All About Bengaluru

a. Orange Suites and Inn:

This is a 3-star property located at a stone-throw distance from Kempegowda International Airport of Bengaluru. Orange Suites and Inn is an ideal business hotel for transit travellers in the city.

Address: SVLS Building, Kempegowda International Airport Road, Behind Govt. School, Chikkajala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 562157

Rooms: They have two categories of rooms- Standard and Deluxe, with contemporary decor.

Tariff: Room rent varies between INR 2,200-INR 2,800 per night

b. Hotel City Centaur International:

This is an ideal 3-star hotel, located at the heart of the city, just opposite to the Majestic Metro Station. Even the City Railways Station of Bengaluru and other touristic attractions are nearby.

Address: 74-79, Off Bangalore City Railway Station, opposite to Majestic Metro Station and Shantala Silk House Circle, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560023

Rooms: There are 3 major room categories here- Standard, Executive and Family Suite.

Tariff: Room Rent per night ranges between INR 1,200-INR 1,800.

c. Hotel Ganga Sagar

This is a 2-star hotel located in Koramangala, the IT hub of Bengaluru. If you are there in the city for business and have a budget for accommodation, this is a great option for you. It is only 1 Km from the BMTC Bus Station.

 Address: No. 3, 80 Feet Road, Next to indoor Stadium, near Passport Office, Koramangala 8th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095

Room: 3 categories of rooms are available here- Superior, Deluxe and Family room.

Tariff: Room rent per night varies between INR 1,650-INR 2,500.

a. Royal Lotus View Resotel:

This is a 3-star luxury hotel, located at a 10 minutes' driving distance from the Kempegowda International Airport. All the rooms here are provided with an excellent view of the plantations in the property.

Address: Kempegowda International Airport, Behind the ITC Factory, Tarabanahalli, Chikkajala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 562157

Rooms: The hotel has 33 well-furnished rooms

Tariff: Room tariff varies between INR 4,000-INR 8,500 per night

Royal Features: Lily Restaurant, Floating Cafe, Lotus Bar, Lotus Spa, Sports Arena

b. Hotel Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites

This 4-star property is located ideally in Koramangala, the IT crowded area of the city. Being a premium business accommodation in Bengaluru, it mainly attracts corporate travellers. It is also very close to shopping malls like Forum Mall and Mantri Mall.

Address: Hosur Road, Opposite to Madiwala Traffic Police Station, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560068

Rooms: There are 3 categories of rooms available here - Executive Suites, Deluxe Suites, and Premium Suites

Tariff: Rack Rate starts from INR 5,800-INR 14,200 per night

Dining: A multi-cuisine restaurant- Tangerine, a Japanese Speciality Restaurant- Fukusuke, and Gallop, a Lounge-cum-bar

c. Ibis Bengaluru City Centre:

This is a 3-start hotel of the Accor chain group in the city centre of Bengaluru. It offers an ideal abode to business travellers.

Address: Plot No-30, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, Off Richmond Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027

Rooms: The hotel provides 173 well-appointed rooms of contemporary decor.

Tariff: The room rent varies between INR 3,499-INR 3,999 per night

Dining: Spice It- a multi-cuisine restaurant and The Hub and KA01, the Bars inside the property

a. The Ritz-Carlton:

This is one of the best 5-star properties in Bengaluru, located in the CBD or Central Business District of the city. The property comes with the grandeur and elegance of Indian Heritage Palaces

Address: 99, Residency Road, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025

Rooms: Th Ritz offers 8 different kinds of rooms and suites namely, Deluxe, Deluxe Premier, Club Deluxe, and Grand Deluxe King Rooms, and Executive, Club Executive, Panorama, and Ritz-Carlton Suites

Tariff: Room rent at Ritz starts from INR 12,000 per night

Dining: There are 8 dining options here namely, Ganache, The Market, The Lantern, Riwaz, Bang (for roof-top experience), The Pool Bar, The Ritz-Carlton Bar, The Lobby Lounge

b. The Leela Palace Bangalore:

This 5-star property has been declared as the safest luxury hotel in Bengaluru. It holds the 10th rank amongst the Top 10 City hotels in Asia, granted by the Travel+Leisure of USA readers' Survey records in 2019.

Address: 23, HAL Old Airport Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Kodihalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560008

Rooms: There are 284 rooms, 44 Royal Club Rooms, and 29 Suites

Tariff: Room rate starts from INR 10,500 per night and can extend up to INR 2,62,500.

Dining: 6 multi-cuisine or speciality restaurant namely, Citrus, Jamavar, Le Cirque Signature, Zen, and The Cake Shop

c. ITC Gardenia, A Luxury Collection Hotel:

This is a 5-star property that is thematically based on the Garden city of Bengaluru. The property is ideally located close to the CBD and the IT Hub.

Address: No. 1, Residency Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025

Rooms: There are 292 well-appointed rooms

Tariff: The room rent starts from INR 9,000 per night.

Dining: There are 6 in-house dining options - Edo Japanese Restaurant and Bar, Cubbon Pavilion, Ottimo-Cucina Italiana, K&K, Lotus Pavilion, Fabelle- the Pub.

• Graffiti Church Street
• Lal Bagh
• Street Art in Malleshwaram

• Cubbon Park
• ISKCON Temple
• Rangoli Metro Art Center

• Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium
• Jawahar Bal Bhavan
• Innovative Film City

• Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park
• Lumbini Park
• Ulsoor Lake

• Sri Someshwara Swami Temple
• Tipu Sultan Fort and Place
• Chikka Tirupathi Temple

• Dirt biking at The Big Rock Motor Park, Shahpur. Dirt biking costs INR 3,500 per session.
• Exploring the Anthargange Caves. It roughly costs about INR 3,000 per person to do this trek.
• Artificial wall climbing with Mars Adventures at Sarjapur Road. The price varies based on the height you want to scale.

