Oluwatobi Soyombo
MBA Diary 5 min read

My visit to Taj West End: The Experience (With Pictures)

As I type this, I am on my way back from a trip to Taj West End (courtesy of Nitte School of Management), one of the premier hotels in India. Taj West End is one of the 5 star hotels in Bangalore, located on the serene Race Course road (precisely, next to the Golf club). It’s one of the luxury divisions of the Taj brand (yes, affiliated to the popular Taj Mahal – one of the 7 wonders of the world).

The Taj business empire has about 119 hotels across India of which our host today, Taj West End is just one. Taj West End is spread across a 20 acre green space. Ask for natural beauty, and you have it at Taj West End.

Arrival and Interactive Session

On arrival, we headed straight to the Skills Certification Centre where we were addressed by one of the staff. She did well by asking for what our expectations were and the questions we had in mind for her or the brand as a whole. Lots of questions flowed in, though some were not cornered (understandably – no company shares its trade secret, its common sense :) ). The discussion went on for long, how long, I couldn’t track. Moments later, the interactive session was suspended and a suggestion to move round the compound was made by one lecturers.

Tea Break

Not yet guys :) . It’s time for coffee and tea. A sigh of relief. Finally, a time to at least taste something in a five star hotel, many thought. Well, I didn’t have the appetite, so I allowed it pass and buzzed out of the queue to sit and process some thoughts real quick.

Walk in the garden

Tea break was over and we made our ways to the garden. “OMG! All green, we all murmured among ourselves”. The manager in charge of the garden was introduced to us and we were divided into groups to make it easier to take us round. Each group was assigned a supervisor who gave detailed explanation of virtually everything around.

The old man who led my group (and also heads the team) was super amazing. His experience is deep, he had explanations for virtually every tree/flower in the compound. There are trees as old as 125 years. We saw trees with broad branches serving as a natural canopy. Until I was told today, I never knew it’s possible to transplant big tress. Today, I saw several transplanted trees, all in this green arena. Unless you’re told, you’ll never know.

Soon enough, the time to check-in to the lobby came. So, we were divided into a group of 5 so as to avoid commotion at the lobby and also to reduce the impact of the visit on the “real customers”. For a luxury space like this, it’s essential to step in in smaller groups. Hmm…there are reasons why people cough out lots of cash to stay in hotels like this. The lobby confirmed that. Nice ambience. One other noticeable thing at the lobby (as with other parts of compound) is it’s natural beauty. Nothing artificial, including the plants and flowers. All natural. Remarkable.

Mind Shift: The future beckons

Trust me, there are several things I learnt today, business wise. From the interactive session to the time spent in every corner of the garden. I need not bore you with all that. However, one of the things that stood out most for me is the expansion of my mind. Every time I check-in to an exclusive place in the society, I have a mind shift. I’m more inspired to pursue my passion and dreams. This happened today again. Places like Taj West End is where I long to be in the near future, for what it’s worth. Like I told a few people today, I’ll be back at Taj, soon enough, not as a visitor for sightseeing, but as a big time customer. So, as I walked the length and breadth of the green compound today, my mind couldn’t help making calculations and processing deep thoughts. How soon will it happen? How will it happen? What must I do to get there? Am I on track? What will the next five years look like? Anyway, I look forward to that business trip I’ll be making to India in a bit, it’ll be a pleasure to lodge my team in this compound. So long it remains as great as it is and even greater. See you soon, Taj West End.

*** I guaranty no visit to Taj West End when I hit my haha! moment. When the future comes, it may not be Taj West End. Taj West End used here implies all the good sides of life and my ability to at least afford a life with thinking (You know that kind of life? Ask Bill Gates and others:)). So, if the best place to be in the future is “Mon”, there will I be, fully paid for by my legally hard-earned cash or afforded by my reputation capital. Hope you got my point? If you don’t, we’re definitely on different levels of thought :) . We’ll meet on that good side of life IF WE’RE RELATED.

Always grateful to the management and staff of Nitte School of Management for creating this type of experiences for I and my colleagues.

As usual, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :) :

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