The Once And Future Hotel

With the launch of ITC Royal Bengal, the hotel chain has set the bar so high, Amit Dixit wonders if any future hotel in Kolkata will ever match up to it

- Amit Dixit

For years, on periodic visits to Kolkata, while hurtling down the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, one had seen an improbable building coming up next to the ITC Sonar. Reaching out to the sky, it was seemingly preparing to overshadow its neighbour, and sibling. But Atul Bhalla, ITC Hotels’ main man in the east, is having none of that. Together, the much-loved Sonar and new-kid-on-the-block Royal Bengal will offer 693 rooms, suites and serviced apartments, an inventory tour de force. With banqueting venues and meeting options totalling 22 venues and 9,290 sq m of space between the two hotels, ITC is somewhat ahead of the competition.

There are no two ways about it: the ITC Royal Bengal is monumental. Yet, it feels remarkably intimate on the inside. The interiors are world class. This is a hotel which would have been right at home in Miami or Milan, New York or Nice. It also confirms what I have long believed about ITC Hotels. It is a chain run by hospitality nerds, single-minded in their obsession to create the best hotels possible. In the Royal Bengal, they have built a timeless hotel, which will be held up as the gold standard for years to come. And, let’s not forget, it’s all guilt-free ‘responsible luxury’.

My ITC One room, contemporary classical in its approach to décor, was dripping with cutting-edge tech and mod cons, but they’d done it so well the Luddite in me wasn’t overwhelmed at all. The controls were all on an iPad. Of course, among the preset lighting options ranging from ‘good night’ to ‘cinema’ and ‘dining’, they had also included ‘responsible luxury’. The living area and bed were deftly separated and the bathroom was sinfully lavish. I had a breathtaking view of the East Kolkata Wetlands as a personal butler to boot. Across the hotel, the region is reflected in the design inspiration.