I was recently in Delhi, when a friend wanted me to join him in Srinagar for a couple of days. In the last couple of years or so, Srinagar has gained renewed attention as a tourist destination, and possibly the one of the limited places in Kashmir that can be visited without much worry about security issues. As this was a rare opportunity, I gave him the thumbs up, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the folks at home! What made this side-trip even better, was that we stayed at the Lalit Grand Palace - one of the two higher-end hotels in the city (the other being Vivanta by Taj), and that's the hotel that this review covers.
The hotel is located between the residences of the chief minister and the governor of Kashmir, so there could be a fair amount of security checks one might need to go through, if either (or both) of those people are in the city. The famed Dal lake is also located right across the main road, when you exit the hotel gates.
Upon arrival, and as check-in procedures were underway, we were served Kahwa, a traditional saffron-and-spices flavoured drink. Given the weather, which was rather cool at the time, this was an excellent refresher.
The property was originally a palace of the royal family. So as one can imagine, the hotel property is of vast acreage. The entire set of buildings is no more than one storey high (ground and first floors). As you face the hotel from the entrance, the main building at the centre (where the reception, bar and restaurants are located), and the wing on the right, are the old wing, and were originally the palace. The wing on the left is a relatively recent addition, and hence modern.
 |
| New wing on the right |
As I mentioned before, the main building houses the lobby, reception, restaurants, etc.
 |
| Sitting area |
 |
| Main lobby and reception |
 |
| Coffee shop, bar and souvenir shop |
Because this was originally a palace, there are a ton of rooms, and each one is fairly large. That means you'll need to walk through seemingly endless miles of corridors, which actually makes for good exercise!
I had a room in the first floor of the old wing, which suited me just fine. My only grouse was that the room was located on the rear side, and not the front, which would have given me a fabulous view of the sprawling lawns and a bit of the Dal lake.
The room itself, though pretty standard in terms of contents, was quite large relative to what we get to see as standard hotel rooms these days. The rooms in the old wing are also done up in a more colonial and historical look, with all-teak furniture. Here are some pictures of the room.
 |
| Bed and dresser |
 |
| Work desk and TV. There's also a minibar below the TV |
The bathroom is also done up pretty nicely in the style of the "olden days", though the shower cubicle, the bath tub and the WC with a built in bidet are clearly the new additions!
At the other (rear) end of the room is a door that leads to a sort of ante-room. I believe that as a palace, this used to be a corridor connecting the length of the building, but once it was converted to a hotel, privacy reasons ensured that this was blocked off appropriately. I personally felt this was a big waste of space, especially considering how large that "ante-room" was! However, the hotel manager who explained a bit of the history to me, called it a "tea room", which sounds more colonial, though I can't imagine drinking tea in that claustrophobic space!
 |
| The "tea-room" |
 |
| View of the room from the ante-room |
This entire wing, which also houses the Maharaja and Maharani suites, is quite different from the new wing, which is entirely modern, where you might well think you're in a room at a Sheraton!
While the rooms and the building are wonderful themselves, what I really loved was the open space and gardens. There are also some fantastic views to be had, particularly if you're into photography and stuff. Check these out.
There are a handful of seating spots outside on the lawns, where food and drinks are served. So if you're interested, you could have breakfast (though a la carte, not off the buffet) in the fresh morning air.
The evenings can also be quite spectacular!
In addition to the main restaurant and coffee shop, there are also a number of (relatively) smaller rooms that serve breakfast. I had breakfast in one of these rooms, and it was no less exclusive than the rest of the hotel!
Breakfast was entirely an Indian and continental affair. The other reason I loved it in this room, was the view!
 |
| View from breakfast table |
I spent a couple of days, more involved with my conference than the outdoors, so I plan to go back here once more. The only issue with this hotel is the price (starting Rs 16k a night ++, in summer), but I suppose that's because I was there in June. Likely the prices should be a bit better closer to winter. I hope I can visit this place again, this time with my DSLR camera as opposed to just a smartphone! Let's see!
Comments
Post a Comment