I had a bad experience with ‘Membership Clubs’ in the past so it was with some hesitation that I went in for the Renaissance Prestige membership. It was for the Renaissance , Powai. I encashed the free stay and found the overall experience to be damn good. The ambience was great. I’m the type who likes quiet, secluded places. And that is what the Renaissance is. While yet remaining close enough to the noise and dust of the city.
I spent the week end there. The check-in was quick, efficient but a tad slow for my liking. I was attended to every second, though. I had to catch a late lunch before I went to my room. Needless to say lunch was as expected…bland. Elsewhere I’ve reviewed food in hotels and have said that hotel food is bland…catering to tourist tastes. So I made the salt n pepper shaker my friend.
I had upgraded my room to a lake facing one and MAN it was a KILLER view. Guys, if you’ve got an anniversary coming up, an angry wife to pacify or a mistress threatening exposure GET THE LAKE FACING ROOM. Total silence, big comfy bed placed in front of the window overlooking the lake, what more could a gal ask for? Perfect place to start a family!
I dozed off and surfaced in time for dinner. Sauntered down to the sea-food buffet and predictably ended up with a bevy of bland stuff. Once again Mr. Salt & Mr Peppa to the rescue. The atmos is very conducive to talking and catching up. Most restaurants are noisy and one can hardly hear oneself thnk. But not so at the Renaissance, Powai. One thing to remember; like most hotels this one too caters to foreigners… exclusively. So everything is skewed to them. Eg. don’t expect to see a bucket in the toilet or a hand-faucet. Forget about dal makhni or kheema do pyaaza…unless their having an “Indian food festival”. Then too its gonna be lacking conventional Indian “bite”. Of course, a buffet spread will have 2 – 3 Indian dishes. But don’t get your hopes up. What we Indians enjoy makes the foreigners cry. And you can’t afford to have your clientele crying.
Oh yes…scattered all over the place are small baskets full of the juiciest, crispiest, shiniest, bestest blood red apples you could ever set eyes on. I went wild gorging myself on it. The A bar is yet another place where you can totally chill out. Of course the drinks are steep but the ambience is great. A crooner was belting out a few numbers and the atmosphere was overall relaxed. Very chilled out. Of course all this comes for a price. And 4 beers, 2 snacks and endless salted cashew nuts (complementary) set me back by around 2, 500.
About the membership itself. It’s a 1 year thing that entitles a person to various benefits like free stay, discount dining, discount staying etc. for abt 5g’s. May sound like a good deal but one has to ask if one really eats out so often and is willing to set aside that much for a place which is a wee bit off the beaten track.