TAJ WEST END in Bengaluru - Hotel Review with Photos

India › Bengaluru Hotels › Taj West End Review
Updated: March 17, 2022

Essentials
• Location: Right opposite the racecourse.
• Hotel website: tajhotels.com
• Hotel phone: +91 (0)80 6660 5660
• Check prices for Taj West End

Review of Hotel Taj West End in Bengaluru, India.

The luxurious Taj West End hotel offers an exciting mix of colonial and modern at its sprawling property.

Taj West End – So historic, majestic, and spacious, this is the city’s finest by far.

Built over 130 years ago, the award-winning Taj beautifully retains its historic grandeur and is not unnecessarily modernized, except within the rooms. The overall design is so adorably colonial, from the carpeted staircases to the whitewashed terraces, and with no more than two levels, it’s not overbuilt in the slightest. The vast gardens are perfectly maintained and feature fish ponds, immaculate lawns, centuries-old trees, and flowers once used to cure malaria. Among grounds which are massive enough to require buggies, the amenities are exemplary and include two pools surrounded by trees. Even the lowest category rooms are utterly gorgeous, providing more space and elegance than most top-level rooms at rivals in the city center. Absolutely worth a splurge, and certainly worth visiting if staying anywhere else.

Taj West End – The Location

Address: 25 Racecourse Road. Opposite the main entrance to the racecourse in the inner north-western suburbs.
Area: Residential area, with the racecourse, golf course, and some government buildings nearby, but no shops or cafés within walking distance.
How to Get There: From the airport (35 km), take a metered taxi or arrange a pick-up with Uber or Ola (see below). About 4km from the Bengaluru City (Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna) railway terminal and adjoining Majestic (Kempegowda) bus station.

Taj West End – The Basics

Guests: Government officials, sports teams, and tourists from India and abroad.
Views: All rooms face the outstanding gardens. Those on the upper floors offer more extensive garden views.
Kitchens: The signature Tata Suite (1-only) has a kitchenette.
Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Jacuzzi in the bathroom of the very luxurious Tata Suite (1-only).
 Extras: Daily newspaper delivered to the rooms. Guests in Club Rooms and Suites receive airport transfers and access to a special lounge with happy hours.
How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
Phone: +91 (0)80 6660 5660
Email: westend.bangalore@tajhotels.com
Website: tajhotels.com

Taj West End – Amenities

Pool: Only hotel in Bengaluru with 2 pools. Both outdoors, large, and surrounded by natural shade.
Spa: Housed in the original 10-room inn from 130 years ago, the reception area at the Jiva Spa is larger than the lobbies at some top-end hotels. Wide range of special treatments in sumptuous surroundings. Yoga and meditation also available on request.
Fitness Center: As spacious as imagined, with all the latest gear.
For Families: Baby-sitting. Some limited activities for children depending on numbers.
Other Facilities: Travel desk. Money-exchange. Heritage walk of the grounds for guests. Boutiques.

Taj West End – Food and Drink

Restaurants & Bars: Mynt – Open 24 hours for buffets at breakfast and lunch. Casual, with seating outside facing the adorable gardens. Popular for Sunday brunch and high tea each afternoon. • Masala Klub – Contemporary Indian cuisine in an elegant setting inside and out. Some meals can be cooked at special tables; others served at seats under a 100-year-old tree. • Blue Ginger – Overlooking a pond, the city’s first Vietnamese restaurant is still the finest. Open-air and undercover for authentic food and smart service that continually wins awards. Attached is the exquisite Blue Bar.
Breakfast: Not included in rates, but available for an extra charge.
Room Service: Available 24/7.

Taj West End – Rooms

Room Types: Luxury Grande Rooms Garden View • Taj Club Rooms Club Lounge Access • Executive Suites 1 Bedroom Garden View • Luxury Suites 1 Bedroom Garden View • Luxury Rooms Garden View • The Tata Suite (1-only) • List of all Rooms
Smoking Rooms: Some rooms allow smoking.
Best Room: Nothing finer in the entire city than the 1-only Tata Suite. Features a living and dining room, office, kitchenette, jacuzzi, private garden, and Club Lounge benefits (e.g. happy hours and airport transfers).
For Families: All types of accommodations can fit in extra single beds, while some standard rooms – which are still huge and adorably decorated – have connecting doors. For a family of 4 or larger, book a suite.

Taj West End – Local Transport

Walking: Faces the entrance to the racecourse along a busy road. Footpaths allow some pleasant walking, but nothing to see nearby.
Public Transport: The Namma (Bengaluru) Metro has limited services but does go to the main bus and train stations. The nearest station – Vidhana Soudha – is about 2 km from the hotel.
Taxis & Auto-rickshaws: No taxis along the main road, so one is best arranged through reception. Otherwise, Uber and Ola are very common. For most trips around the city, auto-rickshaws are good enough, but drivers won’t use meters, so bargain hard.

Taj West End – What’s Nearby?

Best Nearby Restaurants & Bars

Nothing nearby, except at the Radisson Blu Atria, the closest hotel (1km) to the Taj. The Radisson offers: One Atria Café (buffets at lunch and well-priced meals all day), Tijouori (hip setting for traditional local cuisine with contemporary twists), and Whiskey Bar (intimate tables, TV sports, and poolside seats).

