Owing to the Marriott/SPG hotel category changes I wanted to move up some of the reviews I was doing. One of those two reviews happens to be the Sheraton Grand Brigade Gateway, which will be up to a category 4 property from category 3 based on those changes.
Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel At Brigade Gateway
26/1 Dr. Rajkumar Road, Malleswaram-Rajajinagar
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560055 India
Phone: (91)(80) 4252 1000
SPG Category 3
SPG Category 4 (10,000 points per night) as of March 6, 2018
Reservation Details:
I booked the stay using cash for one of the rooms @ 6000 INR + tax per night and the other for 7,000 Starpoints per night. I upgraded the cash paid room using my dad’s SPG Platinum suite night awards and the stay included airport transfer as an additional benefit.
Arrival:
The hotel car was already waiting for us upon arrival in Bangalore. Since our flight from Delhi was severely delayed due to fog, everyone was tired, and hungry. Unfortunately, the ride from the Bangalore Airport to the Sheraton is almost 2 hours because how far away the airport is from the city and because of Bangalore traffic. The hotel is located in an upscale area known as Malleswaram, which is extremely close to all the shops, pubs, and offices in the city. Traffic was a beast that evening and it took us almost 3 hours to get to the hotel! Luckily, we were able to use the driver’s phone and order food to be delivered to our room before arrival. Something much appreciated from the hotel’s part.
Lobby:
The lobby of the Sheraton features some lounge seating and business workstations. It was nothing more than what you find at updated Sheratons today.
Check In:
Check in was a swift process and was done in our room. My dad was thanked for being SPG platinum and we were given a benefit list which included Club Lounge Access, free breakfast buffet, and free internet. The food we had ordered was already waiting in our room within a food warmer or oven (whatever they call those things). The Indian food we had ordered was of excellent quality and was extremely hot when we got it out of the warmer.
Junior Executive Suite:
We were given a junior executive suite connected to a executive double room featuring two queen beds. The suite had a living room, powder room, and bedroom with a full master bathroom.
The suite also featured a mini bar with a separate sink and bar stools. The food was on a cart next to it…
Not only was the suite itself spacious, but the room attached directly to the suite was as well:
Both the room and the suite’s bedroom featured a double vanity full sized bathroom:
The accommodations were exceptional other than the drab ‘Shine’ branded toiletries. I just don’t understand why they don’t upgrade those at least at the Sheraton Grand. Water pressure was good, and Wi-Fi was fast.
The Gym:
The fitness center is located on the high floor (don’t recollect which) next to a rooftop pool. The gym is open 24 hours and has a good selection of equipment.
The Executive Club
One of the best benefits of the SPG Amex Business Card (my personal affiliate referral link) is free access to Sheraton Clubs around the world. This Sheraton Club offers breakfast, snacks, and evening dessert along with canapés. It’s definitely one of the nicest clubs you’ll see at any Sheraton. I don’t have pictures of the food since we had breakfast at the restaurant, but I can assure you that the spread was really good.
Breakfast @ Feast
Platinum members receive breakfast at the hotel restaurant called Feast and the spread is humongous.
The buffet includes Western, Indian, and Eastern options. Everything was top notch in quality and service was excellent during the 3 days we were there. Taking pictures of the buffet had to be done a bit secretively because the hotel staff would insist on plating something for me every time I took a picture. That’s nice, but completely unnecessary guys!
As always breakfast buffets in Asia encourage binge eating and hence the gym pictures (guilty conscience). As a note: we also had lunch at Feast on one of the days and the buffet was enormous. I really enjoyed having the choice to pretty much eat whatever I wanted at a reasonable price (for foreigners).
Location & Convenience
The Sheraton Brigade Gateway is located right across from the Orion Mall and is connected to it via skyway or airbridge. Since it was still a little while before Christmas when we were there, we headed over for some last minute shopping:
Bored by the mall, my dad, sister, cousin, and I went bowling in the alley downstairs. It was my dad’s first time (so he says) and beginner’s luck allowed him to destroy us.
Though the shops at the mall were overpriced (think American brand names +100% in prices) I must admit that the Orion Mall did feature an epic food court. The listings can be found here. As a vegetarian I always enjoy the variety of veggie options in India (not salad options) and I can actually enjoy the McDonalds burgers there.
Bottom Line:
The Sheraton Grand Brigade Gateway is one of the best Sheratons I have ever seen. I can completely see why this is one of the designated ‘Grand’ hotels. The Platinum recognition is exceptional and the hotel has one of the best Sheraton clubs, which makes it a great value for SPG Business card holders. Though the airport is extremely far from the hotel (what good accommodation in BLR isn’t?), the proximity of the hotel to shopping, nightlife, and corporate offices in the city makes up for it. Service was exceptional throughout our stay and it is certainly my go to hotel in Bangalore.
As for the category change: this really sucks. I visited this property while it was relatively unoccupied and featured rates lower than 5500 INR (~$100/night). More recently rates on average have doubled and I rarely see anything below the 10000 INR (~$170/night) mark, making it a more worthwhile redemption. So if I had plans to stay at this hotel, I would book immediately to save 3,000 points per night. After all you can always cancel if your plans change.
