Kohinoor is undoubtedly the most valuable diamond in the world. Befittingly, its eponymous hotel, ITC Kohenur, is the most luxurious property in Hyderabad's HITEC City.
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| ITC Kohenur at dusk, from across the Durgam Cheruvu Lake. |
From a
distance, the natural colour of the building almost matches with the
surrounding boulders that make up the topography of Hyderabad. Upon entering
the driveway, one is treated to a refreshing eyeful of a vertical green wall. I
learn later that this ‘living wall’ is made up thousands of potted indigenous
plants; and there is an almost equally expansive horizontal garden on top of
this wing of the hotel. But I get to explore that later. My stay at the ITC
Kohenur starts with a very warm welcome and a quick check-in to my room in ITC
One, with an unobstructed view
of the Durgam Cheruvu Lake.
An Ode to the City
At first glance, the
glitzy lobby, bedecked with crystal and glass, wears a very contemporary look.
But as the details are pointed out, it is a pleasure to note how the local
crafts and heritage of Hyderabad have been amalgamated into the chic design of
the hotel. The chandelier made with 1865 lac bangles, which adorns the
reception area, is inspired by the ‘choodi bazaar’ in the Charminar area. There
are other chandeliers too that are made with crystal but shaped like a set of sparkling
bangles. The entire artwork in the hotel, from the corridors to the large
banquet spaces, celebrates the iconic architecture of Hyderabad as well as the
Nizams’ famous jewellery, as eye-catching photographs or life-like paintings.
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| The chandelier made with 1865 lac bangles. |
Going back to the
Kohinoor, the building itself is designed like a large uncut diamond. One also
finds the diamond motif everywhere – on the walls, in the carpets and even in
the sarees of the front office staff. As you may be aware, the Kohinoor diamond
once embellished Emperor Shah Jahan’s peacock throne, hence there is the
absolutely stunning Peacock Bar just off the lobby. Expectedly, the Bar is
dressed in bright colours of ‘peacock blue’, but look up for the brilliant
installation on the ceiling. Made with small pieces of crystal and coloured
glass, the peacock runs the entire length of the bar. The far corner also has
an ornate silver chair, as if to replicate the throne from which this entire
space is inspired.
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| The gorgeous peacock installation. |
Dining In
Adjacent to the Peacock Bar is the all-day
restaurant, Golconda Pavilion, that offers a clear view of the Golconda Fort.
Its pillars wear wallpaper that is designed like the traditional Hyderabadi
bidri work. This restaurant offers an array of fine international cuisine as well as delicious
local food. From the lipsmacking
prawns gongura to the pan-grilled fish with
chillies, spicy, tangy curries, a delicious moong dal tempered with garlic and
coconut or the simple ridge gourd cooked in fresh milk and chillies are sure to
give you a taste of home cooked food of this region. While I had the betel leaf
fritters for the first time, I have been quite familiar with Andhra Kodi Biryani
and Haleem, and can safely say that this Haleem is one of the finest. Sharing
this meal with executive chef Yogen Datta makes it even more memorable as he
casually shares his wealth of knowledge of local as well as international
cuisine that the hotel serves to perfection. The passion with which he talks
highlights the respect for ingredients as well as traditional recipes, a motto
that is followed across the kitchens of all ITC Hotels.
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| The beautiful hues of Dum Pukht Begum's. |
Then there’s Dum Pukht - the famous Awadhi restaurant at a few
ITC Luxury Hotels. It is known for its subtly spiced, highly nuanced cuisine -
melt in the mouth kebabs, aromatic pulaos and biryanis cooked on dum, extremely
flavourful curries and some special breads like khameeri roti, taftan dum
pukht, rogani roti and more. Here it has
taken on the avatar of Dum Pukht Begum's. It has the usual suspects
along with some family-owned recipes of a few Hyderabadi Begums to incorporate
a local flavour of Hyderabad. Dakhni chowgra, a
melange of local greens, baghare baingan, shahi qubooli and Hyderabadi gosht
biryani are just a few of the finger-licking additions. With touches of lavender, the decor
too wears an elegant, feminine look. The chandeliers are inspired by Nizami
palaces, like the Chowmahalla Palace, to complete the royal dining experience.
