[vigsom]

Introduction

"You Only Live Once" - and use that one life to experience someplace frequented but never stayed at. This is a brief account of my experiences during my first ever hotel stay in Chennai, and a real grand one at that - at the ITC Grand Chola!

Disclaimer: This is just a review of a great place to dine and stay; I am in no way associated with this establishment except that I completed my first visit there as a happy guest.

Summary of my experiences

Likes

* Simply grand in appearance
* Extremely well kept for such a large property in its 12th year
* Hasn't fallen back on style despite being over a decade old
* Pleasing demeanour of the hosts and hostesses
* First time experience at being seated at check in any hotel
* Fantastic food - options and quality (although this time I only savoured the multi-option buffet breakfast)
* Designated smoking rooms
* Ample underground parking (though my car was handled by the valets)
* Lot of tree cover around the hotel is still intact

What could be improved

* Communication skills of the hosts/hostesses at the reception; they could be clearer when they explain what facilities guests are eligible to use; had to ask more than once to understand what they were trying to convey
* Shower area in the room is showing its age - needs to be spruced up to bring it to par at newer hotels
* Tab lighting controls - sometimes, the center chandelier light on on the Tab control shuts the other lights off

[vigsom]

About the ITC Grand Chola (facts and numbers may not be accurate)

Inaugurated in late 2012, the hotel was touted to be the largest standalone hotel in India then.

- one of the largest hotels in India, built on 15,000 sq.m of land
- built at an investment of INR 12,000 million
- 600 rooms
- World’s largest (TBC) Platinum rated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green hotel
- one of the largest pillar-less ballrooms in the country
- energy requirement met through renewable sources
- multiple food and beverage locations
- Rooms categorised as - Executive Club, ITC One, Tower, Serviced Apartments, Suites
- Full room control on Tabs

My timeline with ITC Grand Chola

Circa 2012: My visits to star hotels in Chennai was almost once a month, primarily to host company clients or visiting execs. The first time I set foot at the ITC Grand Chola was in late 2012, a few days after their hotel was inaugurated. In fact, back then, many wings of the hotel were still not ready. We, as a group, have dined multiple times at

- Madras Pavilion, where the offerings then were not commensurate with the overall grandeur that the hotel presented
- Peshawri, serving cuisine from the northwest was class (and guess what - to keep the tradition there, no cutlery in this restaurant then. Not sure if it has changed now)
- Pan Asian - quite good

How did the opportunity to stay here arise?

We were six of us and did not want to gatecrash at any of our relatives' places in Chennai. It was a quick trip to Chennai to help our guests with some shopping, with the best and quality options being available in Chennai. We were almost fixated with staying at GRT Grand or some equivalent hotel, when I suddenly thought, "There is no way we are ever going to stay in a hotel in Chennai since all our stays are at close relatives' places. Why not up the ante and try the Grand Chola? This would be an experience both for us and for the guests".

Booking, options and confirmation

Surprisingly, the ITC Hotels website offered the best rates, and when the option selected was three to a room, the Towers option was the best. Booking was seamless and all it asked for was a credit/debit card number for a pre-auth.

Travel to Chennai

Two cars, with one being my good ol' Grand Vitara. We had a tough time navigating a huge hold up short of Ratnagiri (near Vellore) on a festive day, but finally, we were at Hotel Alankar for a well deserved lunch. Post that, we headed straight to Mylapore,Chennai to do round#1 of purchases. No prizes for guessing what the shopping was about. Those familiar with Chennai know how bad Mylapore is with parking, and compounding the misery is the in-progress CMRL work, but being a Sunday helped and we parked at the official parking at Thirumayilai MRTS. All shops were at walking distance from here.

At the Thirumayilai MRTS parking

[vigsom]

Initial impressions at the Grand Chola

We arrived at the hotel after round#1 of shopping. As you enter the hotel premises, the logical left takes one to the first entry, which is typically where guests drop off to check in. This is a rather small entrance. This is the first time I saw guests being seated during their check in.

