From a distance, the stacks of bright yellow, red, blue containers piled over each other give a deceptive look of a container terminal. A closer look reveals that it’s actually a hotel. In a city that has one of the 13 major ports of the country, the newly opened Port Hotel is the first of its kind in the city which has attempted to recreate the port theme in its design, interiors, restaurant settings with neatly decorated artefacts. Perched in a corner of the road connecting the Police Barracks towards Chitralaya Shopping Mall, the location of the hotel may seem most unusual, an area that otherwise has no semblance of a container terminal.
Stepping into the hotel will transport you to a setting of a ship. The hotel’s all-day multi-cuisine restaurant Pier 57, a shipping parlance, is designed keeping the theme in mind. You can take a look at everything within a couple of minutes, because the hotel restaurant is compact. But that’s part of its concept and charm. A huge map of Visakhapatnam city spreads across the wall in front. Right from the lampshades to the pulleys that form as partitions separating the tables give out a feel of a ship.
“The design and theme was conceived and created as a mark of respect to the port city. The interiors have been designed to resemble a museum for ships and naval architecture,” says Managing Director of the hotel Vijay Kumar Agarwal. It took more than a year for the architects to redesign the 31-room hotel and deck up the interiors with curios and antique-finish items relating to ships.
Friendly hotel staff usher you in. The restaurant’s menu is designed to stay true to the port theme. With an emphasis mainly on Indian delicacies, the options here are decently elaborate. So you have the Kerala special Kollam Moilee, a traditional fish preparation with mustard, curry leaves and in-house spices, Nalli Rogan Josh, mutton shanks braised in special Kashmiri spices or the classic butter chicken for those who want to stick to the classical favourites. In the vegetarian section, the specialties include the mixed vegetable tulsi, tossed with basil flavoured tomato-onion gravy, paneer aur kimam ke kofte and mutter mushroom masala, among other varieties.
The hotel chef specially recommends the signature dishes of The Port Casserole – port special vegetable rice preparation and the Port Take – simmered tomato soup. Among the starters, the chilli prawns and pier sugar stick kebabs (fish or chicken minced kebabs on sugarcane sticks with mint dips) are a must-try here.
If sweet is your thing, go for the classic tiramisu or the fresh fruit sundae. On a sultry hot summer day, it is the most refreshing finish to a sumptuous meal.
Ambience: Relaxed
Wallet Factor: Rs 400 to 600 (per person)
Location: Suryabagh
