The newspapers claim this to be the wettest October in Bangalore so far☔️. The rains seem to be unpredictable, many areas in Bangalore have become waterlogged and IMD declared yellow alert in the city and it’s outskirts for a few days. But this is in the midst of the annual Puja holidays; we were really hoping to get out of the city. A window of opportunity !? An evening in downtown Bangalore seems like a good plan. The city has a handful of iconic hotels and we decided to explore one of them, the ITC Royal Gardenia 🏡.

The bright orangish red in the floral print and upholstery dominated the colour palette of red, beige, gold and brown in the Flameback suite at the ITC Royal Gardenia. First impression; over-the-top; isn’t it too much colour !? But I changed my opinion after a tour of the property 😉.

ITC Royal Gardenia is themed to celebrate the Indianness and colour is an indispensable aspect of our way of life. The rich colours are a celebration of life, radiates joy and reflects prosperity. At the hotel each carefully chosen hue has an interesting narrative. The other inspiration in the hotel decor is nature and the orangish red highlight in the suite was inspired by the red crown of its namesake the flameback woodpecker. I feel happy already as I got my story fix for the day !

The suite had a king size bed, chairs and a writing desk; a guest room with a dining area and a sofa, with ample place for an extra bedding; two balconies. The pillows were the best part, they were just right to sink your head and sleep off.

The pool was closed and the nets on the balconies are essential to keep the pigeons away.

The dining options are aplenty; the favourite being the Lotus Pavilion. Situated at the very heart of the hotel, if the rich colour and greenery doesn’t draw you in during the day, the magical lights at night will definitely tempt you in. In keeping with the regal theme, the open columned pavilion is inspired by Tipu Sultan’s palace at Srirangapatna. There are lots of other artefacts in the hotel that speak of Mysore and royalty like the tiger sculpture & yellow black chairs; the elephant sculpture and so on.

The buffet is held at the restaurant called Cubbon Pavilion and that’s where we had dinner and breakfast. The gourmet experience was fabulous. At dinner, for starters they served chicken tikka, mutton cutlets, paneer tikka and beetroot cutlets; the crunchy and tasty mutton cutlets were unequivocally our favourites !! The Chinese pancake with chicken stuffing was something new !

“You are having chaat at a five star restaurant !?” The kid was amused; it’s street food and why not !! 😌 The samosa chaat was yummy !!

The main course ensued and last was a sampling of the desserts; the options were multitude; the pic below is a sample of the second round. The Rasmalai was fantastic 😘

Next morning, we spent a leisurely three hours for breakfast. The restaurant was full. Fluffy pancakes with maple syrup and cream set off the sweet start to the day !

It’s a perfect getaway for a relaxing long weekend in downtown Bangalore; situated in the heart of the city and yet stands as a oasis of calm !!

Till next post, take care !!