What aspect of a vacation trip is of utmost importance ? The place of stay of-course !! And when the place is associated with the Taj brand, the expectations become a notch high. With that expectation we set foot at The Gateway Hotel on a trip to Mangalore. Enter the hotel and this nice little fountain welcomes one with a beautiful chandelier over it.

Take a turn and be impressed by the beautiful ambiance of the reception area with a nice decor on the wall and perfect comfortable couches to sink in after a tiring road trip.

A very smooth check in process allowing us to rest in the couches with a welcome drink while assisting us to complete the formalities while being seated ! We had the rooms booked online through the hotel’s website and that added to a smooth process. The  Front Office staff  and the duty manager were on top of things and also came up to the rooms to show us around.

We had two rooms booked for a family vacation and were given adjacent to each other which was perfect. The view from the lobby and the room is great for a sunset view.

Superior Rooms : We had booked superior category rooms and they were truly superior. Spacious enough, neatly maintained, cleanliness was there and comes with a view since its located in one of the top floors.

The couch, the coffee table, the desk, the bathroom, the decor, the curtains were all perfect to the T.  Air condition and ventilation was good with manual control panel for us to adjust the temperature as needed.

The bathroom had a complimentary dental kit, shower cap and other essential toiletries and were of good quality I must say. Towels were clean as well.

Dine-In : After a tiring trip, it was all but obvious to opt for in-room dining, We went in for an all vegetarian order with dum biryani, kadai paneer, some bread and dosa which came to the room in about 30 mins and served hot. Taste good in everything and brownie points on presentation too !

Restaurants :

After some much needed rest and a wonderful sleep overnight in one of the comfortable mattresses, it was time to head down to try out the buffet breakfast at the —

Port Cafe – The place is partly indoor with tables in the open area poolside as well. With Summer setting in , would have preferred to have seated inside but with all tables occupied , outside is the option we were left with, but with fans around to beat the heat it was manageable.

The buffet spread was good with continental and desi options available. Live counters dished out dosa’s, pancakes, omelettes and poori on demand. Fresh Juices were really nice. Great way to start the day !

Cardamom :  We were on a 2 nights stay here and got to try out dinner at this Restaurant on one of the nights !  Soothing and a calm ambiance. Simple decor and comfortable seating.

We had just placed the order and then puff went the lights ! Ok, so it was not one of those oops moment when the hotel forgot to get the backup power on but we were dining bang at the same time when the Earth day event was planned with lights turned off for an hour across the world. So far so good and happy to be a part on the good environment initiative but err one problem – too dark for us to see each other or the food. 

Out came lot of candles and voila it was a candle light dinner. Staff were very helpful and attentive. Placed an order for a beer with some kebabs and chicken biryani. All high on taste and no complaints at all. It took a while for the food to come to the table but when it came and we tasted it , it was worth the wait !

The power was back on while we ate , which also meant a chance to go around the restaurant . They had this nice arrangement of some of the finest wine placed at the centre of the restaurant along with a fish tank which was really nice !

The wait staff on our table did his job well and always had a smiling face , which meant i had to take a pic with him !

Though I would have liked to explore the hotel a bit more, time was a constraint jostling between sight seeing and having to check out. Some of the corners that I missed was the pub – 

And the crafts boutique  –

Service :

Right from the check-in to room service, house keeping, front-office and restaurant staff – all were excellent ! Pretty impressive house keeping cleaning the rooms twice a day and ensuring its spic and span all the time. Mr Irshad , the front office manager was very helpful and also suggested places to visit around and the food to try. 

There is just one thing that I felt where they lagged was maintaining a consistency across rooms and I found this out because we had 2 rooms booked 

• One of the rooms had the fruit basket missing
• The Other had the In-room dining menu missing

Probably a bit more focus on being consistent and this place will be right up there.

Just a Tip : Opt for Superior rooms which are on the higher floors and have a decent view

Overall a great hotel to be in and highly recommended be it for business or leisure!

Website – https://gateway.tajhotels.com/en-in/old-port-road-mangalore/

Happy Travelling !!