Living in Style
By Kavitha Srinivas
Excerpted from an article in
The Week (Bangalore Beat),
October 20, 2006


The competition to lure buyers for whom price is of little concern, has resulted in the birth of the lifestyle club in apartments, villas and
condominiums. A cross between a plush resort, a star hotel and the good old community recreation centre, a club would have among its patrons ESOPs-driven techies, whose parents play squash and billiards and whose kids love to frolic in the temperature-controlled pool.

Step into one such soothing space in JP Nagar, an extension in south Bangalore. By the time I have trawled the cool gardens around the plush club, browsed the attic library, taken a dozen photographs from different angles and eaten a melting-the-mouth croissant at the club's delicatessen, I'm reeling from the sheer luxury of it all.

Saturday night at this club's small but hip restaurant draws an interesting crowd. The cuisine is presented in a plush, warmly-lit atmosphere. The open-air theatre is screening a popular flick, and entire families seem to be having a jolly good time. On the small but packed dance floor, revellers of different ages, sizes and cultures, danced wall-to-wall, sweating, smiling and enjoying the DJ's clever acoustic tricks. I remind myself that I'm actually in an apartment club in an infrastructure-challenged suburb, not a pulsating pub, in downtown…

…"Invest in the best equipment and manpower. Run the club professionally—get a qualified team which accepts complete accountability and responsibility. Invite memberships from the public too, but be extremely choosy about your members' profile." —Beena Thomas, F & B manager, The Woodrose

In order to succeed, she says, a club must create a buzz. Screening movies, hosting fashion shows and organising swimming / tennis / TT camps for members from six to sixty, a lifestyle club facilitates it all. She describes The Woodrose as "a niche club, not a neighbourhood one".

Ramesh, a 38-year-old industrialist who relocated from Rajasthan to Bangalore and lives in Brigade Millennium Apartments, believes that The Woodrose serves a specific purpose. "It meets your recreational needs. Its easy accessibility is a boon for kids and busy working couples." he says.

The success of The Woodrose has enthused the Brigade Group , to announce the Augusta Club at Brigade Gardenia in JP Nagar; the Galaxy Club at Brigade Gateway in the Malleswaram-Rajajinagar area; and the Regent Club at Brigade Metropolis in Whitefield.