our stays at the taj westend

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The Taj Westend has featured in the Conde Nast traveller as one of the best hotels in the world several times. And it surely feels that way. It's set amidst so much of green, it's own walkaways and vegetable garden punctuated by old world charm bungalows and the main porch. Our first stay was during Christmas and the lobby had very pretty decorations what with Santa present there himself. We were staying in the club rooms which are in the main building and I would advise against staying there as it doesn't give you a view of the gardens. It has a four poster bed and one is situated close to the restaurants and coffee shop. We had a set lunch at the blue ginger, a Vietnamese restaurant with a delectable cuisine. After some drinks at the Blue Ginger bar we decided to order room service for dinner. The service of course leaves one so pleasantly surprised. An early morning yoga session followed by a hearty breakfast at the coffee shop and we were ready for our champi session at the spa. What was most memorable was watching pink panther in the hotel room with freshly made popcorn and cola.

On our second visit we were staying in the section behind with a room on the first floor and a balcony from where one could look out at all the finery that nature has to offer right in the heart of a bustling metropolis. One could have been in the middle of an amazonian forest. The food at the Vietnamese restaurant was excellent as usual and we summed it up with a loud breakfast. I wish i hadn't eaten that much.

So this would be our third trip to Taj Westend armed with a voucher once again, although we weren't too keen on staying in a standard room we were looking forward to an executive suite. In fact we'd gone a day before to select the suite and even invited family to come and visit us there. We headed to the coffee shop for breakfast after we were told that we would get a wash and change room while we waited for the suite to be vacated. Now that we'd had a hearty breakfast we or rather I was getting impatient to move into our suite. At this point Taj informed us they had someone staying for the last 3 months or so and he had a late check out and they would get to know about the status post 12. I of course rumbled a bit and later the manager approached us while we were at the lounge and informed us they had given us a presidential suite which was two categories higher than the executive suite. It was called the Jacaranda and it was above the Tata suite and it was truly amazing. There was a very large sitting room with an alcove from where you could peep out over exotic trees at the hotel, a study, a gorgeous four poster bed, a jacuzzi and a dressing room. We spent the most glorious day and a half in the suite and stepped out only to work out briefly at the gym. All our meals were room serviced and the biryani for lunch and pizza for dinner was scrumptious, we also ordered some kebabs for dinner and tried the Chinese for lunch. After check out we spent some time at the club lounge enjoying Darjeeling tea and savouries. The view from the jacaranda is so green and beautiful and indeed the Westend looked as glorious as ever. Wish we hadn't started with a fracas but then alls well that ends well.

While i was going through a diagnostic procedure in the hospital I lay there on the bed at daycare dreaming of our next and 4th stay at Taj Westend. Just the thought of that oasis helped me through my pain and the stress of having to go through so many medical incidents. So with a voucher we set off for Taj Westend in our ram shackled hatchback driven by hubby post a mini quarrel. We checked in without any event and it was a similar room on the first floor overlooking the gardens. We were informed that at 4:30 there would be a champagne and heritage walk and I had the daunting task of convincing hubby to join in. The room i must say had a dank smell to it and so did the bathroom and i have half a mind to send in that feedback to Taj. We settled in and started snacking and i helped myself to a Ritter chocolate from the mini bar which cost a bomb. We did manage to shake off the lumber and walked into the lobby for the walk to begin. I didn't have the champagne but hubby did and soon the concierge escorted us around the property. First we saw the letter box which used to be outside the property and looks like an original queen's letter box, next the club rooms were pointed out and we saw the rain tree outside. This tree is older than the property and doesn't grow in the Deccan climate but may have been carried and dropped by migratory birds. It makes a swishing sound when the wind blows and hence the name. Next we walked up an ornate wooden staircase to the first floor to the terrace garden with a view of the giant Christmas tree that adorns the hotel porch. We got to see ancient Tanjore paintings that used to adorn the main porch of the original hotel before it was taken over by the Tatas. On the ground floor we visited the club lounge with another Tanjore painting that probably belonged to the Mysore Maharajah. Also an antique from Brazil which used to be used to forecast the future and more paintings by a British painter of the army and soldiers when they used to encamp in the field opposite the Westend. We took a golf cart around the property and moved around the Gulmohar suite, the Tata suite and Jacaranda where we had stayed last time as well as the oldest part of the hotel which has been renovated and will soon be declared a heritage site by UNESCO. When that happens the Taj will close 17 rooms and make it a 100 room property. In the original hotel there used to be a watering hole here and it used to be called the crazy horse bar or something like that and people would ride up to it, tie their horses behind and stroll in for a drink. The icing on the cake was the list of national and international celebrities who have stayed in the hotel. The Bachhan family we were told stayed at the Gulmohar suite. We came back to our room and the view I didn't like from the balcony was one in which the lawns had been cleared to make room for tennis courts etc. earlier from the balcony all one could see as far as the eye was the colour green. We ordered kebab platters and biryani for dinner and enjoyed the breakfast next morning. We didn't exercise at all and at around lunch time checked out and ended a short sweet stay at the Taj Westend.

Our fifth and an ominous feeling tells me our final stay at Taj Westend went off very well. We have a voucher as usual and I promise not to bore you with the same banter about how green and beautiful it is but will try and add pleasant newness to the update. My husband requested for an upgrade from his official email id and we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the next category of rooms at the lotus wing, the luxury deluxe room. We had never stayed in this wing before and found a delightful room with a study table overlooking a mini patch of green and a sit out leading to the garden. We ordered fresh fruits and finished off the Mcdonalds wraps etc we'd brought with us. We explored the room and surroundings a bit and rested for a while. Next we set off for the newly renovated health club, the Taj group has done an amazing job with the new gym, we were told the new treadmills come at a cost 12 lacs INR each. A forty minute cardio workout and we came back to our room for a round of drinks and the non-vegetarian tiffin. The meal literally came out of a stylish tiffin box and had Indian breads and a chicken kebab, pulav and lentils with salad, papad and lamb curry. The meal ended with a scrumptious rasmalai and we ended the first day at taj westend too soon having enjoyed every morsel of food and the sound of torrential rain all around us. From the mini bar this time I managed to convince hubby of a box of Belgian choco chip cookies. I can still see myself sipping green tea and dunking the cookies in it. Next morning we decided to order the Taj breakfast from the in-room dining menu. I'm glad we did and not troop to the coffee shop for the buffet because we couldn't finish the breakfast tray between the two of us. We started with Swiss muesli and cold skimmed milk followed by a masala omelette made with two egg whites accompanied by whole wheat toast with hash brown and the roasted stuffed tomato, my husband skipped the tomato and had the bacon and ham on the side. Next we helped ourselves to the bread basket of brioche, danish and chocolate doughnuts and ended our hearty breakfast with fresh chilled watermelon juice while hubby sipped on a pot of tea. We had no space for the fruit platter and moved to the gym for another forty minute workout. The health club also came with a steam and sauna, the newly renovated salon in the oldest section of the hotel offers a wide range of soothing massages and salon treatments. We walked around the property and passed the rooms we had stayed in earlier, the lawns and garden paths and the Muneswara temple. The temple has been here since the very beginning and it is believed that your wishes will come true if you pray here! It was almost time to check out and we requested for a late check out and finally moved out after the most relaxing and soothing stay at Taj Westend at around four in the evening. If and when we move out of Bangalore we will so fondly remember our stays at the Taj Westend and the many times we have driven there for our quiet meals. Well I'm off to make some pasta now. Keep in touch!

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