Crowne Plaza Adyar Park and InterContinental Mahabalipuram hosted a FAM (Familiarization Trip) to select group of Bloggers.  Both the properties are part of the huge InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG).   We were scheduled to stay at the amazing property and be part of the special #DakshinTurns30 celebrations.  It’s a great achievement for a restaurant to survive as palette of people keeps changing.  Also, in the trip, a visit to the InterContinental Mahabalipurm and lunch at Tao of Peng was planned.  But this article, I will only be focussing on the Crowne Plaza Adyar Park.

Grand Welcome at Crowne Plaza Adyar Park

Crowne Plaza Adyar Park is also the official home for the Chennai Super King (CSK) IPL team players.  All the crickets including Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan, Bravo, stay at this property during their home games.

To show the love for the CSK team, they have two popular hashtags – #WHISTLEPODU and #YELLOVE artwork at the entrance.  There are plenty of pictures of the CSK team players that looks like hall-of-fame.

The traditional welcome at the entrance included a ‘Tika’ to the forehead and some fresh lime-juice.  Its very necessary that any guest is given a cooler on entering the hotel as the weather at Chennai is very warm.

Property Tour

The huge property has very good ambiance that will wow any guests.  At the entrance one can find a small water-body that has real lotus-flowers, that looks very beautiful.  There are nearly 260 well appointed rooms in the property making it one of the largest located in city central.

Dining Options

There are 4 restaurants including – The Residency, Dakshin, On the Rocks and Cappuccino.  They also have Lounge bar, Westinster and a discotheque, Gatsby.

The Residency serves some of the best buffet spreads perfect for office and large families.  Dakshin restaurant serves special South Indian dishes from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, Telangana, Karantaka and Pondicherry.  On the Rocks restaurant is meant for those looking to have some Steaks and Grill along with the best selection of wines & single-malts.  Cappuccino is the 24×7 Coffee Shop that’s perfect for evening snacks and morning breakfast.  Its also a place where one can hang out and get some of the best Filter Coffee.

Interior Design

The decors around the property looks amazing and it’s been well thought after.  Among the creativities, artwork of ants on wall catches everyone attention.  It looks like real ants walking across the wall, but on closer inspection one can make out they its just a piece of art.

Lighting used across the property looks quite young, bright and vibrant.  There are plenty of good painting put up across the property that enhances the looks of the wall.

Fitness & Wellness

In-house spa and saloon are present for guests to pamper themselves during the stay.

Club Suite

I need to make a special mentioned of the Club Suite at the property that’s 14,000 sq ft wide.  This 2 BHK room has meeting rooms, inhouse kitchen, mediation centre and many more features.

Room & Facilities

The rooms in Crown Plaza Adyar Park are setup across 2 sections and they are very well designed.  Beautiful finish on the walls and roof, leads up to the individual rooms that have special designs on the doors.

The room looks large and had a Kings Bed that’s perfect for a family or a couple to stay.  From the windows, I could see the busy TTK Road at Chennai.  The rooms have very good A/C system and its easier to set temperatures.

Coffee machines, cups and coffee accessories are tucked away inside a cupboard that looks quite elegant.  A small mini-bar is setup below the coffee machine that has beer, small portion of alcoholic drinks and other sodas.

Huge long table is start from one end of the living room to another end.  Every room seems to have a huge 55” LED TV that shows all the channels.  There are multiple plug points all around the room for charging mobile, laptop, pods, tabs.

The beds are very comfortable, and I felt very cosy sleeping in it.  Bathroom is also very well setup with Bath-tub, separate Shower & Toilet section.  All the necessary items needed for business traveller are present inside the bathroom.

Something very interesting that I noticed is that they have kept water-bottles all around.  It makes it convenient for guests, who don’t need to walk up every time to pick a water from one spot.  Many folks might find it amusing but for guests on leisure trip, expect maximum comfort.

Cook-Off and Mixology Session

The hotel is known for years for also its food and cocktails.

There are few select dishes served in the restaurant, that’s only available in Crowne Plaza Adyar.  Chef Deva did a special cook-off session and made following dishes – Vazhai Shunti, Banana Dosa & Pacha Milagi Mandi.  The taste of every dish was just amazing and now I know why these are the best across the city.

