Designed to please

The Park, Bangalore is futuristic, contemporary and high on design, says Vyas Sivanand

When the Apeejay Surrendra Group bought the property in 1999, their intention was to create an international hotel which would be futuristic, high on design but tinged with a local flavour. Designed by Conran & Partners from the UK, The Park, Bangalore, with its 109 rooms, is all this and more.

Enter the lobby and you cannot avoid looking at the grand wooden pillar, which has three-piers of semi-circular wood, with Hoysala architecture towards the upper half, and Khajuraho depictions towards the bottom. The lobby is a ‘Silk Box’ enveloped in soothing aqua blue raw-silk curtains. Traditional norms of heavy carpets, elaborate chandeliers and heavily upholstered chairs have been done away with.

The design philosophy is a fusion of the vibrant colours and landscapes of the country. There are four floors in the hotel and two primary colours create a theme for each floor and its rooms.

Cordless telephones, 10-inch thick mattresses, feather stuffed pillows, compact bathrooms with regular and rain showers are among the special features in the rooms. The hotel has the one touch service wherein all services are just a touch-of-a-button away.

There are five suites in the hotel. Guests of The Residence floor are entitled to airport pick-up and drop, sparkling wine on arrival etc. The floor also has a lounge called the Residence Lounge, which is a blend between a lounge and a restaurant. Every room has a two-line telephone connection enabling guests to connect to the Internet using a dial-up facility.

The hotel also boasts of great F&B fare with ‘Monsoon’, its 24-hour restaurant serving coastal fare from India and South East Asia. It also follows a regular coffee-shop menu. ‘italia’ is the speciality Italian restaurant whose menu is designed by Antonio Carluctio - a celebrity who has written several books on Italian cuisine. ‘i-bar’ is an 84-seater bar with a small dance floor and state-of-the-art music system. The furniture used is outlandish. There are beanbags, ‘tattinos’ or ‘tattoos’, which are small, round, tomato shaped cushions. The entire setup is low seating except the barstools. ‘i-bar’ also extends to the outside towards the ‘Gazebo’s’ and a temperature controlled lap pool. The far side of the pool is called the ‘Deck’, which can be used as a dance floor at times. The pool area sometimes gets converted into an acrylic ramp for fashion shows. ‘Aquazone’ is the health spa of the hotel, which is virtually embedded underwater. It comprises of massage rooms, steam, sauna and changing rooms. The hotel also has a 3,000 square feet banqueting area and another small area, the ‘Blue Box’, which can accommodate 25 people.

The Park Bangalore 14/7, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bangalore - 560042 Tel: 080 - 5594666 Fax: 080 - 5594667 E-mail: resv.blr@theparkhotels.com, Website: www.theparkhotels.com Tariff: Single room Rs 4,500 + 10 per cent tax Double room Rs 5,000 + 10 per cent tax Suite Rs 8,500 + 10 per cent tax