To enter Ark, the newly-opened lounge bar at Courtyard By Marriott, you have to open two doors. Although we’re not huge fans of symbolism, we suspect that the double doors stand for Ark’s two avatars – one as a let’s-have-a-conversation-over-drinks lounge when it opens in the evening, and the other, a post 11, let-your-hair-down-and-party nightclub. When we visit Ark on a Monday night, we swing past both doors to get a glimpse of both these avatars.

Pearl Martini at Ark

The dim lighting and the plush interiors, done up in shades of brown and rust, immediately put us at ease, as we settle down on a comfortable sofa in the corner. A football game is being telecast on the huge TV screen in the middle of the bar and the DJ’s playing some nice, lounge music. But my friend and I just want to have a conversation and thankfully, the music is at just the right volume so that we don’t have to resort to lip-reading.