Travel Review Leela Palace offers luxury in India’s high-tech heart

Plush interiors of a luxury suite.

Bougainvillea spilling down the sides of planters on balcony posts at the Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore harkens to a time when the beautiful blooming vine and other flora were ubiquitous in India’s garden city. Some would say Bengaluru, formerly called Bangalore, lost its "garden" title as the city evolved into India’s high-tech hot spot, beginning in the 1990s. Great trees and familiar landmarks gave way to concrete and steel.

Change engulfed Bengaluru, stirring a bouillabaisse of modern and traditional elements. Winding and congested side streets have Internet cafes with vendors hawking fruit on pushcarts just outside. High school students attend extracurricular computer classes or math tutoring in bungalows with converted first-floor business spaces. Younger kids play street cricket, dodging passers-by, bicycles and motorists.

The Leela Palace is in the midst of urban hustle, situated on a major thoroughfare teeming with life. So, one almost literally dusts off the bustle of this city of 6 million to step into the rarefied world of the Leela. The whisper of luxury grows louder when one enters the driveway to the hotel, whose architecture is inspired by the palaces of the Vijayanagara Empire (which came to power in southern India in the 14th century) and the Indo-Saracen design of the Mysore Palace. Mysore, about 85 miles southwest of Bengaluru, was the royal capital of the Mysore maharajahs of the ancient Wodeyar dynasty.

A winding path leads to an ornate elephant gate at one end of the gardens
at the Leela Palace Kempinski Hotel in Bengaluru.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Leela, billed as a palace hotel, is awe-inspiring and magnificent. What is unexpected is that it’s welcoming without being forbidding. Like a beautiful painting that invites you to step closer and consider its brush strokes, the hotel reveals itself in layers. In space-clogged Bengaluru, it glitters in a setting of about five acres of lush, landscaped gardens. Palm trees, emerald lawns, mini waterfalls, planters of bougainvillea, tropical shrubs, a meandering stream and winding paths are immaculately maintained. Towering columns and ornate arches line the porte-cochere leading to the peacock-door entrance to the lobby.

Inside the grand lobby, decorated in shades of red, gold and cream, the senses are invigorated and soothed by a giant arrangement of seasonal flowers and the sight of urlis (large, shallow urns indigenous to the neighboring southern Indian state of Kerala) filled with floating rose petals and small oil lamps.

Many evenings, an Indian classicalmusic duo performs near a sweeping staircase that leads to the second-floor banquet rooms. Tapestries, artifacts and majestic chandeliers cast a patina of unhurried charm with contemporary flair. The India beyond these grounds feels far away.

The Leela Bangalore is part of Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, a chain of five-star luxury properties in India launched in the ’80s in Mumbai. The Bengaluru location was opened in 2001 with more than 350 rooms and suites to fill a luxury business and leisure niche. Accommodations are varied, including deluxe and conservatory rooms, the moreluxurious executive suites and the ultraluxe Maharajah Suite. Rates start at about $200 with early booking, $260 without. The culinary landscape at the Leela has several distinct spaces. Fine-dining restaurant Jamavar (decorated with exquisite jamavar shawls of northern India’s Kashmir region) leads the way with recipes of the subcontinent, including heavenly kebabs and its signature dish, Lobster Neerulli, a lobster curry. Expect to spend
about $100 for a meal for two.

Serenity pervades the pan-Asian Zen, with a menu that includes Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Korean fare. Deep mahogany tones and antiques dominate the Library Bar while the Library Lounge offers an outdoorsy setting with low-slung, intimate seating for a twosome or larger groups. The open kitchen is the focal point of the family-friendly Citrus, a 24-hour brasserie serving a staggering variety of global cuisine. Citrus’ Sunday brunch buffet (about $45) attracts well-heeled residents, visitors and expats.

The spa is inspired by the principles of Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of the science of life. Services (most under $100) include massage therapies, body wraps, back treatments, hair treatments, pedicures and manicures, and facial and eye treatments. Soothing music, muted lighting and fresh flowers instantly relax visitors.

A stay at the hotel can be a languid escape for the mind and body, like tendrils of bougainvillea escaping the confines of planters to create a visual feast of color. Getting there - The Leela is about 28 miles from Bengaluru International Airport. Taxis are available. The Leela provides transportation to and from the hotel for a charge.

Getting around - Try the motorized rickshaw, a three-wheeler that seats three passengers and offers speedy albeit bumpy transport.

Weather - Bengaluru, about 3,000 feet above sea level, is generally temperate, hovering in the 70s, with a mid-90s maximum during April.

Points of Interest - Walking tours of Bengaluru: bangalorewalks.com; and, Mysore Palace in Mysore: mysorepalace.in; Eco-tourism at Nagarhole wildlife reserve: www.junglelodges.com.

[ BY BINDU VARGHESE ]