One of India’s largest realty companies, Prestige Estates Projects Limited, is bringing the iconic luxury Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand, a part of Hilton Worldwide, to Bengaluru, India. The hotel was developed in central Bengaluru’s Ulsoor locality and features an exterior shell of Golden Dream granite, an exclusive material offered by Pokarna Limited, a global stone producer based in Secunderabad, Telangana, India.

While this is the first time Pokarna is supplying stone to a Conrad Hotel, the company has a long-standing relationship with Prestige Estates Projects Limited. In total, Pokarna furnished approximately 120,000 square feet of granite for the new hotel, which took about 10 months to quarry.

According to Manish Jain of Pokarna, Golden Dream was chosen for its vivid gold color pattern and because it is an exclusive color offering of Pokarna. “We submitted a lot of colors as samples,” he said. “Since the quantum was large and the timeframe was short, it was zeroed down to a few colors. Because of its color, pattern and consistency — along with exclusivity with Pokarna — the supply could be controlled without deferring the deadline, and hence, Golden Dream was selected.”

On average, the size of the stone pieces on the hotel’s exterior facade measure 44 x 32 x 1 ¼ inches. “A mock-up was provided,” said Jain. “The developer and architect were interested in horizontal movement across the stone.

“There were a few challenges faced to complete this project,” Jain went on to say. “Since this was for a facade, a lot of care was taken to maintain consistency in color, veining and pattern. Dry laying was done in the factory to match juxtaposed panels.”

In the end, the stone installation was deemed a success. It took 13 months to complete the stonework for the exterior design of the posh new hotel.  

Conrad Hotel & Resort

Bengaluru, India

Real Estate Developer: Prestige Estates Projects Limited

Stone Quarrier/Fabricator: Pokarna Limited, Secunderabad, Telangana, India