”

In Lahore, an artisanal boutique hotel pays tribute to Pakistan’s rich heritage