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Bengaluru will have you convinced it's all startup pitches and third-wave coffee. At least, it will until you turn onto HAL Airport Road, and find yourself face to face with something that looks like it was plucked from Mysore to remind everyone that India was doing opulence long before the boutique hotel movement thought to take notes. The Leela Palace Bengaluru has been doing this since before there was a Bengaluru worth naming a hotel after.
Spread across 7.5 acres, an almost improbable amount of land in a city that sold its green cover at quite a pace, the hotel draws its architectural bones from the Royal Palace of Mysore, channelling Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian sensibilities into something that stops just short of theatrical. There are gardens, a lotus-strewn lagoon, colonnaded corridors… the works. If you've come here for a business trip and you don't feel even slightly like a minor dignitary by the end of day one, you're really not paying attention.
The 357 rooms and suites run from Deluxe (which is, by any sane standard, still extremely good) all the way up to the Maharaja Suite. Interiors are richly appointed with silk, carved wood, and a studied reverence for craft that never tips into kitsch.
Dining here is a full itinerary in itself. Jamavar does regal Pan-Indian cooking with the conviction of a kitchen that takes regional cuisine seriously. Le Cirque Signature brings Franco-Italian fare to the table with, well, Franco-Italian confidence. Zen handles East Asian cooking with a meditative restraint. For something rather more convivial, the Library Bar delivers handpicked wines, and aged malts. Then there’s ZLB 23, a speakeasy with rare spirits and cocktails that suggest the bar team has opinions, and rewards those who linger and chat ‘em up. Citrus, meanwhile, covers all-day dining for when you can’t decide what you want to eat.
The spa, operating under The Leela's Aujasya wellness programme, is the kind of facility that makes you realise how little thought you've been giving to your body. The fitness centre is state-of-the-art. For events, the Maharaja Ballroom, grandly subtitled the 'Conservatory of Wonders', spans 11,000 square feet and includes the Maharaja Lounge and Lotus Courtyard.
The hotel sits moments from MG Road, Cubbon Park, and the Central Business District – whether you're here to close deals or to flee them entirely, it’s a perfect location.
Time Out tip: Even if you're not staying, the Library Bar on a slow Tuesday evening is worth the detour. Order something single malt and let the room do the rest.
Getting there: The hotel is around 40 km from Kempegowda International Airport, an hour by taxi, more during nasty traffic hours.