India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (199 page)

A good 20 minutes away from the city centre but offering good value given the size of your lodgings (one and two-bedroom apartments), the
Royal Orchid
(47/1 Dickenson Rd.,
080/2558-4242;
one-bedroom from Rs 10,000), adjoins the Karnataka Golf Club, which means the views are lovely and green (a claim only the Taj West End and ITC can make). The temperature-controlled rooftop pool is a nice surprise, and free Wi-Fi a boon for those addicted to their laptops. Service is not as slick as you’d expect in a five-star hotel but genuine and well meaning nevertheless. Other than one- and two-bed apartments, they have very affordable suites and executive doubles—be sure to ask for a room with a view. Following international trends, all-suite hotels are in fact becoming increasingly popular:
The Paul
(
080/4047-7777;
www.thepaul.in
; doubles from Rs 9,000), a recent entrant, is the most exclusive option in this category, with 54 luxurious suites measuring between 120 sq m and 375 sq m (400 sq ft. and 1,250 sq ft). If you’ve visited their sister property, Kumarakom Lake Resort in Kerala, you’ll expect the attention to detail and great taste lavished on the otherwise unimaginative hotel architecture so prevalent in the city. Warm teak wood floors and traditional sit-outs, plush rooms done in silks and tweeds, with massive televisions and efficient kitchenettes, fountains in the atrium with live piano in the evenings (except Tues)—the only missing ingredient are good views; the quietest suites are on the eastern side.

Much cheaper and less luxe but perfectly serviceable,
St. Mark’s
is a small, neat business hotel (
080/2227-9090;
www.stmarkshotel.com
) with doubles from Rs 6,500; at this price it is extremely popular, so book ahead. Alternatively, if you would rather skimp on accommodation and splurge on other things, then
Ramanashree Brunton
(2/1, Brunton Rd.;
080/3051-9000;
www.ramanashree.com
;
Rs 4,000–Rs 5,000 double) is another budget option that offers simple but functionally adequate rooms, ideal if all you’re looking for is a clean and efficient place to rest your head after shopping at MG Road. Or try Casa Piccola, a pleasant homestay in a quiet neighborhood close to shopping destinations—it caters to all basic needs, even throwing in free Internet and offers an air of relaxed informality which you may even prefer to the anonymity of hotel atmosphere (2, Clapham Rd., Richmond Town, near M.G. Road;
080/2299-0337;
www.casapiccola.com
; doubles from Rs 3,300).

Our Native Village
Although the “Village” won’t pamper you in the way a traditional five-star will, it may well be just the pampering your conscience needs. For most hotels, even those who push their eco-credentials, “green” initiatives start and end with a few mandatory changes like light bulbs and less laundry, but here is a place, just 40km (25 miles) from the city, that goes the whole nine yards: rain-harvested water; electricity generated from biogas plants, solar panels and windmills; every scrap of food and animal waste is converted to methane gas; manure is produced in-house for the organic vegetable garden and even the construction was done using clay from the site itself. Even the swimming pool is oxygenated with aquatic plants, so dragonflies give you company. No air-conditioning because the rooms are airy, no TV because you’re expected to work hard at getting your bullock-cart driving license. A totally different experience, this is an inspiring stay that will open you to new ways of existence.

Hessarghata P.O. Box 8802, Bengaluru 560 088.
080/4114-0909.
www.ournativevillage.com
. 24 units (all with showers). Rs 10,300 double. Rates include all meals. Taxes extra. Visit the website for specific packages. AE, MC, V.
Amenities:
Dining room; airport transfer (Rs 2,000); doctor-on-call; traditional village games; library; natural pool; spa; steam room.

The Park.hotel
Themed around Bengaluru’s reputation as India’s information-technology city and its historic connection with silk production, this compact hotel features top-class interiors by Tina Ellis (of London-based Conran)
.
In the lobby—dominated by a gigantic silk curtain—rough, smooth, and suede textures are offset with brushed metal and a row of large white orbs of light, while staff is smartly turned out in pale gray jackets over white T-shirts, an efficient look that is matched by service levels. Guest rooms are on the small side and don’t have great views (ask for a pool-facing room), but they are beautifully finished—oak flooring, designer rugs, black-and-white photographs of Bengaluru, and minimalist metal-framed four-poster beds with the softest goose feather pillows and duvets—inadequate soundproofing is perhaps the only flaw. Rooms on the Residence Floor come with a host of additional services.