A day trip to Taj Kuteeram, Hesaraghatta, Bangalore

Taj Kuteeram for a very long time was one of our favorite destination for a day outing. It was a perfect getaway from the busy city life and used to be an ideal break for us. Over the years, we have been to this place on multiple occasions, the latest being in the month of October, last year. Unfortunately, it seems that the place has been shut down and I am hoping that it is just a temporary break for maintenance.

Note: Taj hotels confirmed that they are no longer associated with this hotel and I am hoping that some other brand can take over this beautiful property and restore its glory. 

 

The property is located in Hessarghatta and is nested in a beautiful village, far away from the city madness. We usually do not stay overnight and hence would be unable to comment on the room service and other aspects attached to a stay. Most of our trips to this place were day trips where we used to leave home by around 7 AM, drive for around 2 hours and reach just in time for a visit to Nityagram (which is right opposite to this place), and head for lunch and tea break at the Kuteeram.

Positives of the resort:

a. Location has to be the biggest plus point. To find something so well nested away from the city madness, yet being only around 20km from NH4 is a big plus. One can reach this place max in an hour or two, depending upon from where one starts

b. The staff were very courteous. Right from the person who took care of our parking to the manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The watch tower – which is the highlight of this resort.

 

 

Areas where we usually felt the resort could have done better:

a. Unfortunately, the moment the brand “Taj” is associated to a property, the expectations go up a notch for me. I am a Taj innercircle member and have visited other Taj properties in India. This property definitely did not meet that standard. The property is very small and one ends up lazing around trying to figure out what to do after couple of hours. Though the property is well maintained, it is no way comparable to the standards that Taj set for themselves.

 
b. Dining area: This really needed attention. There were so many flies and bugs that it was practically impossible for us to have our food. We were practically having food with one hand (the other one was dedicated to waving away the insects)…. agreed that the theme is to get people to experience the life in a village… but this is basic hygiene… There are many innovative ways to keep them off.. could try out nets… or any natural insect repellent.. but no one seemed to bother about this.. The buffet spread was very thin.. for someone to have only one option for non-veg is kinda not accepted… (that too it was brought once we order.. guess they wanted to freshly serve non-veg starter as they did not want a tray of non-veg starters laced with insects)…

 

c. Rooms – though we did not stay in the rooms, we did ask them to show couple of rooms, lest we plan out any overnight stay.. The rooms looked pretty basic and need renovation – again I am comparing it to “Taj Standards”

 

 
d. Not sure why my innercircle card did not work in this resort.. I gave them my innercircle number and asked them to add my bill to it and also the discount that an innercircle member is eligible. To my surprise, we were told that due to some issue (they did not have a valid one) they could not give us the discount nor add the points. I really did not bother to check on this aspect, as the bill amount was not significant. Might have been because of Taj winding up the association with the resort

 

Though the resort was not something out of the world, it was a perfect getaway for us from the city madness. We usually had a good time and had recommended it to many in our family and friends circle.  This property has huge potential, and I am hoping that it would come back under the umbrella of some other brand.