The Park Pod

It’s the kind of hotel you might be prepared to see in Mumbai, but it’s not at all standard in traditional Chennai — though the name, to be honest, might provide a hint. The Pod Hotel is so modern that “modern” doesn’t even quite cover it; the owners, including architect Vikram Phadke, are stars of contemporary Indian design, and from the geometric lines to the concrete-and-glass construction to the eye-popping red of the mosaic-tiled pool, the Pod is so futuristic that it’s hard to remember it’s a functioning hotel, and not just a bold aesthetic statement.

But function it does. There’s technology everywhere you look, with wireless internet and an Apple TV in every room, plus loaner iPhones for guest use. And the traditional values aren’t forgotten either: witness the platform beds swathed in top-quality linens, and the regular yoga classes out on the sun deck.

A hotel like the Pod, understandably, likes to take the opportunity to show off its stylish spaces a bit — enter Absolute, the restaurant, which infuses contemporary Californian cooking with Thai, French and Japanese accents, and looks quite good in the process. The audience for this sort of thing, in Chennai, might not be all that large — but it’s hard to imagine the Pod wouldn’t become the very center of it all.

Pod cannot accommodate children under the age of 12.

• 20 Rooms
• Style: Cutting-Edge
• Atmosphere: Happening
• 1 Guest Review

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