Walking into the Ibis from the airport, as we did, triggers a sense of déjà vu. Didn’t we just come through here? No, but the lobby seems to be deliberately reminiscent of an airport lounge. Guests checking in at a small bank of counters are queued up with luggage-stacked trolleys, then making their way to the elevator. Opposite the counters a row of seats backs on to a glass-partitioned bar and café. Yup, very airport!
So you BYOB (bring your own bags) with your airport-style trolley and, once upstairs, out of the elevator and past the vertical garden atrium where empty trolleys are parked, the impression changes. For one, there is a sense of accomplishment in manoeuvring down the narrow corridor and into your compact cabin, one of 316. Not so different to negotiating an airplane aisle. The frills and fixtures are still a little flight-flavoured. Think ‘going down to the galley’ as you pop over to the ice dispenser.
Back in your cabin—excusez-moi, that would be your ‘room’—the prefab bathroom makes a feature out of frugality. The desk under the window has a flip-up panel with charging stations and telecom ports for your laptop. The small closet has room for roll-in luggage with hand baggage and coat hanger overhead. Indeed, the generous legroom and banquette and big fluffy bed almost come as a surprise. A black-and white architectural detail print over the bed grounds you firmly in DEL. Oh yes, and a fitness centre and heated pool we certainly did not expect in this class. Plus one more first some of us are very grateful for: pets are welcome.
The Spice IT restaurant downstairs does a surprisingly big buffet for a value hotel, with handy express breakfast and tray meals too. They also do the longest breakfast in town, 4.30am–12pm: a cold Continental spread till 6am and after 10.30, with hot dishes turning up in between caters to both redeye arrivals and late risers battling jetlag. Right up front, there is an impressive choice of very good coffees (Illy, actually) from espresso to French press—by any hotel’s standards, not just an economy class one! Ditto for the wine list and lounge and outdoor cabanas of the Hub Bar. And the in-room menu. Like many of the best flight decks, they get the comforts and conveniences just right to compensate for the compact and curtailed services.
The Ibis is more European in conception than others in this area, though with some fascinating concessions to the location like the surprising complement of meeting rooms. The in-lobby e-centre with a bank of Macs, just beyond the check-in counters—reception, that is—and the sunny, casual bar make it easy to keep the team corralled within hailing distance over breaks in the agenda. And no time or energy is wasted on special banqueting arrangements beyond asking the staff to put together a long table. Check-out, like at the IGIA, is a breezy walk down to a queue waiting for a cab to roll up.
OVERVIEW: Pared-down services, compact spaces but splashing out on little comforts; only heated pool in Aerocity zone; pets welcome TARIFF: From Rs 3,150 CONTACT: +91-11-43020202, www.ibis.com