The Telegraph

Telegraph Review/ Shoba Narayan/ Travel writer 

This hidden pearl in the heart of Bangalore affords quiet, spacious studio-style rooms with kitchenettes for long-stay guests.

Facilities include a spa, swimming pool, badminton court and restaurants.

Location

8/10

The hotel is in the middle of two rather unlikely prospects: a sprawling business park that houses IBM, Fidelity, Microsoft and other multinational companies on one side; and on the other the Karnataka Golf Course – it’s not linked to the hotel but many higher category rooms have views of it. The concierge can arrange for tee times at the golf course for guests of the hotel. The shops, brewpubs, lounge bars and stand-alone restaurants of the buzzing Indiranagar neighbourhood are 10 minutes away by car. Unlike most parts of Bangalore, the area empties out and is therefore silent at night.

Style & character

8 / 10

As befitting a largely business hotel, the soaring lobby is in subdued shades of beige and brown. The spacious and well-lit corridors are lined with photographs of India. A few metal sculptures dot the lobby. Large, colourful abstract paintings line the corridors.

Service & facilities

8 / 10

The staff are quiet though offer good service. City sightseeing tours are arranged on request, and a limo can be sent to the airport for pick ups (for an extra fee), and includes soft drinks, newspapers and drivers that know their way around town. The in-house spa offers good aroma massages with jasmine and ylang ylang. The temperature-controlled swimming pool is great for the cooler months from October through February. The fitness centre has trainers on hand to guide guests through weights, cycles and treadmills, and jogging trails in the neighbourhood. City sightseeing tours are arranged on request. The hotel also has secretarial services.

  • Wi-Fi

  • Fitness centre

  • Laundry

  • Parking

  • Bar

  • Pool

  • Restaurant

  • Room service

  • Sauna

  • Spa

  • Steam room/hammam

Shoba's Notes

This is a standard business hotel in that it checks all the boxes.

You don’t have to think very much in terms of this hotel answering your needs.

Golfers will enjoy this quiet part of Bangalore right next door to the KGA golf course.

Rooms

9 / 10

The hotel has the largest entry-level rooms in Bangalore – they include a king-sized bed, a work desk with an ergonomic chair, dining table that seats two, a sofabed that can be pulled out for visitors, a kitchenette with utensils, stove and even a grocery list of vegetables that guests can tick off to be delivered in the evening. Some rooms have washer-dryers. There are also pillow menus, black-out curtains, a safe and Peter Thomas Roth toiletries.

The higher category rooms face the swimming pool or the golf course adjacent to the hotel. Decorated in muted shades of blue and brown with just a painting above the bed, the rooms eschew flamboyance for functionality.

Food & drink

7 / 10

The Salt Grill, which is only open for dinner, has alfresco cabana seating by the pool. Meats like tandoori chicken and New Zealand lamb chops are grilled on pink Himalayan salt slabs. Vegetarian options include a good cauliflower bisque, deconstructed greek salad and fragrant basmati rice.

Ministry of Food is the all-day dining restaurant. It serves themed buffets during different days of the week including Pan-Asian, European and Indian counters. The well-priced Saturday and Sunday brunch attracts locals. Re:cess is the coffee and pastry shop for a quick burger or sandwich on the go.

The breakfast buffet includes Asian, continental and Indian dishes, along with some excellent south Indian coffee made from arabica and robusta beans. The mixlogists at Klinx are young and enthusiastic, experimenting with galangal and curry leaves in their drinks, which are wheeled around on a drinks trolley.

Value for money

8/ 10

Double rooms are from Rs. 12,000 (£140) year-round, plus applicable taxes, including breakfast. Free Wi-Fi.

Access for guests with disabilities?

One accessible studio has a roll-in shower, lowered toilet seat, temperature controls, switches, and door peep-hole, strobe lights and a sofabed.

Family-Friendly?

Although the hotel offers babysitting services, cribs, a playpen, highchairs, a play area, interconnecting rooms and a few children’s activities, it is, above all, a business hotel.

Address details

Off Intermediate Ring Road, 560071 Bangalore, India.

00 91 80 6679 9999

hilton.com

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2017

Subscribe to my newsletter