Hotel review: Vivanta by Taj, MG Road, Bangalore

Last week, I spent a (rather short) night in Bangalore, thanks to a meeting that went on till pretty late, and a really early morning flight. Although I checked into the hotel around 4 in the afternoon, I had to leave for my meeting almost immediately, so I managed whatever pictures I could, before I left.

The short stay didn't allow me to try out many of the hotel's amenities, including breakfast, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.



But before we proceed, some overall thoughts and comments.

This hotel used to be called, simply, the Taj, and has now re-christened and re-modelled as the Vivanta By Taj. I last stayed at this hotel nearly 15 years back, and things have (obviously) changed significantly. I remember the hotel being much more of a luxury hotel, than the high-end business hotel it is now, and that is disappointing. Having said that, I appreciate the commercial considerations favouring the new avatar.

Lobby


Lobby

Lift lobby

View from room entrance 
Vestiblue

Bedroom

Bedroom and couch


Work desk


Work desk


Room view 


Room view


Coffee,, tea, water and minibar


Minibar


Balcony
Bathroom

Toilet and shower area


Bath amenities


Unique shower!


Pool view from the room

Front porch

One point to note, and perhaps be careful about. In view of security considerations, rooms that have posted Do Not Disturb signs will nonetheless be mandatorily be serviced by housekeeping staff, at 1.30 in the afternoon. So, and without questioning the integrity of the hotel’s staff, valuables are best left in the room safe or otherwise should be secured and protected well.

Security note

I had a room facing away from the roads (aka city-facing). Rooms on the other side of the hotel (ie, north-facing) can be very dull, notwithstanding there’s a balcony in almost every room. But that side is definitely quieter than the city-side.

Garden view from the room

The Park (Design Hotels) is just down the road

Overall, I wasn’t impressed by the rather cramped bathroom, and the fact that some rooms are marginally (but perceptibly) different in size from some others (I say this because I checked out a colleague's "city-facing" room).

On that note, beware of the city-facing rooms – these look out on to the main road where the peak hour traffic can be quite annoying even within the room. 

Mall across the road


Garden view from a city-facing room

Bangalore at dusk


Traffic snarls viewed from the room!


Namma Metro rail view

I was quite impressed by the overall efficiency and enthusiasm of the hotel staff, and their generally pleasant and cheerful attitude.

However, I hope that the quick review below is useful to those of you considering this hotel to stay at.

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