Rainbow Byte

At Conran & Partners's Park Bangalore, the rich palette of India meets the information age

Abby Bussel -- Interior Design, 1/1/2002 12:00:00 AM

THE BOUTIQUE HOTEL has indisputably gone global, with stylish lodgings less a surprise than an expectation from Iceland to Australia. India is no exception. The Apeejay Surrendra Group, owner of four Park hotels in India, turned to Tina Ellis of London's Conran & Partners to transform a three-star hotel in a nondescript modern building into a luxurious habitat for the Bangalore-bound, design-conscious traveler.

Located on urban Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bangalore—the Silicon Valley of India—the 110-room Park draws on the subcontinent's traditionally saturated hues. Color is, in fact, the driving force in an otherwise fairly minimalist vocabulary. The vivid blocks of blue, red, and yellow paint that demarcate the streetside balconies are the first indication of a distinctive palette at work. Inside, the ground floor's 24-hour coffee shop, Monsoon, features indigo blue seating juxtaposed with cylindrical light fixtures in burnt-orange glass. Upstairs, each floor has a color scheme representing an Indian landscape. Iris purple and pale lime on one floor suggest the mountains; saffron yellow and ultramarine on another recall a desert oasis.

Chromatics aside, the Park is rich in big-hotel amenities: bar, restaurant, banquet hall, screening room, library, conference room, gift shop, and gym. The pool, accompanied by wood gazebos, is lined with dark blue mosaic tile, and luxurious materials pervade the hotel's interior, too. The lobby is wrapped in an aqua silk curtain, with a creamy sandstone floor and a reception desk in white marble; black leather lines the elevator. Upstairs, guest rooms are outfitted with metal-framed four-poster beds, oak and leather desks, and metal and glass cabinets that hold mini-bars, data ports, and other electronic gadgetry. Finally—in a nod to Bangalore's technology industry—the lucky few with top-floor suites enjoy the luxury of a personal computer equipped with Internet access.