Celebratory champagne-gold décor light up the interiors of Merlis Hotel, the newly-opened 5-star luxury hotel near the Coimbatore International Airport. While the 142 rooms, including 10 suites, ring in subtle luxury in beige, grey, and gold tones, the two ballrooms are grand, with a 1,800-seater, the biggest in the city, and a second one that can hold 800 guests.
“The name Merlis, a combination of merry and bliss reflects our philosophy,” says Sundeep Devarajan, the executive director of Raj Park Hotels (Merlis is a unit of the same group), adding that bliss and calm is reflected in the spa and room aesthetics, as the décor leans towards warm, serene tones. “Our lobby and ballrooms celebrate vibrancy and festivity. We wanted both moods to coexist, and we’ve ensured the staff carries this feeling forward to the guests,” says Sundeep. There is an outdoor lawn that accommodates about 700 guests, six meeting rooms, a poolside event space and more. Luxury rooms on the eighth and ninth floors face the runway where guests can watch planes take off and land, a feature the hotel likens to Mumbai’s iconic airport-view stays.
Sundeep Devarajan and Dhivya Sundeep
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
“Our objective is to create an experience,” says Dhivya Sundeep, director of Raj Park. The focus was on having a vibrant F&B space. “We created multiple avenues and wanted Coimbatore to have dining that is refreshing.”
While the Mercafé, an outdoor garden-themed café offers continental food, a 200-seater bar, a 80-seater Pan Asian and a 40-seater modern Indian restaurant are coming up soon. “We are still finalising the cuisines and recipes for the Indian restaurant. People here love Asian food, and the café culture is growing rapidly, and there is also a rising interest in authentic experiences, for instance, a live yakitori or Japanese grill is something guests look forward to,” explains Dhivya.
The focus is on Pan-Asian, Italian, Mexican, and Japanese cuisines
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
Though the experience in the hospitality industry helps, every city presents a set of challenges, they add. “People here are well travelled and exposed to diverse cuisines. The market is growing, especially with IT firms and a lot of people moving back from cities like Bengaluru and Chennai. So we did a lot of research into what people would appreciate, from flavours to pricing to ambience. We came prepared,” says Sundeep. Talking of cuisines, Dhivya says, authentic, fine-dining Asian concepts especially those featuring live cooking have a strong audience here. “Our focus is on Pan-Asian, Italian, Mexican, and Japanese, cuisines that the city embraces. We focus on guest experience and unobtrusive service. We train staff to give guests space, and not to hover and interrupt. We also want to be a kid-friendly hotel. The young explorers staying with us get toys, candies and tents in the room.”
I decide to check out the dinner buffet at Mercano, the multi-cuisine restaurant. On a breezy evening, I am tucking into the kathal biryani. Made with short-grained seeraga samba, and raw jackfruit, this biryani has meaty bites, soaks up every spice beautifully, and carries that rich aroma that tempts you for seconds. At the starters counter, quesadilla, marinated paneer, and chilli water chestnut share space with calamari, squid, chicken, and prawns. Beyond the main-course, salads, and sweets, a live counter is buzzing with thin-crust pizzas topped with chef’s own sauce spread, dosas, tacos, and kebabs. “Many hotels underplay vegetarian dishes. We highlight local vegetables and seasonal produce such as water chestnut, lotus stem, oyster mushrooms, baby potatoes, raw banana, pumpkin, and greens. We also create mock-meat dishes for vegetarians, using jackfruit as the base,” explains Natarajan S, Sous Chef, who comes with over two decades of experience.
A live pizza counter at the buffet
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
The buffet packs in regional specials like Thalasseri biryani, Mangalorean ghee-roast chicken, muttn sukka, along with muh-loved Asian and Continental fare. It also raises a toast to Kongu cuisines witharisiparuppu saadamand Pallipalayam chicken. “For breakfast, we also make mooligaidosai, another region special made with greens like thoothuvaalai and karisilanganni. We also try combinations such as water chestnut and baby potato, and mutton sukka with mock meat, and fish kuzhambu with mock fish,” explains Chef Natarajan. “Our emphasis is home-made masalas, minimum oil, no artificial colours or flavours, and balanced spice levels tailored to Coimbatore’s palate,” says Natarajan as my eyes feast on the mango rasgulla in the desserts counter. A fruity twist to the classic rasgulla makes every bite delicious.
“Even during the pandemic, while travelling we observed how hotels function, service flow, guest behaviour, likes and dislikes. On family holidays, we visited many recently opened hotels just to observe what modern travellers want. One big trend we noticed is that huge lobbies are disappearing. New hotels have compact, efficient lobbies. We spent six months finalising mattresses. For banquets, we created bigger restrooms, walk-in closets, space for two large suitcases, and more hangers,” says Sundeep, adding, “Every detail had to serve its purpose and make the guests happy.”
Desserts counter has Indian sweets as well as gourmet pastries
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
Located at 61, Avinashi Road, Goldwins. Dinner buffet is priced at ₹2,000 plus taxes with some offers. For reservations, call 04224447777
Published – December 16, 2025 05:50 pm IST
