Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar · luxury

Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Bay Island, Port Blair

★★★★★

Welcomhotel Bay Island stands on Marine Hill, a wooded promontory jutting into Port Blair's harbour. The legendary architect Charles Correa designed it, and that pedigree still shows. Sloped roofs and timber pavilions step down the hillside toward the water, built to work with the terrain rather than flatten it. The hotel holds just 46 rooms and suites, a small number by five-star standards. That scale keeps the place personal. Public areas open onto the sea on nearly every side, and much of the property is built around covered, breezy pavilions rather than sealed corridors. It feels closer to a well-run island retreat than a conventional city hotel, despite sitting only a few kilometres from Port Blair's airport and the Cellular Jail. Rooms split into three categories: Deluxe Rooms facing the garden, Superior Rooms facing the bay, and Executive Suites that add a separate living area with sea views. All come with high-speed WiFi, an electronic safe, and modern bathrooms finished in local tile work. WelcomCafe Bay Leaf, the main restaurant, opens onto al fresco seating with harbour views and serves a fresh-seafood-forward menu alongside Indian, Chinese, and European dishes. Swizzle Bar takes over in the evenings, an open-air lounge built around timber columns with the sea visible past the railing, pouring a solid range of Indian and imported spirits. An outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness centre, and a full-service spa round out the amenities. For travellers who want proper five-star service and a genuine sense of place on their first or last night in the Andamans, before or after island-hopping to Havelock or Neil, Bay Island remains one of Port Blair's most established addresses.