We often have pre-conceived notions about hotels before we check-in, like if it’s a five star we assume the service would be impeccable, budget hotels for most of us are synonymous with tardy service and mid-market, which is somewhere between budget and luxury, in the mind of a traveller is often perceived as boring.
Zone By the Park, the affordable brand offering by home-grown hospitality chain The Park Hotels known for it’s five star design hotels, defies some of these notions. Zone by the Park is small but fun and quirky.
We recently checked -into the newly launched Zone hotel in Jaipur ( Rajasthan) and had a smooth three-day stay. Read on for details.
The check-in was speedy as expected. Zone By the Park has limited frills but just about everything that the modern traveller needs. Tidy well designed rooms? Yes. Room Service? Yes. Free Wi-Fi? Yes. Good Food? Yes..Yes…Yes!
The rooms are compact and bathrooms small, so yes Zone By the Park is not for your romantic weekend getaway where you want to spend just hours soaking in the bath tub or have lots of open spaces to yourself. But for business meetings and for a weekend getaway with your buddies, it’s just perfect considering it operates at a very good price point.
Zone By the Park is not a five star brand but it’s not rigid with it’s offerings like some mid-market and budget international hotel brands. The hotel has a cheerful lobby, it’s restaurant Bazaar is done in a quirky fashion and there is a kitschy auto- a Zone Signature- that adorns the al-fresco space of the restaurant. Staff, mostly young, dresses up in smart casuals wearing a big smile and their badges that read ‘Zoner’.
Kitschy India Auto Adorns the Al-Fresco Dining Space at Bazaar
THE FOOD: We quite liked our meals at its all-day dining restaurant Bazaar. The multi-cuisine restaurant has quirky interiors with a shelf that has jars, dabbas and utensils from our grandparents era. It serves local delicacies like Laal Maas, Gulag Jaamun ki Sabzee and Aatte ki Sabzee. The street food cart serves chaat papri , samosa chaat and other popular food items from the streets of India, on rotational basis. The restaurant does justice to international cuisines as well. Must try the Tandoori Chicken Caesar salad, Thai Curry and the restaurant’s speciality desserts. The food at Bazaar is lip smackingly good.
The Leisure Zone: Rooftop Swimming Pool
OTHER FACILITIES: There is a rooftop bar, swimming pool and a compact fitness centre. I quite liked the toiletries in the bathroom too, once again something that I am always wary about when checking in at a fou- star hotel. But Zone had everything stocked well in the room- iron board, mini-bar, tea and coffee maker. The hotel will also soon open doors to its spa, which it is likely to outsource to a beauty spa brand.
Zone By the Park is value for money and next time I am in Jaipur I am checking in at the hotel for a simple reason that there are very few hotels that can give a great experience without burning a hole – small or big- in your pocket.
The group calls Zone by the Park as a social catalyst brand. Targetted at young travellers, it is definitely a well designed hotel brand that understands the needs and to an extent ‘wants’ of millennial travellers.
Fast Facts:
Summary:A well designed hotel brand that understands the needs and to an extent 'wants' of millennial travellers.
