Dubbed India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru is fast gaining a reputation as the country’s most exciting city. Many come here just to stay at The Leela Palace Bengaluru.
Year-round sunshine, lively nightlife and leafy parks make Bengaluru an appealing alternative to hectic Delhi for visitors, especially now it’s served by new daily flights from the UK.
The Leela Palace Bengaluru, with seven acres of blooming palm court gardens, its own lagoon and waterfall, shopping arcade, yoga pavilion and a blissfully peaceful 50ft outdoor pool, feels more like a chic coastal resort than a city hotel.
The main attractions of Bengaluru – formerly yet still interchangeably known as Bangalore – are half an hour’s drive away, yet you might prefer to go nowhere. There’s a spa, four restaurants, a vast art collection and nightly ceremonial performances to enjoy, while the hotel’s astonishingly attentive service makes it all-too-easy to just order another cocktail and relax.
The Vibe
Old-school luxury. The pink sandstone exterior, copper domes, 24-carat gold leaf décor and grand entrance with its imposing scalloped pillars make the hotel one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks – and the opulent location of Rishi Sunak’s wedding in 2009. Its Indo-Saracenic architecture is inspired by the Mysore Palace in Karnataka, and The Leela Palace Bengaluru is no less regal.
Inside, there is gleaming marble and oversized chandeliers at every turn, floor-to-ceiling windows, gilded ceilings, grand sculptures and a vase filled with 800 rose buds. Once they’re past their best, the used petals are upcycled into incense sticks and cones and hand rolled by women from marginalised communities, an initiative which upcycles 10 tonnes of the hotel’s flower waste each year.
The Rooms
The rooms are no less lavish than the lobby. All 357 are spacious, with carved wood furniture, heavy linens, polished mahogany floors and deep, patterned rugs. Bathrooms have wall-to-wall marble, intricate wooden vanity units and products from Tishya by The Leela. A smattering of nice-to-have extras add a personal touch, from the pillow spray left each evening at turndown to the constantly replenished jar of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Those booking a Royal Club room will be even more pampered, with round-the-clock butler service, the use of a cigar lounge and billiards room and access to a club lounge with complimentary food and drink. If you have a billionaire’s budget, opt for the 3,500 sq. ft Maharaja Suite, a favourite with visiting royals and presidents, which comes with a separate dining room, a jacuzzi and steam room and security posted in the corridor outside.
The Food + Drink
The only question is where to eat first. Restaurants include Le Cirque Signature for French and Italian fine dining, and pan-Asian Zen with its sushi and dim sum counters. All-day restaurant Citrus serves the buffet of dreams, with chefs whipping up everything from wood-fired pizza to wok-fried vegetables. Don’t miss the dessert section, which looks straight from a French patisserie with individual bowls of berry parfait, immaculate slices of coconut passion fruit delice and homemade coffee mocha ice cream. There’s a counter at the entrance if you’d rather grab and go, with a selection of sandwiches, barista-made coffees and artisan cakes (the chocolate truffle cake is particularly divine).
Be sure to book in advance for the hotel’s Indian restaurant Jamavar, which is considered one of the best in the city. There’s an extravagant dining room with teak wooden chairs, paintings adorned with gold leaf and decorative Jamavar shawls, but choose a candlelit outdoor table surrounded by foliage instead. Dishes are inspired by traditional favourites once enjoyed by the Maharajas and include spice fried cauliflower florets with curry leaves, chilli and yoghurt, and lamb shanks simmered in bone marrow gravy and whole spices. The naan is the best you’ll ever taste too.
Afterwards, head to the hotel’s secret speakeasy, if you can find it. Voted the sixth best bar in the country, you’ll need to locate the hidden door in the herb garden then go through the kitchens to an unmarked lift, rumoured to be so well concealed that some hotel staff still don’t know where it is. Inside, expect killer cocktails, cool Japanese décor and an excellent live band playing each night before a DJ takes over.
The Little Extras
Even if you only float from pool to bar and back again, you won’t forget you’re in India. There’s live tabla music in the lobby each morning and a formal ceremony on the grand staircase each evening, where women wearing the traditional dress of Karnataka invite guests to join them lighting oil lamps known as diyas.
It’s also possible to watch a performance of Yakshagana, Karnataka’s centuries-old art form, where elaborately dressed dancers narrate stories through music and – often quite menacing! – expressions.
The To-Do List
Be warned that you’ll have to battle Bengaluru’s clogged traffic to explore beyond the hotel, but it’s worth making the effort. Autorickshaws are the fastest way to get around and can be easily booked on Uber, with a 15-minute ride costing around £3. Must-see sights include the 19th century Bangalore Palace modelled on Windsor Castle, the National Gallery of Modern Art and the 18th century summer palace of former ruler Tipu Sultan, carved almost entirely from teak wood.
To shop for jewel-coloured silk scarves and saris, copper kitchenware and spices, head to crowded Chickpet Market where motorbikes zip between shoppers carrying huge sacks of rice on their heads. Street food stalls are everywhere, selling fresh roti and curry, trays of piping hot samosas, and coconuts, sliced open with a machete for drinking. If you’d rather linger a little longer over lunch, head to the misleadingly-named Airlines Hotel, a no-frills open-air restaurant with plastic chairs under a canopy of soaring banyan trees near leafy Cubbon Park. Loved by locals, a feast of puffed-up phulka bread straight from the grill, bhatura with chickpeas and crispy paper dosa dunked in mango sauce costs less than £2.
Image credits: Leela Palace
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