Review- The Park Kolkata

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   1. Entry to the hotel.

   I had been to The Park Hotel a few years back and heard of its reputation as one of the Prime Hotels. What makes The Park good is its signature central and downtown location in all its 3 cities across India. The Park Kolkata is no different and located right on the Park Street with a metro station next to it. If you book this hotel on the right dates, you get amazing offers at 3-star. This time around I had a lot of meetings, and I wanted to have all of them at The Park Hotel.

 

 

2. Why are you in this hotel in this city?

As I am building my Luxury Lifestyle Brand, Kolkata is one of the metros I need to explore to understand what true hospitality means. Plus it is New Year’s and so I wanted to visit the city and try some authentic local

3. Points

I still have not received all my points, and I have escalated the concern to SPG.

 

4. Check in

I walked in the hotel and showed my credentials at the reception. Even though I had confirmed the availability of the Suite beforehand with the hotel reservation, I was informed during the Check –in that they were out of Suites. This last minute confusion left me quite stumped because I lacked Plan B. I somehow decided to stay a night here and shortly hop on to the newly opened JW Marriott which had an amazing offer running of cash back of Rs 2000. Although that would have taken me away from the centre and back to some far off place.

Well, they showed me one of the smallest rooms. I decided that I would stay there for a night and cut my losses short. It was like a 2-star Hotel Room where basically, the room ends as soon as it starts, with just a bed in it. No place to move around.

 

Then Mr Raja came to my rescue and upgraded me to the Suite. He showed me the Suite and asked if it was comfortable. I have to admit it was paradise as compared to the one I was shown earlier.

 

5. Journey to the room

Getting to the hotel lift felt like a challenge, but it is right behind the reception. The hotel is pretty much old school. There was a hallway on both the sides with a couch on the right.

I found the décor very old school but it was still nice. Mr Raja informed me that the hotel is about 50 years old, and it might be a trademark hotel regarding style, but it definitely would provide a comfortable stay.

 

6. Room

My impression of the room was that it was too large a place than it was designed to be. There was a part that seemed underfurnished with bland walls. The living room was a massive There was no furniture as opposed to The Park New Delhi which was over-furnished. Maybe they should send some of their furniture here.

As you can see, half the floor is carpeted and the other half is completely bare.There was a big area dedicated to only a mini bar which I never use anyway. At the end of the room, there is dated couch where you kick back and relax in front of a nice Plasma TV. Luckily, it had DTH and not limited service.They put some snacks like fruits and slices of cake. I wish they had put Sandesh (special Kolkata sweet) or something. That would be TOTAL KO! Guests would have loved that way more than cake slices.

The room had a divider for a clear distinction between the living room and the bedroom.  I wish they had rewired the room to provide a centralized master switch. I find it annoying looking for all the switchboards of the room individually. If you are carrying international adapters, you would have to bring your own converter.

The bed was very comfortable as you would expect. So much so that I just didn’t want to get out of it. I was under the weather, and I was waking up every day around 7 am which is unprecedented for me.

Warning: The sound proofing of the room isn’t that great. You can hear road noises up there. They also have a really loud nightclub which makes you want to have the highest room in the building.

If you are into aviation, you will find the 2^nd floor fully occupied with the Airline Staff as this is a designated hotel for Jet Airways and Go Air. I had a great time interacting with them. When you are an Aviation Geek, you feel like a butterfly meeting people from the Aviation background.

I have forgotten to capture the view from the room. However, it was of the old classical buildings of Kolkata. I liked the view.

 

 

7. Washroom

The washroom has 3 impressive divisions. So you have one full area for safe baggage storage.

Right opposite to that is a single basin with a large unit. It had the usual Park toiletries.

Then as a separate section, on the left, you have a toilet.

The toilet had a bidet which is not present in other Park hotels. However, they didn’t have a TV in the washroom like in others.

