Prosenjit Chatterjee

OT: Which is your favourite hotel in the world?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Any Marriott (marriott.com), anywhere abroad. It’s not any single property; I find the entire chain absolutely fabulous. My first visit must have been 12-15 years back in New York, when one of my films premiered there.

OT: When did you last visit them?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Last year [2011], in Toronto. I stayed for about a week.

OT: Why are you so fond of Marriott?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: To me, it always feels like I am at home when I am at a Marriott anywhere abroad. In India, their properties are huge and business-like, but abroad it is a little different. There they have a very homey ambience and are not as impersonal. Their service is exemplary, and I have always found the staff very forthcoming and helpful.

OT: What is the biggest draw for you?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Most of the Marriott hotels have this concept of a ‘room with a view’. They overlook a beach, a highway, always someplace nice, and I get an urge to take a long stroll whenever I am staying with them.

OT: Any special memories?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Once, while travelling to the Banga Sammelan in the US, I stayed at a particularly huge Marriott property and got lost in it. They had vintage cars on display in a basement area. I love cars and got interested in them, then lost my way. I had to ask for help. They politely guided me back.
One more incident: I used to smoke then. It was midnight. I went out for a smoke and saw some big guys at the reception making a ruckus. Some bouncers walked up and, without a sound, picked up those huge guys and threw them out, almost effortlessly. I was impressed with the way they maintained decorum.

OT: Do you intend to visit again?
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Whenever I travel overseas next, my first choice is and will always be Marriott.