The Lobby




Signage


Way to the grand lobby aka Sangam


For those who want to huff n puff


One of the Cloakrooms




Elevator signage


Elevator Lobby (sample)


Touchscreen in the elevator


Leading to the Tower rooms

[vigsom]

Tour of a Tower room

Entry to a Tower room


Personalised welcome message


Housekeepers' message


Inside a Tower room


View of the outside - two different times



View of the outside - with the Metro train in view



The Security closet


The Bev area




SunyaAqua (pronounced Shoonya or zero) Zero Mile drinking water in 500ml glass bottles, placed in a case to prevent them from tipping over


Coffee mug - covered to trap the heat in


The cloak room which is a room in itself



Part1: Walk- in closet


Part2: Wash Stand


Part3: Bath Tub


Part4: Shower Area


Shower controls - pretty straightforward


Part5: WC



This bed makes good sleep

[vigsom]

Tour of the Tower Room (Contd.)

Controls on a Tab - the Main Menu


Controls on a Tab - View who's at the door, unlock door/ignore


Controls on a Tab - Light Controls



Controls on a Tab - Mood Lighting Controls



Tour of the ITC Grand Chola

Grand Lobby also known as Sangam


Grand Staricase - the favourite photo cum selfie point for visitors




Madras Pavilion - packed at breakfast time


Restaurants - Pan Asian, Royal Vega Veg, Ottimo, avartana. IIRC, avartana opened later after the hotel was inaugurated


Pan Asian


Breakfast at Pan Asian - this place is the second breakfast venue when Madras Pavilion is full; fantastic wide array of options including cherries at the fruit counter


Royal Vega Veg


Upper Crest Lounge - a quiet place to chill where happy hours is on between 4 and 6pm; complimentary access at this time for Tower Room guests

[vigsom]

More shopping, more visits, and it's time to return to base

After some more shopping around T.Nagar, and also savouring some good food at Pakwan (a restaurant in that area), we visited the good ol' IIT Madras, a place I used to visit several times while in Chennai. Nice to see an organised system of access control at gate entry, although it did take longer than earlier.

At the IITM Gate


Inside IIT Madras






Old pic taken inside IIT Madras in Dec-2016 post Cyclone Vardah; several trees gone


Standing among the felled trees in Dec-2016


Summing it up

It was a very memorable short stay at the ITC Grand Chola. Although there are some areas for improvement, I must compliment the team at the hotel for having maintained the place impeccably well for a 12 year old property. Cuisine now is way better than before, both in options and in taste.

Like folks undertake a full round at any place of worship before leaving, if one checks out at the first lobby, it helps a guest take a full round of the property before exiting. Request: Please rotate the screen at 00:18 .Note the various entry points to inside the hotel at various parts of this video; entrance to the main lobby viz. Sangam, can be seen at 01:15

https://youtu.be/u4XRap10v0M

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[mally2]

What a perfect timing. I am currently en route from Bangalore to Chennai in my Hexa. Checking in to the Grand Chola for the next three days to spend my 11th wedding anniversary. Your pointers could not have come at a better time.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Haven't stayed at the Grand Chola - I still fondly remember its grand opening back in the days when I used to work in Chennai. Was way out of my league back then to visit the place and always considered it a desirable destination. Made for a good read- thanks for sharing.

Fast forward to now - my experience with other ITC destinations like the Windsor (Bangalore), Gardenia (Bangalore), Maratha (Mumbai), Sonar (Kolkata) and Royal Bengal (Kolkata) have all left me wanting for better service!

Don't get me wrong - all these hotels are luxurious and offer grand facilities- but equally lack a warmth of hospitality across all their properties. These show up in smaller things like order delays, the greetings, the missing personal touch when interacting with the staff, etc. Given a choice - I would prefer Taj and Mariott properties over ITC!

[Utopian]

I have visited the hotel as a part of our annual conferences at the workplace and the grandeur is unmatched. This is one of the few standalone properties which could accommodate 2K+ people in a single go. Everything from decor to food to facilities was top notch.