New Woodlands Hotel

At these times of Covid pandemic most restuarants have suffered in more than one way. Woodlands Hotels, a pioneering venture in city of Chennai has had its share of woes. Firstly they had to close down their famous stand alone Mathura Restuarant on Anna Salai ,for they had to lay off most of its cooking staff all above 60 as per directive of Corporation health dept due to covid 19 pandemic . They also had to shut down the Tanjore restuarant in their main hotel premises on RK salai for months on forcreaaons same or some other. Now they have reopened this Tanjore restuarant in GF after many months behind the area, where they once had their main hotel reception . This move is welcome as elders who patronized this no frill south Indian Plantain leaf Thali (More like home food) restuarant , need not climb one flight of stairs as the old one was located earlier in the first floor .The old one was ofcourse more spacious. The new space is cramped and seating numbers are down. But my peeve today was that a restuarant of such repute, is not strictly adhering to covid protocols specified by Govt . No temperature is recorded of guests at the entrance. Most seem to ignore mask wearing. In fact the server who attended on us had to be ticked off to follow protocol as he was not wearing the mask covering his mouth and nose. No Servers wore any gloves and some items like Pappad & sweets are served with plain hands . Social distancing are also not as specified . The food usually bordering on average to Okay today was surely below par ,perhaps due to lack of their experienced chefs . The cost of this no frill thali meal only has gone up from Rs150 to Rs 200. Honestly after having had lunch in this restuarant , I file this report with prayer that all will be well for I am 72 with diabetes and has fortunately had the first shot of covishield vaccine this month beginning . The management will do well to ensure protocols are strictly adhered to by their serving staff or close the restuatant as it can become a place, where infection can take off . Personally I will not be visiting this restuarant again ,during this covid times specially , when the virus is beginning to lift its ugly head once again ,thanks to people forgetting to follow protocols .

The New Woodlands hotel is located on Dr. Radha Krishna Salai near Mylapore and is among the most well-known hotels in the area. Be it for its restaurants with the tasty food served (pure vegetarian) or as a place to stay in or hold banquets/functions, it does not let you down. The hotel has a comfortable vibe, nothing flashy, but contemporary and relaxing. The rooms are not the most luxurious but were comfortable and well-equipped. Service was a bit mixed, but otherwise, it was a good place to stay in.

We have been regulars at the New Woodlands for many years. One of the few hotels that still maintains old world charm and values. It is not a single monolith building like many new hotels. The rooms are spread over a wide campus.As we went to check-in we met many old long term acquaintances welcoming us and inquiring about our well being etc. And the staff whether in the restaurants laundry etc., welcomed us like family. We have not seen such courtesy or kindness at any other hotel whether in India or overseas. And the manager, Mr. Babu went out of his way to ensure we had a wonderful stay. The food (vegetarian), a hallmark of the hotel, is exceptionally good. Besides South Indian one can now get North Indian or Continental varieties as well. If you want to rent a car it is better to reserve it the previous day. Mr. Murugan at the laundry ensured our clothes were ready by 8 pm each day. Mr. Mani and Ms Subhashri at the reception were extremely helpful often going out of their way to do so. Our rooms were large by today's standards (20' x 15') with a separate sitting room and very comfortable overall. Overall including room rent, food, laundry and occasional use of a rental car, our expenses averaged around $65 per day for two. That is excellent value and we had a wonderful stay at the Woodlands.

We stayed here for just 2 nights and the overall experience was very pleasant. Rooms are clean, large, clean sheets and towels. Room service is very fast, easy. One can walk around a bit also on the premises. 3 restaurants provide a good variety of meals, quite nice. My room windows were locked, one cannot open them, I found this to be a little annoying, I do want fresh air in the morning. Also, there was no a/c control, it is central and I cannot change the temperature in the room. On a seperate note, the Uber car service in chennai is awful. Drivers dont understanf their own maps, cannot follow simple instructions, frequently late etc... I hope it was just my experience...not the norm.

Great location, healthy and homely vegetarian food, prompt room service - nothing to beat New Woodlands. Lord Krishna's temple inside the campus is "icing on the cake". You stay for 8 days and yet do not feel like getting out!