Natural beauty combines with architectural finesse to bring you a ‘grand’ Sheraton property in Indore, away from the main city. With ample space, spread across eight and a half acres, the Sheraton Grand Palace Indore is imposing and perfect for those large events, be it weddings, conferences, summits, even the more intimate gatherings. If you just want to laze back and get away from the bustle of it all, it’s perfect for a staycation!

Located on the Bypass Road, at a distance of 9 kms. from the main city centre, it would take you around 50 minutes from the airport, and still have you close enough to visit the major attractions in Indore, indulge in some market retail, or carry out your business meetings in the city. The Sheraton Grand is thus a destination in itself, quiet and vast for you to stroll around and soak it in by the poolside or languor at the spa, or dine at its select establishments, what have you! Mind you, it’s all vegetarian at this hotel, at all its restaurants, which works brilliantly well for their wedding clientele, comprised mainly of Jain and Marwari folk, Sindhis as well.

Seema Taj, Director of Sales & Marketing, tells us that the USP of Sheraton Grand is its capability as a staycation destination and as a wedding venue, especially an all vegetarian one! Their vast area has allowed them to host a G20 Summit and they were all set to host the IIFA in 2020, but alas, COVID struck! Carry on, they must, and so they have, running a hotel with 115 rooms and 20 suites – comprised of Family, Royal and Grand Royal suites - several meeting rooms and ballrooms, both outdoor and indoor.

Spread over 125,000 sq. ft. the event spaces include The Grand Palace, The Great Hall, Ambience, Memories, The Palace Lawns&Oasis, each unique in their interiors and area. The Grand Palace does very much resemble the Lalbagh Palace interiors, as we were prior informed, and The Palace Lawns finishes up beautifully for a wedding reception or any other celebratory occasion. As we walked around the hotel property, we noticed how seamlessly smaller spaces could be transformed into larger venues with pillar-less options. The Great Hall can even be split into three for smaller events, keeping the feel of the venue the same.

Our first question to the hotel’s General Manager, Rohit Bajpai, when we met him upon entering the hotel, was, ‘...a vegetarian hotel, and one marketed for its large banquet space’? ‘Indore is largely a vegetarian city, one from where pilgrimages are undertaken, such as to Ujjain and Omkareshwar,’ he replies with a smile, ‘and weddings call for veg menus’. Having no non-vegetarian at all on the premises works even more in their favour. Being away from the main city is another plus point as the entire group could be booked in and a destination wedding in Indore could be taken care of completely by the hotel.

That taken care of, the food was a point of concern for us, who do like to have some non-vegetarian fare along with our veggies and our greens, especially for the taste and flavour of a new place. Mock meat is the answer! And while dining on a lunch thali at fine dine Araana, a well-stocked one (detailed review on Page 90), we might have just missed the fact that we were chewing on protein-based meat, not maas as we know it. Vegetarian for a few days while relaxing at a grand property in Indore, doesn’t sound too bad, not bad at all!

The Executive Chef of Sheraton Grand, Karam Dogra, steps out from the open kitchen at Araana to sit a while with us and share his titbits on the dining options. Local ingredients are sourced as far as possible, Indian spices and herbs are judiciously used, and innovative fare like a millet broth, a seekh made of mawa and mewa and the pineapple relish are created. Those kebabs are addictively sweet and that pickle has a taste that still lingers on our palate, just FYI! Staples such as Indori poha, upma and the like are all served at buffets spread out at the all-day dining S Café while cakes and confections can be patronised from Infuse, their pastry shop. We discover Malt the bar with a very rustic, old-world feel to it and Plunge, the poolside snacks and beverages offering. We like that the pool was secluded which gives you the privacy you seek when on a vacation most of all!

If you feel like working out when on said vacation, the gym is very much at your disposal. And to relax those tensed muscles, Nilaya Spa has massages and treatments you can avail of, as a member or as a guest. If only we had more time to unwind when on this whirlwind work trip covering the length and breadth of Indore and around… There’s always a next time…albeit in the monsoons, or the cold winters, certainly not in the unforgiving Indore summers!