The Magical Leela Palace
“Magical places are always beautiful and deserve to be contemplated...”
The hustle and bustle, noise, pollution, crowds and congestion of living in a city like Bangalore often makes you yearn for solitude and a quiet place to run to. The Leela Palace has for many years been my getaway place in the city. Five minutes by car from my home, you suddenly reach an oasis of tranquility and beauty....the perfect escape of the Magical Leela Palace.
The Leela Palace, with its lush garden and beautiful exterior inspired by the majestic Mysore Palace, transports you to another time and place. You can simply sit for hours and enjoy its beauty, or walk the corridors in their opulence and splendor, viewing the handmade grand Venetian chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, or the paintings of princes and sultans, while you take in the natural fragrance of the fresh cut flowers lining the corridors in cut crystal vases.
The exquisite Leela Palace garden, lush with green palms and an array of foliage. With 50 varieties of rare palms and trees and 150 varieties of shrubs, ground covers, Ayurveda plants, herbs and seasonal plant beds
Entrance to the Jamavar Restaurant with Royal Indian Cuisine
Path leading to the garden
Garden with lagoon water trail
Garden
Entrance to Leela Palace and the Peacock Lounge
Yali (replica) - in the garden of Leela Palace
Yali is a mythical creature seen in many Hindu temples often sculpted on pillars. They became prominent in south Indian sculpture in the 16th century and may be portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse, and in similar shapes. It has been sometimes described as a leogryph (part lion and part griffin), with some bird-like features
An urli with floating fresh rose (other fresh flowers can also be used) petals in water at the entrance of the Leela Palace. An urli, primarily a south Indian tradition, is a form of welcoming guests and is usually placed near the front door entrance of houses
One of 448 pillars found across Leela Palace. The pink sandstone is beautifully carved
Entrance to Leela Palace
The above is a reproduction of a watercolour originally painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (Queen Victoria's favourite artist who commissioned the painting in 1854) of the then 11 year old Princess Victoria Gowramma, daughter of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last Rajah of Coorg, holding a bible. This version in sepia with embellished stonework is by self-taught Indian painter, who is based in Jaipur, Bhim Singh Hada
The copy in sepia tone The orginal
Entrance to the lobby of the Leela Palace with gilded peacock stonework above the doors
Intricate glasswork on entrance door
Lobby entrance
Venetian Murano glass chandelier
Lobby with huge windows showing a magnificently clear view of the lush garden
A magnificent painting by Bhim Singh Hada portraying the children of the royal family of Mysore in their finery, the Wadiyar family
Painting by Bhim Singh Hada hanging in the lobby, depicting two members of the royal family of Mysore, the Wadiyar brothers
Detail of slippers from above painting
Beautiful metalwork found above the lobby lift, which combines a mixture of 5 metals, displaying the flora and fauna of nature with intricately carved peacocks. A jali or jaali meaning "net", is the term used for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry
Ornate lifts
An abundance of freshly cut, lush flowers scattered all around the hotel
A comb dating back from the royal era used to adorn different hairstyles for women. With semi-precious stones and gold
Royal turban (a type of headwear based on cloth winding) with semi-precious stones and weaved with gold thread
Ornate bracelet made out of 24 carat gold leaf
Ornate bracelet made out of 24 carat gold leaf
Ornate bracelet made out of 24 carat gold leaf
An armlet – a unique piece of jewellery used to adorn the arms. The design contains mythological characters and comprises of semi-precious stones with 24 carat gold leaf
Ornate jewellery, 24 carat gold leaf with gem stones
This spectacular sarpech (turban ornament) is made up of rubies, emeralds and diamonds set in gold. It consists of a jigha - a feather shaped upper part worn vertically - and a sarpati worn horizontally. The piece is meticulously worked on by placing stones by hand and can typically take around 10 days to make
Ornate glasswork at entrance of the Library Bar
A gilded hair comb dating back to the royal era, depicting the Ras Leela of Lord Krishna
Cozy corner of the Library Bar
Armour dating back from the royal era adorned by the Maharajas and warriors for self protection. The weight of this single piece alone weighs more than 15kg
The Library Bar
Ornate light hanging in Library Bar
Painting of Tipu Sultan, also known as the Tiger of Mysore
Garden path with authentic yalis gifted to the Leela Palace from the Indian archaeological department
The Jamavar Restaurant
Look out turrett covered with wild foliage
Painting by Sathish
The Indian specialty restaurant, Jamavar, named after the intricate brocades of Kashmir. The refined ambience is enhanced by the Jamavar wall paintings (made out of pure gold leaf and vegetable dyes), decorative Jamavar shawls and lavish silver table settings
Jamawar shawls adorning the walls of the Indian cuisine restaurant, the Jamavar. Brocade, traditional handmade shawls, are woven with gold silk threads and can typically take around a couple of decades to weave
Ornate chandelier
Pashmina shawl, Jamawar weave
Mahajare fine dining private room
An intricately carved partition at the Maharaja Suite. The design is inspired by nature and adorns semi-precious stones and 22 carat goldleaf work
The Maharaja Suite - truly a jewel amongst all Bangalore luxury hotels. Sheer opulence, with views of the palace and gardens, the suite is designed to host the elite
Reproduction painting of the Muhammad Ali Khan the Nawab of Arcot. Original painting by Tilly Kettle (painted between 1772-1776)can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Living Room
One of many black and white photographs depicting royalty displayed around the Maharaja Suite
The living room of the Maharaja Suite
A silver and brass scroll used as a communicative tool which contained confidential information, used by the kings during the royal era
Embellished and hand embroidered cushion
An intricately carved partition at the Maharaja Suite. The design is inspired by nature and adorns semi-precious stones and 22 carat gold-leaf work
A painting by Bhim Singh Hada of Hyder Ali,the Sultan and de-facto ruler of the kingdom of Mysore
A painting by Bhim Singh Hada
Detail from above painting with gold leaf and stonework embellishments
Connecting corridor with perfectly aligned arches inspired by the Mughal architecture
Painting of the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, an ancient Hindu temple found in the the town of Trimbak, Nashik
Ornate pillar
Turret of the Leela Palace
Water fountain on the garden grounds
Peocock Lounge
Painting by Bhim Singh Hada depicting the Maharaja of Mysore, Chamarajendra Wadiyar
Painting showing Lord Cornwallis taking the sons of Tipu Sultan as hostages
Miniature painting of royal headgear embellished with semi-precious stones, using vegetable dye. Each miniature painting takes around 4-5 weeks to complete
Royal Guard to meet and greet at the Leela Palace entrance