We spent a delightful 4 nights at the Royal Orchid Metropole. It has a good location, just 5 or 10 minutes from the Palace by auto rickshaw. It is a genuine heritage property, and the furniture and fittings are OLD, they are certainly not 'tired' or 'faded'. Don't stay here if you expect hot water at the turn of a tap (it takes 15 mins to heat up). We found ourselves upgraded to a maharajah suite which was huge, with an enormous L-shaped balcony and an extra-large bed made from two large singles put together. Despite its size it was spotlessly clean. The staff team are welcoming, smiling and eager to please. We had two minor niggles - we did not have a working fridge until the third time of asking, and our room key cards had to be re-coded several times. There is an adequate if minimal gym/fitness room and a small, clean pool to cool down in the hot afternoons, and just enough loungers. Dinner at the courtyard restaurant was varied, tasty and reasonably priced, but there are so many multi-cuisine restaurants in Mysore that you can easily dine more cheaply if you need to. Breakfast was most often a good range but it was a little inconsistent, except for the pastries which were uniformly dry and lacking in taste or texture.
