CHOOMTI TRAVELLERS The
Travel Division of Choomti Trekkers Private Limited Bringing over 28 years experience to Independent Travellers in
India
Providing that personal and individual service to each Client
Villa
Pottipatti Malleswaram,
Karnataka Have a true
Neemrana 'non-hotel' Hotel experience.
A garden home in
Malleswaram, once the vegetarian-Brahmin stronghold of Bangalore, Namma
Bengalooru. Pottipati gets its name from a
village in Andhra Pradesh, from where the Reddy family (the villa's
original owners) came 121 years ago.
A 'home from home', as the staff proudly call it, minutes from the
centre of the Garden (or 'Silicon') City. Built in 1873 this is a
wonderfully restored heritage property restored by award winning
heritage hotel experts Francis Wacziarg and Aman Nath, with an
impressive entrance porch, elegant verandas and a tranquil country-house
feel. At this villa it's as if the sun never set on the glory days
of the Raj. Nowhere in Bangalore comes as close to recreating the
privileged atmosphere of a colonial-era residence than the Villa
Pottipati.
Comfortable, beautiful, welcoming, the Villa Pottipati is a joy.
Surrounded by mango, jackfruit, avocado, jacaranda, and gulmohar trees,
heady shivalinga blossoms at the entrance, this is the most authentic
and reasonably priced heritage experience you can have in the heart of
this city of steel, glass, and concrete. Time has stood still in
this stately villa of red cement floors, teakwood beams, and high
ceilings, furnished with teak and rosewood antique furniture and
beautiful artefacts.
Each of the eight
heritage-styled rooms have a distinct character and the whole house is
so relaxed and appealing that you'll hardly want to stray beyond the
compound's walls.
Each serenely elegant room feels like the master bedroom of a private
house yet each is unique: a sitting area here, a mezzanine there, a
private veranda, warm brown tones, local cottons, spotless deep baths.
As at
all Neemrana properties, each guest room is different. No matter which
room you stay in, do ask for a tour of unoccupied others, named after
traditional South Indian saris. The Venkatagiri Suite, with a
stunning turquoise-blue Venkatagiri sari covering the bed, offers a
living room, a private dressing area, an area for kids, two large
wardrobes, a bathroom with a large bathtub, and a verandah.
The Rajadurga Suite rewards early birds with spectacular sunrise views.
The fabulous Kanchipuram Suite has a private pillared balcony, an ante-room
for kids, an old-fashioned lime-green bathroom, and a quaint antique
gramophone.
Some of the rooms have romantic
four-poster beds and verandahs overlooking the grounds.
And there's no end to the wooden furniture - beautiful colonial pieces
that came with the house or were shipped in from the other Neemrana
hotels, as the management company, Neemrana Hotels, has made it their
business to buy up such antique properties around India and revive them
as classic small hotels.
A
central skylight illuminates the lounge, which is held up by granite
pillars. Terracotta tiles line the ceiling and decorative wood 'monkey-top'
eaves crown the entrance and windows.
Dining is either indoors, surrounded by teak and bronze, or outdoors
under a canopy of mango trees; everything, from the calamari starter to
the Goan prawn vindaloo, is delicious.
Villa
Pottipati has a fixed menu everyday with four courses and a choice of
vegetarian and non vegetarian. For the imbibers, beer is the only
drink available.
On warm nights meals are served al fresco; on chillier ones, the
converted stable serves as a dining hall.
Lunch is traditional Indian, served under the giant shivalinga tree;
dinner is French, prepared by the chef from Pondicherry.
Among
the bustle of glass and concrete towers, relish pastoral charm, under a
giant Shivalinga tree, Gulmohars, Jacarandas and Jack Fruit trees with
parterres full of crotons and seasonal flowers.
The gardens, in which you'll find a dunk-sized pool, feel wooded with
jacaranda and jackfruit trees which keep city hum (and lunchtime chirrup
from the local primary school) at bay.
When you stay at Villa Pottipati you join Bangalore’s fight to retain
its magnificent heritage structures by making restoration a viable,
self-sustainable tourism activity.
Service
is personal and exceptional, with the kind of attention guests probably
enjoyed a century ago. But you won't have to forgo any modern
amenities with laundry service, air conditioning and broadband in
every room.
About
2.5km (1.5 miles) west of the villa is the visually striking Iskcon
temple, built by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness,
better known as the Hare Krishnas. It's lavishly decorated in a mix of
highly contemporary and traditional styles, and includes a stunning
shrine to Krishna and Radha.
