VILLA POTTIPATI

i have been travelling to bangaluru so often in the last one year that i decided to stop travelling businesss class and also to refrain from staying in 5star hotels.besides saving a good amount of money for my company which it can ill afford in its present juncture,i like the thrill of booking my tickets on the net in the last minute,taking a printout of the eticket and waving it to the security at the airport entrance who earlier used to look a trifle surprised when they saw this sheet of paper being waved at them instead of a regular ticket.no more.they ask "e ticket"? now they give a broad smile and let you in.that is the way flying has changed in our country. courtesy air deccan,spicejet,go or even the omniprresent,omnipotent and ubiquitious indian airlines,sorry indian.and ofcourse the going- to-be behemoth jet airways.

bangalauru hotels have become frightfully expensive.windsor manor charges you upwards of tenthousand for a single night.that is if you are lucky to get accomodation.there are more rooms in demand than the supply and therefore these 5 star hotels are having a blast.i decided to stop this mindless expenditure and decided to try lower tariff hotels.i also stay at the bangalore club but then unless you book well in advance the chance of getting a room are very remote.the tariff is only rs 1000.hotels that have neat and clean rooms,towels,bedlinen and comfortable ac sans all the five star trappings.i tried the atria several times(rs 5000) and was quite happy.this time i decided to try villa pottipati.a funny name i first thought when i read about it in an ia inflight magazine.i tore the pages and kept them with me for future reference. in my previous visit all the 15 or so rooms were full;so they said bad luck.please try in your next visit.this time i was lucky.i got "anekal" for rs 2500 basic plus 12% taxes which takes you to rs 2800.breakfast on the house,quite surroundings,courteous service,plenty of magazines to read,elegant and compact rooms,well-lit and a comfortable bed,simple dinner service,locker and tv.good bathroom with solar hot water connection.it was so hot even with the cold water tap opened full. i think i will stay there during my next visit too.besides all the above,it is only a five mintes drive from our factory at rajajinagar.

located at malleshwaram.the tambrahm bastion,the house belonged to a reddy family from the village of pottipati in andhra pradesh.i learnt that a frenchman has bought a number of these old mansions and palaces/havelis and converted them into hotels without disturbing their oldworld charm.for example,vpp has red oxide flooring,old rosewood cupboards and alcoves,huge rosewood double beds and other period furniture.a big lawn in the front where the villa boys play cricket! sreesanths and piyush chawlas have fired the interest of our youth so much that in every streetcorner you find youngsters playing cricket with a tennis or rubber ball,makedo stumps and bats made by the nomads from rajasthan.

visit www.neemranahotels.com and see what they have to offer.