There are numerous options to stay in Bengalaru and they range from the budget friendly to the luxury properties. Whatever your budget, you can find multiple options in Bangalore. I stayed for 3 nights at the Sheraton Grand Bengalaru and was pleasantly surprised.
The Sheraton Grand Bengalaru at Brgade Gateway is located near a mall in the heart of Bangalore. It’s located right next to the metro station of Sandal Soap Factory Station and the mall has multiple fast food eateries and shopping. Its location in the city is close to major attractions like the palace or ISKON temple and is about a 40 min Uber drive from the airport.
Location
The hotel is located near a mall and shares the same street as the World Trade Center and a hospital. There is also a large residential high rise complex so it’s basically a self-containing community.
In many ways, the location is really going to be dependent on what you need to accomplish. If the location isn’t close enough to where you’re going, it’s going to be a long commute so in many ways, the location is really dependent on you. Overall, I wasn’t disappointed by it and thought it offered nice, central location to start my day.
Check In
First impressions of the lobby is that it’s massive. It’s a wide open space with a staircase going up to the 2nd floor on the left and a bar and buffet area just past the check in desks on the right. As usual, you have to go through metal detectors when entering the hotel and your bag needs to be screened as well. To be honest, I’m not sure why more hotels don’t do this.
Check in was a breeze and I was checked in pretty quickly. It seemed like there was a convention or some even at the hotel since I wasn’t given a “club” room floor even though I am a platinum member. I still got all the benefits afforded to a platinum member so it wasn’t a big deal at all.
Room
I was given a standard room and it was a decent size. I typically view Sheratons as a business hotel so I really like the setup of their rooms. They usually have high speed internet, a desk with multiple ports and outlets to charge all your devices, and a comfy bed. That is usually enough for me to choose Sheratons when given a choice since having space to work is important to me. There was also a lounge chair but it only served to hold my backpack.
The bathroom was massive with a separate tub and shower. The cool(?) thing about the bathroom was that you could open a set of blinds so if you wanted to watch TV from the tub, you could. I guess it you wanted to get some sunlight into the entire room, that could work as well. Outside of that, I didn’t quite get the novelty but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Lounge
The lounge was easy to find on the 16th floor and the first night, it was busy. I can’t remember the last time I was in a lounge with that many people in it, Marriott branded or not. I arrived about and an hour to an hour and half after they opened for happy hour in hopes of avoiding the crowds but to no avail. I know there was a technology conference in town that ended the day I arrived so I can only assume that added to the crowd since the lounge was much quieter on subsequent nights.
The staff in the lounge was great and they were always happy to attend to your every need. I enjoy going to have a few sodas and some finger food and I think the lounge is a nice touch to have access to. I also like to go up there to work when I find the TV in my room too distracting so I tend to get a fair amount of use out of them.
Hotel Amenities
The hotel has everything you need with a pool, gym, multiple restaurants, and meeting spaces galore. I didn’t eat at the hotel but the variety of food offered was impressive to me.
The one thing I did find odd was that I couldn’t seem to find a sports bar type of place. Just a low key place where you could sit back, have a few drinks, order some bar food, and watch the game. There was a big India v. Bangladesh cricket match being played and although I don’t know much about cricket, I was somewhat curious to watch it. Sadly, I wasn’t able to find a bar type of place to watch it. Downstairs, they have a bar that serves all kinds of drinks but no TV screens. The other restaurants are only open during certain hours and even then, I don’t believe I saw TV screens. Maybe it’s a US thing but it would’ve been nice to have that as an option.
Other Amenities
The hotel is located right next to a mall so if you’d like to eat something different than what’s offered at the hotel, you certainly have options. Of course these options range from a Nandos to a food court with a Dominos, Mc D’s, etc. so it’s pretty much what you’d expect to find in any mall.
It’s also about a 3 minute walk to the metro Soap Saddle Metro station. You can read about how to use the metro in Bangalore HERE so if you’re interested in taking the metro in Bangalore, it’s certainly an option.
Final Thoughts
The hotel is a great base to use when traveling to Bangalore. I guess it would ultimately depend on what you’re there for and what you need to do while there. I would recommend that you strongly consider staying in a location that will be easy for you to commute because the traffic here can be insane. Although an Uber ride isn’t difficult or overly expensive, it can still take a toll if you’re stuck in traffic or siting in stop and go traffic for extended periods of time.
A Single Wanderer 