Top 3 art and cultural exhibition centres:

• Sahara Art and Craft Exhibition HMT- Jalahalli
• Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath - Kumarakrupa Road
• Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts - Mallathalli

 Top 3 art and cultural fairs:

• India Art Festival: An annual fair in Bengaluru for contemporary artwork.
• Chitra Santé- The largest art festival which is held at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
• Rasa Sanje - an annual music and dance festival

The Garden City observes more than 20 festivals in a year. Out of these, 3 important ones are -

• Karaga Festival to worship the Shakti Goddess in March/April
• Ugadi, the Kannada New Year that is celebrated in March/April
• Habba, marking the year ending in December

1. Santé Spa Cuisine - Multi-cuisine option
2. Rajdhani Thali Restaurant - Indian cuisine
3. South Indies - South Indian speciality

1.  Kannada Cafe- Quick South Indian Bites
2. Oota Bangalore- Authentic Kannad food with elegance
3. Shree Venkateshwara North Karnataka hotel - Quick South Indian Bites

1. Shivana Gulkand Centre for Ghee drenched Dal Holige, Masala Dosa, and Rose Gulkand
2. RR's Blue Mount for Bombay Sandwich
3. Chetty's Corner for twirl potato wafers

1. Karavalli of the Gateway Hotel for authentic Konkan, Mangalorean, and Keralan Seafood
2. Alba of JW Marriott for Italian food
3. Grasshopper for Romantic European dining experience

When it comes to transportation in the modern world, we seek app-based cabs first. Top 3 app-based cab options in Bengaluru are -

• Ola Cabs with a base fare starting at INR 44
• Uber Cabs charge a minimum base fare of INR 44
• Meru Cabs charge a base fare of INR 19.50 during the day and INR 21.50 for the night

1. Buses from BMTC or Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation are the cheapest mode of travel. You can avail a daily pass for non-AC buses at INR 65 for unlimited rides.
2. Autorickshaws on an average charge a minimum of INR 25 for the first 1.9 Km and INR 13 for every extra Km after.
3. Namma Metro Railway, where the minimum ticket price is INR 8.50.
4. The suburban railways of Bengaluru called Bengaluru Commuter Rail. The minimum and maximum ticket prices are INR 10 and INR 60, respectively.

To know more about the Government buses in Bengaluru, check the official website https://mybmtc.karnataka.gov.in/english.

• Commercial Street: this elite street is famous for its bargain clothing. You get a variety of products here from clothing, to footwear and accessories.
• Chickpet: this is the budget paradise for people who love silk.
• Dubai Plaza: this place has various outlets for apparel and accessories. Head over to the Tibetan Market for the best prices.

• UB City: the first-ever luxury mall of India in the Central Business District of Bengaluru
• Mantri Square Mall: located at Malleswaram
• Orion Mall: the third-largest shopping mall in Bengaluru

• Prasiddhi Silk - Domlur
• Mysore Saree Udyog - Kamaraj Road
• Angadi Silk- Jayanagar

In Bengaluru, the last BMTC bus leaves the bus stop at 10 PM. This is your last option if you wish to take public transport. If you are travelling late at night in Bengaluru, it is recommended that you hire a cab. App-based cabs are the safest option.

Though Bengaluru Police has introduced many SOS and live map options, late night travel is not an extremely safe option here. We recommend that you avoid travel in the early/late hours if you are a solo lady traveller.

Local currency in Bengaluru is Indian Rupees. You may find it extremely helpful to carry coins/loose change and currency notes of a smaller denomination while using public transport and in road/street-side shops.

Currency exchange points are mostly open until 7 PM.

If you plan to bargain, it is recommended that you visit places like Commercial Street and Dubai Plaza. The flea markets offer you the best scope in bargaining. 

Public transport operates on a fixed rate basis. So, you do not have any scope for negotiation there. Some auto rickshaws do not run on a meter. If you want to take a specific route and the meter is not operational, you can put your bargaining skills to use.

Tipping in Bengaluru is not mandatory. But, when you are dine in a good restaurant, you are charged a service fee amounting to 10-15% of your bill amount.

• Halo stands for Hello
• Subhodaya stands for Good Morning
• Subha Ratri stands for Good Night

• Try and avoid the word, "thank you" to show your gratitude to the locals. Some may take offence to it. You can consider exchanging friendly smiles instead.
• Head bobbing is considered as a sign of acceptance.

• Bengaluru experiences a Tropical Savanna type of climate, with a distinct seasonal difference between dry and wet weather.
• The highest temperature experienced is about 38 degrees.
• The lowest temperature experienced is around 8 degrees in winter.
• Monsoon months are marked in Bengaluru from June to October with June bringing in torrential showers.

From February to September, Bengaluru remains hot. So, if you are travelling in these months, remember to pack light cotton clothing for comfort. October to January is relatively cooler; you need not carry heavy woollens, but it is always good to carry a light shawl/hoodie. If you are travelling between June and October, do not forget to pack your umbrella.

• Ambulance: 102
• Police: 100
• Fire Brigade: 101
• Women Helpline: 1091
• Child Helpline: 1098

• Inflammable objects, firearms, and knives, are strictly prohibited on public transport.
• Pets are not allowed on public transport.
• Consumption of alcohol and smoking is strictly forbidden in public.

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