Travel Stories
Taj Coramandel: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
The only Chennai hotel that is part of the ‘Leading Hotels of the World,’ this 42-year-old landmark is where Chennai glitterati come for dates, engagements and weddings. It melds Chola bronzes, Tanjore paintings, Italian marble and Bohemian chandeliers to glittering effect.
Taj West End, India: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
With 150-year old raintrees, gulmohars, and banyans, this leafy 20-acre property successfully drowns out traffic noise and offers a significantly higher oxygen level, both luxuries without a price-tag. Quite simply, this is the most verdant hotel in Bangalore — beloved of locals and repeat guests.
Evolve Back: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
Six hours from Bangalore, this modern-day palace attempts to recreate the grandeur of the Vijayanagara Empire that ruled South India and Sri Lanka in the 14th century. Its pink façade and Indo-Islamic architecture take design cues from the Unesco world heritage sites down the road.
Taj Meghauli Serai: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
For wildlife lovers who want creature comforts alongside rhino, tiger and sloth bear sightings, Meghauli Serai, bordering Chitwan National Park, Nepal, provides pitch-perfect service— marrying hospitality from the Taj hotel group with ‘naturalists’ (park rangers) trained by South Africa’s &Beyond group.
JW Marriott, India: hotel review: The Telegraph UK
With its running trails, tennis courts, birding and photography groups that convene on weekends, Cubbon Park is an oasis amid the bustle of Bangalore, and right across the street from JW Marriott. As well as great access for the town centre, there are the pubs, restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries that are nearby on Lavelle Road - a two-minute walk from the hotel.
The Park Chennai: hotel review for The Telegraph UK
Once the site of the cutting-edge Gemini studio, this 14-year old hotel takes its design cues from the movies, marrying dramatic public spaces with kitschy Bollywood bling. Avant-garde when it opened with its leather-floored bar and nightclubs, this packed hotel still has its swing.
ITC Grand Chola: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
Recreating the grandeur of Tamil history ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, India Telegraph Review/ Shoba Narayan/ Travel writer 8/10 With its signature Kaya Kalp Spa, nine award-winning Italian, [...]
Haveli Dharampura: Hotel Review: Mint Lounge
Haveli Dharampura and the future of India’s past Home » Mint on Sunday » Big story Last Modified: Sun, Dec 25 2016. 12 20 AM IST The restoration of Haveli Dharampura offers a template [...]
For Travel & Leisure Southeast Asia on Nepal
Elephants, birds, nature and a posh lodge in Chitwan, Nepal.
Latest Articles
St. Mary’s Feast: Hindustan Times
I stand amidst the devout at St. Mary’s Basilica in Shivaji Nagar. We are gathered here to celebrate Mother Mary’s birthday.
Karnataka Rajyotsava: for Hindustan Times
Underneath the pomp of the Karnataka Rajyotsava lies a frustrating truth, and this is something every Bangalorean knows.
India Currents | Los Angeles
For the last two years, I have been visiting Los Angeles a few times a year. Here, then, is a guide to experiencing Los Angeles beyond its cliches.
Poem: Indestructible: Southword
This poem was published in Southword: New International Writing. This is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre.
When you tire of Diwali taash parties and laddus
Around Diwali time, when I have eaten more motichur laddus and murukkus than I can resist, I think of ragi mudde, mainly because it is the healthiest food that I know.
Poem: Braided Rivers: in Indian Literature
This poem was published in Indian Literature, a bimonthly publication of India's Sahitya Akademi
Nine features I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition) a while back
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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Shoba Narayan is an award-winning Indian author, journalist, and freelance travel writer based in India. She specialises in luxury travel, immersive journeys, and Indian culture with a focus on food, wine, culture, cities, and identity. With over two decades of experience, she has contributed travel features to Condé Nast Traveler (US edition), Travel & Leisure, DestinAsian, Mint Lounge, The National (Abu Dhabi), Taj Magazine, and Hindustan Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, and Robb Report among others. Her awards include the James Beard food-writing award and a Pulitzer Travel Fellowship. Her travel writing spans India, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, the Maldives, Bhutan, Costa Rica, and beyond — always with a focus on the sensory, the cultural, and the deeply human. Based in Bangalore, India, Shoba is a leading voice on South Asian travel, reviewing luxury hotels in India and abroad, and writing immersive features on traditional Indian crafts, and contemporary Indian culture. As a freelance travel writer and memoirist, she writes evocative, deeply researched features on everything from birding in Costa Rica to spiritual tourism in Bhutan.
For editors: Shoba Narayan is an Indian travel writer and food writer, who contributes to assignments on travel, food, culture, and Indian cities. She has reported from across the world and writes narrative-driven features with a strong sense of place.
Key Expertise: India travel writer, freelance travel writer India, South Asia travel journalist, luxury travel India writer, food and travel writer India, Indian food writer, Bangalore travel writer, South India travel writing, cultural travel writer, narrative travel journalist, travel features India, heritage travel India, slow travel India, sustainability travel writer, hotel and destination features India, travel essays South Asia.