Otherwise, take an auto-rickshaw (3.5 km) to the UB City mall (see below) and try:

Cafe Mangii +91 (0)80 2227 0098 – Pasta, pizza, and lots more in a likable open-air setting.
Sanchez – Wide range of delicious Mexican food and an appropriate décor. Loads of fun.
Farzi Café – One in a countrywide chain of French-style bistros. Chill out with signature cocktails and live music.
Toscano – Very appealing setting, with authentic Italian food, wine bar, and daily specials.

About 250m east from the mall are pleasant café/bars, such as:

The Biere Club – Popular for its colorful setting, affordable pub-style meals, and very happy hours. Micro-brewery and trendy DJs. Red exterior easy to find on a prominent corner.
Bootlegger – Cozy, friendly, and excellent happy hours. Opposite The Biere Club.
Starbucks – Familar design and menu. On 2 levels, offering street views.

Nearby Shops

Nothing within walking distance, so take an auto-rickshaw to UB City (3.5 km). Packed with bistros and boutiques, it’s a world-class mall in a pleasant area of the city.

Taj West End – The Hotel

The 130-year old hotel maintains a lovely colonial vibe.

The majestic Taj West End hotel was originally a 10-room inn built over 130 years ago. Nothing around the hotel has been unnecessarily modernized, so it retains a lovely colonial vibe unseen elsewhere in Bengaluru.

The hotel lawns are immaculately maintained.

The lawns in front of the lobby area are immaculate.

The vast hotel grounds sometimes require buggies to get around.

Although easy to walk around (and being disoriented is inevitable), the grounds are vast enough to sometimes warrant buggies.

The hotel design is reminiscent of its colonial past.

There are so many reminders of the hotel’s colonial past, such as the whitewashed walls and wide terraces overlooking the gardens.

The second floor of the hotel is accessible via staircases lined with plush carpets.

Nothing in the hotel is higher than 2 levels. The upper floor in some sections can be accessed via staircases lined with plush carpets.

The huge lobby features a skylight and tree.

The lobby is huge and features a skylight and tree as a centerpiece.

The guest lounge at the lobby area is suitably elegant.

One of the main corridors hosts several art pieces by local artists.

One of the main corridors at the Taj West End is always lined with examples of local art.

There are a few boutiques on the grounds.

A couple of boutiques are housed within the hotel grounds.

The reception area of the spa – which is in the original hotel building – is massive.

The vast gardens are full of trees, shrubs, and rare flowers.

The gardens are vast and packed with trees, shrubs, and flowers rarely (if ever) seen anywhere in the city.

Unique among hotels in Bengaluru, the Taj offers 2 pools, both large and surrounded by trees.

One of the pools features a shady terrace.

Alongside one of the pools is a shady lounge area.

One of several restaurants at the hotel, Masala Klub offers fine Indian cuisine.

Masala Klub boasts of tables where the chef can cook in front of diners.

Some tables at the Masala Klub are designed so the chef can cook meals in front of diners.

Blue Ginger is the city' first and best Vietnamese restaurant.

Overlooking a pond, Blue Ginger is the city’s first, and still finest, Vietnamese restaurant.

Blue Bar, attached to Blue Ginger, also overlooks the pond.

The lovely Blue Bar, attached to Blue Ginger, is also set around the pond.

A substantial buffet is served at the lobby-level Mynt café.

The casual Mynt café at the lobby level serves extensive buffets for breakfast and lunch.

The Mynt café patisserie sells cakes and pastries.

The patisserie attached to the Mynt café sells cakes and other tasty treats.

The charming hotel retains the old 2-level design.

Retaining its charm and history so well, no buildings within the Taj hotel are more than 2 levels high.

All rooms feature a great colonial-era vibe.

All rooms and suites exude a colonial-era vibe not found at any other hotel in Bengaluru.

All accommodations have delightful linen, art, and furnishings.

The linen, art, and furnishings are so delightful in all the rooms and suites.

All rooms are spacious and beautifully-furnished.

Even the lowest category rooms are so spacious and beautifully furnished.

The marble bathrooms are just as elegant.

Unsurprisingly, the bathrooms are just as elegant as the bedrooms.

Rooms come with full-length windows with garden views.

All rooms and suites feature full-length windows facing the lush gardens.

One Atria Café at the Radisson Blue Atria is the closest restaurant.

The only places nearby to eat or drink are at the Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru hotel, including the One Atria Café.

The Radisson's Whiskey Bar is stylish and enjoyable.

The Whiskey Bar at the nearby Radisson hotel is stylish and offers all sorts of drinks.

The world-class UB City mall is not far from the hotel.

Only 3.5km from the hotel is the world-class UB City mall.

Café Mangii at the mall is a classy bistro and bar.

The mall is home to a dozen classy bistro/bars on the 2nd level, including Café Mangii.

Sanchez is a great Mexican restaurant at UB City.

Providing a suitably Mexican décor is Sanchez, near Café Mangii at UB City mall.

Another place offering superb meals at UB City is the open-air Farzi Café. Check rates and availability: Taj West End

Taj West End Hotel in Bengaluru, India

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