Our recent holiday to Mysore had a hint of colonial charm and was peppered with interesting flavors of gelato…
I believe there’s a difference between traveling and holidaying, and both are mutually exclusive. When I travel I see, observe, learn and do. When I holiday I assimilate. On our recent visit to Mysore, I found myself appreciating its tranquil charm in a way I hadn’t before. The broad, tree-lined avenues, the elegant colonial architecture, and the notable absence of towering buildings and construction sites transported me to a bygone era. I could almost picture a white Ambassador “speeding” importantly down the road…
A Centuries-Old Hotel
The Metropole in Mysore retains an old world charm that you don’t want to miss.
We stayed at the Hotel Metropole, a 104 year old hotel located in the heart of the city. It was originally built for the European guests of the Mysore Maharaja. The property was leased to a private company for some time by the Government of Karnataka, before it eventually shut down. In 2004, the Royal Orchid group renovated the hotel and reopened it, and that’s how you see it today. The hotel has a relaxing, almost Goan vibe – with walls painted white and yellow, and a courtyard covered by lush trees. Despite the foliage, mosquitoes weren’t a problem!
I was familiar with the hotel. Ashtangis in the 80s treated themselves to a day by the pool here, a luxury few other hotels offered at the time. The furniture is strong solid wood, and the open verandas have retro black and white marble flooring – all reminiscent of the Raj. My head swam with images of the bungalows and rest houses of The Raj Quartet and it was like breathing the era of whiskey sodas and memsahibs. Were the ghosts of British officers past still roaming the halls? Was a heartbroken memsahib still looking for her long lost love, or a disgruntled sepoy looking for justice? Had guests ever heard footsteps on the wooden staircase and turned around to see no one, or heard voices and furniture being thrown in a room thought to be unoccupied? The manager, Mr. Rishi Ravindran, responded with a firm “no.”
Looking forward to heading back to the Metropole again, hopefully for a longer staycation.
One rainy evening I sat with my laptop and a cup of green tea to read everything I could Google about the hotel Metropole. I came across a gem of a blog by Barry Lewis, a researcher who remembers the “old” Hotel Metropole…
I also love the fact that this hotel is on the busy Rani Laxmibai Road, but nestled between dense foliage, so you’re cocooned in your own mini forest of dense green (perhaps I exaggerate, but you do feel sheltered from the chaos of the traffic outside.)
We had breakfast in the hotel courtyard on both days, under these beautiful old trees. There’s also live music which makes the entire experience even more pleasant.
The Old House – Mysuru Filter Coffee Gelato Anyone?
The historical aspects stand in stark contrast with the new cafes and restaurants catering to the newer, younger and slightly upmarket Mysore crowd. We dined at The Old House, a restaurant which advertises heavily on the Mysore-Bangalore highway. Their food is great (some amazing wood fired pizzas), but the pièce de résistance is the gelato. I would recommend their Mysuru Filter Coffee flavor. The ambience is calm but lively. And they are pet-friendly! Parking is also not a problem because of Mysore’s wide roads.
We liked The Old House so much, in fact, that we dined here both nights we were in Mysore.
Guru Sweets – A Mysore Legacy
I love family trips where there’s something for everyone. While I was soaking in some vintage vibes, Animesh enjoyed the food, Kalindi splashed in the bathtub, my in laws did a little sleuthing. They found the shop that first created the Mysore Pak. According to the owners of Guru Sweets, their ancestor, Kakasura Madappa, was the royal cook. One day he accidentally put together besan, ghee and sugar and the Mysore Pak was born. We got a few kilos as gifts for friends – after all, what can beat fresh Mysore Pak directly from Mysore?
Of all my trips to Mysore, I enjoyed this one the most. Mysore has always been the sleepy town next to the bustling metropolis of Bangalore. Simmering in Mysore’s particular style of slow is something that needs time and intention. I look forward to returning to Mysore soon. I feel like I’ve just started to really see the city.
I’ve blogged about Mysore before. Yogis will find my blogs about my time at KPJAYI interesting, particularly this one about attending Saraswati’s classes. Bookworms will love this blog which has pictures of RK Narayanan’s house, when it was being renovated to open as a museum for the public.
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