We also had special mixology session by award winning Mixologist Krishnan. He made 3 unique cocktails that had different preparation & mixing styles.  The drinks he made were Curry Leaf Mojito, Naval & Dabra.  All the cocktails had Vodka as the base, but the smart addition of ingredient almost nullified the alcohol effect.  I enjoyed the flavour of every cocktail and hoping that we get the same in Bangalore & elsewhere.

Dakshin Restaurant

A legendary restaurant that has been around for nearly 30 years that it’s the go to place in the city for South Indian food.  The hotel has been around for nearly 32 years and the restaurant has almost been there since its inception.

The theme of the restaurant are the beautiful Thanjavur Paintings and idols of god.  Just outside the hotel one can find an antique cupboard that has a collection of Silver and Brass cups & other vessels.

Entrance of the restaurant, one can find a beautiful statue of Lord Ganesha.  Every table has been beautifully setup and every seat look pictures perfect.  Guests get to experience eating their food in Silver vessels.  Right inside the restaurant, we can also see a beautiful statue of Lord Nataraja in the famous dancing pose.

The taste of food in the restaurant is consistent and team of Chef have been doing a great job.  Chef Vasu who leads the team has been around from the time of its inception.

Another interesting thing about the hotel is the special way in which the Filter Coffee is served.  The expert in the hotel, can be seen pouring the coffee from Tumbler to Lota from a height of 1 meter.  He has perfected it well and pour it correctly without looking at it.  Apart from watching the coffee pouring act, the aromas of coffee energize the room with nice aroma.  The ‘Filter Coffee’ at Dakshin is also the favourite of legendary cricket MS Dhoni.

30 Years Anniversary Celebration

To celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of the Dakshin hotel, the swimming pool area was decked up.  We could watch and listen to artists playing some soothing Carnatic music.  Guests were welcomed by a lady who worn the traditional Tamil Nadu style attire.

There were separate counters serving dishes from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana cuisines.

Along with good food, music, there was an elaborate bar-counter for guests to take a drink by the pool.

On the Rocks

This beautiful restaurant serves some of the best grill and stakes.  The first thing a guest can notice at entrance, is the huge collection of wines on display.  Anyone would fall in love with the lighting inside as its dark but just enough for guests to see each other and the food.

There are some tables, that are perfect for a candle light dinner while couple are out on a romantic date.

Gatsby – Discotheque and Pub

We always heard the local governments putting restrictions on serving liquor post 12 midnight.  The rule applies to every other place except the Crowne Plaza Adyar Park.  Special license is available for Gatsby to serve liquor 24-hours in the day.  But they do keep it open until 5am in the morning.

The place looks quite cool with 2 different dance floor section that are meant for couples.  But bachelors need for feel bad as they can enjoy sipping a drink across the bar counter.  There is also a small section on the 1^st level where one can take a drink and overlook the dancers & DJ performing.

Music is very catchy, and place attracts the best crowd from across the city.  I also heard that many folks drive down to have fun at Gatsby and get back the next morning.

Cappuccino – 24 hr Coffee Shop

The place might look like any other coffee-shop, but ambiance is top notch. Seating arrangement are done in such a way that there is good distance between individual tables, yet it looks cosy.

I enjoyed having some of the evening snacks and morning breakfast.  There is a huge breakfast buffet spread in the morning with multiple live counters.  Guests can take food a plate and sit in the section next to the pool area.

Other Facilities

The travellers visiting the property can visit the small store and purchase some of the artwork for memories.

Hotel specially believes in giving comfort to every type of guests that stay at the property.  Few things on the lines include.

• Accessible Parking especially for guests on wheelchair
• Accessible Public Area
• Accessible Guest Room & Bathroom
• Hearing-impaired Accessibility
• Vision-impaired Accessibility
  

  

There and Onsite Business for companies that are looking to host their private meeting with clients.

Final Thoughts

It was an amazing experience visiting the Crowne Plaza Adyar Park. I loved the ambiance of the property and the service staff.  The room I stayed in was one of the best as it had great view of the city as well it had all the comforts need for traveller. Enjoyed the South Indian food at the iconic Dakshin restaurant and feel that it’s the best place across India.  Crowne Plaza Adyar Park has the right balance of traditional and modern-ness, that attracts people from all generations.

Kudos to Mr.Jit Bose – Area Director of Sales & Market, South India, for planning the entire FAM Trip.  I am looking forward for many more FAM Trips to IHG Properties going forward.

More Information

Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park
132 TTK Road, Chennai – 600018
India

Phone +91-44-24994101