On a crowded street in Pondicherry a family of North Indian tourists passes by and one shouts out to the other: “This is all exactly like Goa, na?” And Pondy is so not like Goa that I stand gasping like a goldfish on the pavement.
When every half-baked hack waxes lyrical about French cuisine and Aurovillean spirituality and the seashore, the real place just recedes further and further away. And tourists seeking the myth try desperately for labels that fit.
But if it’s a non-cliché I seek, then this new hotel is pretty much it. After all, it’s neither in the French quarter, nor is it a gracious heritage villa filled with colonial furniture, nor is it within sniffing distance of the sea. If you were blind-folded and dumped here at night, you could be in any Indian small town. But yes, we are in Pondy and the charming bits of the city are just a 10-minute drive away.
Of course, heritage hotels or beach resorts seem axiomatic for Pondy but if you are blasé about such things, and just want comfort, little touches of luxury and quietly tasteful surroundings, then the Sunway GRT Grand it is. More likely, you are here on an impulse weekend getaway and, as is its wont, the inns are fuller than Bethlehem’s during the census. Remember Three Men in A Boat? Well, I too have been known to roam the streets of unknown towns for honeysuckled façades and such whims. And if I am met by GRT Sunway at the end of one such haul, what an excellent alternative to falling back on the naff mass hotels.
And when the friendly bartender stirs up an ice-cold ‘Chennai to Pondy’ (vodka-cranberry-lemonade) and serves it with the best pattani shundal I’ve tasted, I find that I quite easily forget the honeysuckle. Especially given how easy liquor is on your wallet in this town.
Goubert Avenue, as the beachfront road is still called, is closed to vehicles on weekend evenings, so we park just behind the road and walk up to be welcomed by quite a mela. There are bhajji carts, balloon sellers, shooting stalls and plastic souvenirs. And an open-air Tamil folksong concert. People mill about, listening, walking, eating… Evenings are pleasant by the sea and belie the fierce days.
Back to the hotel and to a superb, fragrant dinner of cream of asparagus, pasta with pesto and chicken stroganoff. But the lunch buffet is equally good, with the little touches that speak of a good chef. The saffron-nuts pulao, for example, or the gosht palak are both worth noting.
The hotel, built and owned by a Pondicherry businessman, is managed by GRT Hotels. Pure management is a first for the group, which has made quite an impression with some of its own properties like Temple Bay and Radisson. But it is a route it plans to explore further and given by what it has achieved here, it is on the right track. Sunway had the advantage of sprawling grounds and aesthetically pleasing architecture, so all it needed was good management to bring out its best. The hotel sensibly keeps its three huge (4,400 sq ft) banquet halls on a different wing with a separate entrance. The main hotel is airy, sunny and full of open spaces. The rooms are comfortable, the service friendly and prompt, and coming soon: a swimming pool. All welcome news for visitors to this increasingly crowded city.
The information
Location 1550, 100 Feet Road, Mudaliarpet, Pondicherry
Accommodation 52 deluxe rooms, 6 executive rooms, 3 suites
Tariff Rs 3,900 (deluxe), Rs 4,500 (executive), Rs 7,500 (suite). Inclusive of taxes and breakfast.
Contact 0413-2281608, sales@grtsunway.com