When we lived in Madras from 1977-83, the pool at the Connemara Hotel is where I learnt how to swim. So it has a vey special place in my heart. The poolside is also this hotels biggest asset. Set in a secluded colonial garden, sitting by the pool and reading in the late afternoon sun is magnificent. So is the dining in the restaurant by the poolside, which is charming with great food.

The hotel per se is a little bit dated. The style is a mix between art deco and colonial. We had a big suite on the ground floor, opening onto the pool, and it was fantastic albeit not entirely functional. The design incorporated a lot of smaller rooms/nooks within the suite that were somewhat a waste of space.

I have to say though, that the service was exceptional. Very attentive and welcoming.

Another Taj hotel that it is impossible to fault. The food here is really good, the service, the staff, meet and greet, Taj have everything absolutely right. WHen you enter the hotel, you feel like visiting royalty. The rooms are a joy to walk into, the pool area was spotless, the pool attendants were never obvious until you maybe wanted to move the lounger out of the sun, and they were there to help immediately. Room service, bell boys, everything superb. I see someone else has said, the whole atmosphere is that of serene and calming, despite being in the middle of Chennai.

Taj Connemara is a beautiful jewel in the midst of a busy locality in Chennai. The rooms are Victorian (and I mean it as a compliment) and the restaurant overlooking the pool is beautiful, it has serene and calming effect on you and the pool is very nice. This property has a stamp and character of the tasteful leadership which is required to keep up such an old heritage property.

I had a very bad experience at the airport with the pickup (and I guess this is outsourced by Taj).

I was checking out on the third day and I encountered this gentleman, smartly dressed, polite. He insisted that he escorts me to the cashier and took my bag from me; he was very warm and had a childlike, pristine enthusiasm. He wanted to know how my stay was at the Connemara, very proud of his property; he led me into sharing with him my experience at the airport. He heard me out very patiently and I thought was very hurt that such an incident had happened; where here he was trying his best to make each guest comfortable at the Connemara. This gentleman happens to be the General Manager of The Connemara, Mr. Vijay Shrikent.

The last hotel on our tour of Southern India so we only had one night to sleep here as we left at midnight on the second night. We were given a room on the ground floor at the very end of a corridor and while it was large and quite comfortable there was only one small window in the corner which looked out on a dark hole so no natural light. If we had been staying longer we would have asked for a room change. Huge walk-in shower but this became very slippery in use which could be dangerous for anyone on their own in the room. Back of the bathroom door was very grubby.

Reception area has very little seating and there are lots of mosquitoes - we also spotted one dead cockroach in the corridor. Pool area looked lovely but as it's enclosed by buildings it's very hot with no airflow.

Food was good but service was very slow on our first night - they said there was a wedding party in the hotel so there was a shortage of staff in the restaurant. However we had our farewell dinner on the second night and there was no improvement. We were told one glass of wine was included but wineglasses varied in size from very large to very small which caused some complaints. Coffee service was haphazard and some gave up waiting as we wanted to get to our rooms to rest and finish packing before our journey home.

Not what we expected and would not have wanted to stay longer.