Ahead of the toilet was a shower cabin. They didn’t have a Rain Shower, but it was still doable. The water pressure and temperature were great. The shower is one of the most important parts which I look forward to in every luxury hotel. They didn’t have a properly enclosed cabin. The cabin was of a decent However, the way the shower area was designed, you wouldn’t have to worry about wetting the entire washroom. The tap was broken, though.

Right opposite the shower was a very sweet Jacuzzi bath tub. The bath tub was as good as it gets. I wish they put up some bath salts and foam for a relaxing experience. As soon as you put a Jacuzzi in my room, you are a winner.

8.Toiletries

The Toiletries are as usual great. I loved the Tulsi Khus (Basil – Poppy seeds) fragrance. The after effect was very refreshing and made me ask about the Fragrance I was using.

9. Internet Speed

The internet setup was interesting here. The IT guy came to my room and took my MAC address to setup high-speed internet on my device. Their internet is not like rest of the hotels where you enter your room number and last name and you would see your plan. The way my internet was setup was different, to say the least.The speed was decent. They promised I would get 5 Mbps which is alright. Not too slow but not that great either. 

 

10. Food and Beverages

The Park Kolkata outdoes both The Park Delhi and The Park Bangalore in Food and Beverages. They have a lovely lady Chef Prachi. Generally, they won’t customize a dish for you but if you say please, they might make your day.The spread is way better than other Park Hotels. You eat like a real Bengali where your stomach can fill up very fast. I believe in having a hearty breakfast, and I was very pleased with the effort here. You have so many options from local cuisines to continental. The bakery had vegetarian options, and Juices had a lot of variety. I would come back here in a heartbeat.The chef won’t prepare healthy dishes for you but at least help you make an informed decision on what will go with your diet. However, for me, it is very difficult to stick to healthy when I am in Kolkata. I find myself craving for local desserts and vegetables.

I never take the evening buffet, but they had made some great offers when I was present. So do ask about offers while you check in.

Check out the pics here.

 

 

11.Fitness Center

The Fitness Centre and the Swimming Pool have an interesting setup here. As you pass through a long passage to the Swimming Pool you can hear the ambience sound of a fountain. On the left is the Fitness Center.

  

 

The Fitness Centre at The Park Kolkata is way better than other Park Hotels. The Park Bangalore Fitness Centre is hilarious. Fitness Centre here at Kolkata has a different It has two rooms, one where with all the machines and the other where stretching and weight training is given.

They had my favourite treadmill. I had seen it long ago in New York Wall Street and it is just wonderful. You have virtual reality videos playing along with your workout. The view from the treadmill is a lovely pool having calming effects.

 

I just loved the cardio equipment and rate them above every Hotel in the country. I have been to the best of the best, but this experience truly stands out for me. Other aspects of the gym are ordinary.

 

 

12. Service 

The service at this hotel was top notch. They went out of their way to show hospitality. I was getting nudges continuously if they could do anything that would enhance my stay. The staff was cheerful and always smiling. I have never seen a bigger staff in any of the hotel lobbies except ITC Grand Bharat and Taj Lake Palace. I believe most of the new staff was getting trained (maybe interns) here.There were two people who stood out – Chef Prachi and Mr Raja. I forgot the name of their Junior Starwood Champion. Even she was of great help to me, although I feel she still doesn’t know how to operate the SPG software. The guards outside the hotel are probably most cheerful guards I have ever seen. They would keep greeting me like they knew who I was despite the overwhelming flow of people at the hotel.

There was also a staff member from Egypt who was very hospitable. The new staff members, I feel, need to interact more with guests.

 

13. Bottom line

The Park Kolkata is one of the dated hotels, but I would come back any day to stay here. I would prefer if I get a Suite on a higher floor. If I get a small room, I would probably skip this hotel. The elder staff is great. They are one of the most hospitable people I have met across the nation. If the price is right and I have work in this place, I would definitely return to this hotel.