Resort to stay at Hampi – Hyatt Place Hampi

We had been planning a trip to Hampi for a very long time and were delaying the trip mainly due to the paucity of hotels. Hampi is part of the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire which was one of the most prosperous empires down south. With a long weekend in sight, I tried my luck in Tripadvisor to look for hotels in and around Hampi and found out Hyatt place – Hampi.

Jumped upon the opportunity and immediately made my reservations online. The hotel itself is not exactly located in Hampi (Hampi is a very small town and one should not mistake it to be a city)…It would take a good 1 hr drive to reach the ruins of Hampi from this hotel which is situated in the Vidyanagar township near the JSW steel plant – you would be surprised by the lush green surroundings.

The Location

Though, some of the travelers might not agree with me on this point since it is around 40 kms from Hampi, the location of the hotel turned out to be ideal for us. The hotel is located inside the Vidyanagar township which is a gated colony near the JSW plant. The colony was lush green (the green cover enhanced due to the monsoon) with many lakes and gardens. Being a gated community, one can enter the township only after going through the security check . Considering that only authorized people can get into this colony, it is an ideal place for a long walk or cycle around in the bicycles provided by the hotel. We took couple of cycles and went around the colony one evening and had a great time.

Another major attraction in the colony is Kaladham, which is an art village on a 10 acre plot right next to the hotel. The complex is primarily built of huge granite stones which can be found around Hampi. It houses many buildings, dance and performance pavilions, and artists’ studios. The Kaladham also exhibits the Museum called Place Hampi, a one of a kind interactive exhibition of 3D panoramas. This exhibition was initially conceived by Museum Victoria, Australia and has now become a permanent show at Kaladham Museum to promote the art and culture of Hampi and the surrounding areas. Would highly recommend a visit to Kaladham to understand the culture and might of the Vijayanagara empire.

 

 

 

The Hotel

The hotel is a new property and is in great shape. Please do not mistake this hotel to be a resort and expect all the amenities associated with large Hyatt properties. This is more of a business hotel which caters to the needs of families also. One would find a healthy mix of families and business travelers in the hotel. A great set of staff who ensure that you feel at home. Everyone wore a smile and greeted you with genuineness.

 

Hyatt place is a no frills hotel – no valet parking, no one to help you with your luggage when you land, no room service, Spa etc. But honestly, I was fine with these limitations as we were going to spent considerable amount of time outside hotel. We were driving from Bangalore (A 6 hrs drive) and reached the hotel at around 11:30. Check-in was a breeze and it was great to know that they had upgraded us to their Large King room

 

 

The Room

We got our room on the 3rd floor and had a great view of the hills surrounding the hotel. Wonderful view from the room – August being the monsoon season, we could see the dark clouds rolling over the hills. The room was laid out pretty well and was stocked with all the basic stuff. A typical business hotel, with a very good WIFI connection, stationary etc. The layout of the rooms clearly makes one feel that this is a business hotel. As mentioned in one of the posts in TripAdvisor, the bathrooms have a sliding glass door without any lock…Not sure if everyone would be comfortable with this 🙂

The Restaurant

The range of food available in the restaurant is very limited and could be improved. Even the menu has very limited options, typical of a business hotel. But I am sure there is a healthy family crowd who regularly visit the hotel. It would be great if the hotel could think of adding few more items on their menu so that the families on vacation could have some choice. Even the buffet lunch and dinner had very limited spread and one would run out of options if we stay more than couple of days.

But whatever was available was very tasty and not very expensive. (There is practically nothing available around .. one could not even get a bottle of water – unless there is a supermarket inside the township).

Overall we had a great time and would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Hampi. Please ensure that you have your own mode of transportation, else shuttling between Hotel and the places to visit would be pretty tough