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| Yi Jing, the plush oriental restaurant. |
Moving away from Indian fare, Yi Jing, the Chinese restaurant
serves traditional fare from the Mainland such as Hunan, Canton and Sichuan. With
130 dishes, the menu is rather extensive. While the dimsum look very pretty and
are filled with assorted fillings such as carrot and wasabi, sake and
edamame, the mains clearly steal the show. Steamed sea bass with ginger and soy
and Lobster in XO sauce and even the humble beans in hoisin sauce are
absolutely fantastic. Don’t miss the hand-pulled noodles or the sliced,
hand-made noodles tossed in some chilli and oil. Desserts too match up
to the rest of the fare with anise custard and porcini icecream (a first for
me!) and jasmine tea tart with Madagascar milk chocolate and apricot sponge.
The rooftop has a terrace bar, Sky Point, that is set to attract
the millennials and, Ottimo, a plush Italian restaurant that serves handmade
pastas, grills and the freshest salads and cheese platters. Besides resident guests, the food at ITC Kohenur seems to
have hit the right spot with city-dwellers too. All the F&B outlets were packed
and buzzing all through the couple of days that we spent at the hotel!
In Room Luxury
As a luxury business
hotel, ITC Kohenur has left no stone unturned to provide the ultimate
experience for business travellers. There are many lounge spaces, business
center, business networking spaces and an exclusive ITC Prive Club to make your
stay comfortable as well as productive.
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| A room in ITC One. |
In keeping with
technology trends, every room is equipped with a tablet to control all the
facilities – from a variety of mood lightings to the television and
entertainment regulator, a camera viewing option before opening the door to
requesting for an unobtrusive laundry valet – at your finger touch.
But what impressed
us most is that despite all the high-tech gadgetry this is the first ‘radiation
protected’ hotel. Every emitting device has been installed with an
anti-radiation chip to create general well-being. The quiet rooms are further
appointed with best in class mattresses, optimal water and air quality, a
special sleep kit, indoor plants that give out oxygen at night to ensure that
people have better sleep and wake up more refreshed. Additionally, there are 13
wellness rooms that have even more amenities to enhance wellness such as a
rejuvenating vitamin C shower. “We realise that some weary business travellers
are too busy to drag themselves to the spa, so we take care of their well-being
right in their room,” shares Tejinder Singh, general manager, ITC Kohenur.
With 271
spacious rooms, you can pick from categories like Tower rooms, ITC One, suites,
serviced apartments and of course the gorgeous presidential suite named after
the second most famous diamond in the world - Daria i Noor.
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| Must take a guided tour of the Goldconda Fort. |
Local Experiences
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If there’s one thing
that we enjoyed in Hyderabad more than spending time at ITC Kohenur, it was
exploring the most intrinsic experiences of the city with guided tours
organised by the hotel. Take your pick from the shopping trail and buy some
local bangles, traditionally woven fabric, pearls after which the city is
named or the traditional bidri crafts or explore Qutub Shahi Trail that
includes iconic sites like the Golconda Fort and Qutub Shahi tombs or simply
revel in Nizami splendour with a tour of Salarjung Museum, Nizam’s Museum and
Chowmahalla Palace.
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If you like tasting
local food, take the Food Sherpa Trail and taste the famous biryanis and kebabs,
some Telugu specialties or Irani bakeries that are as much a part of daily life
in Hyderabad as they’re a must-do for tourists.
ITC Kohenur, Plot No
5, Survey No 83/1, Hyderabad Knowledge City, Madhapur, (HITEC City) Hyderabad –
500081.
Ph: +9140 67660101.
A version of this article
first appeared in Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, www.luxurylifestylemag.co.uk on 21st October 2018.
