East Coast Road in Chennai saw its door opening to another beautiful 5 star beach resort , called Intercontinental Resorts & Spa, almost an year back. I had been quite wanting to go and luckily got this chance through a blogger meet that was happening here. This was organized by Intercontinental Chennai & Passing Ports , along with a full tour of the resort including the facilities ,rooms and restaurants .At this juncture that Intercontinental resorts Chennai seems to stand out, quite clearly from the rest.
The famous east coast road in Chennai has a string of beach resorts. This starts from VGP and extends all the way till Pondicherry. But only a handful of them are actually worthy enough and probably classified under the premium or 5-star category. So this IHG owned Intercontinental resorts Chennai comes at a great time when there is a dearth of resorts. This is ideal for a weekend getaway, yet very close to the city. The resort lives upto its expectations in all fronts , true to its name & the brand it represents.
Intercontinental Resort Architecture
The resort architecture is inspired from the Pallava Dynasty and you can clearly see it emerging, right from the foyer and alighting area. A grand courtyard like space fills the main area along with performance areas designed like a dance stage. This is separated by a lotus pond with a viewing area on the other end. This definitely reminds us of a King’s Darbar (a performance area fit for the kings in an open space layout).
The wide corridors in the right with torch fires lit up at night makes it all the more delightful and authentic. Its way better than the artificial LED lights that’s usually present in most hotels. On the other side of this courtyard lies a swimming pool,large enough to fit in all the guests in the hotel at the same time.
Rooms @ The Intercontinental Resorts Chennai
A quick glance at the rooms corridor says the same story . A discrete set of steps leading to a narrow pathway, with stone walls on either sides. You initially feel like walking into a secure fort. The room entrance appears like one of those private residences of a member of the royal family. It doesn’t have the typical hotel room layout with one door almost close to each other. These separate entrances gives many people, the much desired privacy they desire.
When you are inside, suddenly you feel like you have walked in from a monolithic era to a technology era. A dashboard that controls basically everything in the room is placed near the bed. A bathtub that’s shaped like a large vessel is placed on the other corner of the room next to the bathroom. You can naturally find all the other amenities you’d expect in a star hotel. This includes rain shower heads, 42′ Flat screen TV’s, a mini entrance area, coffee cube machines etc.
The resort rooms roughly starts around 6-7K INR (Check for prices here)
Beach @ Intercontinental
The best thing about the Intercontinental resorts Chennai is their private beach at the far end. It’s super peaceful, quiet and more importantly spotlessly clean. They even setup a beachside restaurant to have dinner by the sea. Beach access is available for all guests, even if you are there just to have lunch or dinner.
If you are game for a round of tennis , you can find yourself a large professional court (for a small fee)
Restaurants
They have two in-house restaurants, namely Melting Pot (Indian & Continental cuisine) while the other one is Tao of Peng (Japanese and Chinese cuisine). You can read my food review of Melting Pot in my lifestyle marketing blog. Due to the latest Govt highway rule, the lounge bar has been temporarily closed and they await further orders to reopen.
If you are in the mood for some relaxation, head out to their in-house Spa. This premium spa comes along with private bath tubs, open air shower heads and offers different types of massages . Their specialized offering includes a couples massage along with spa treatments.
So if you are planning for a good break/weekend getaway, the Intercontinental resorts Chennai should be your ideal place to be.