Friday, October 30, 2009

Claridges Surajkund Conference

          Just back from organising a conference at a new 5 star hotel near Delhi-The Claridges Surajkund, a lovely Business cum leisure hotel. Very nicely located on the Shooting range road near the Surajkund lake, a very green and quiet area. The Claridges hotel has about 200+ rooms with most of them overlooking the Courtyard with a beautiful lawn and a spectacular Dancing fountain with burning fires making it a treat to watch. The staff was very professional and since we were handling the top 11 executives of a big telecom company I was a little nervous about the services. The check in was handed expertly and even all the arrangements were as required. We were using one of the smaller halls the 'Cilantro' and the place had an excellent pre function area for lunch, tea etc.
          The rooms at Claridges Surajkund are just too good with even the base category rooms being about 400sq feet with all the facilities like 42 inch LCD, a sofa to relax apart from the king size or twin beds. There is a tea/coffee maker and an electronic safe for the guests. There is a separate work desk if you want to do some written work. The bathrooms have both a bathtub and a glass shower cubicle with premium bathroom amenities. You also have wifi and interactive web tv along with 24 hour room service. The Courtyard rooms are even better with a huge balcony and overlooking the central courtyard. even the balcony has a set of chairs and a recliner.
           Coming to the Food and Beverage section, the multi cuisine section provides a great range of dishes along with a cold section served on the central verge of  a table with ice cubes keeping things cool. There is also a Blue bar with a choice collection of hard liquor and some of the best wines available in India.  The meal I had was the breakfast when the choice of fruits, confectionery, cold meats etc left one spoilt for choice.
           The hotel is also promoting special Weekend Packages for couples and family which being introductory packages(bound to go up soon) are definitely a steal.
Romantic Package for Couple


2days & 1 Nite in deluxe room @ Rs.11999/- includes-

    * Welcome drink on arrival
    * Upgrade to room with private balcony facing central courtyard (subject to availability)
    * Bottle of wine and special chef amenities in room
    * Cocktails at Bluebar  2030 – 2130 hours(pouring brands, 2 drinks per person)
    * Evening Tea set up in the balcony (1730 – 1830 hours). Choice of Earl Grey, Darjeeling    High Elevation, Assam High Elevation, Green tea
    * Candle light dinner at the courtyard
    * After meal drink
    * Movies on demand
    * Brunch at Oasis on Sunday 1100 to 1500 hours
    * Couple massage
    * Late check out till 1600 hrs.


Also available the Family Package for 2 adults and 2 children below 12 years


New Year Package- Bfast and gala dinner package with dance troupe,live band,DJ and unlimited snacks & drinks only at Rs 15999/- for a couple and two kids below 12 years.  

 

 I think Claridges Surajkund is a perfect place to hold a conference or just spend a lazy weekend. One can even hop over for 2 nights stay straight from office on Friday as it is just 30 mins from South Delhi and one hour from Gurgaon/Noida.

Contact  Anand 0-9811193634/ Seema 0-9891458220/  EMAIL us for bookings and packages. 
More one nite options around Delhi

R.Anand

Classic Hilltop Chamba Uttaranchal


                Visited Chamba, Uttaranchal with a group of about 50 people for a leisure group. Started in the night on two 27 seaters and the driver was good but the roads not too good, still we were there in about 8 hours, which is good time. The Delhi-Haridwar Highway is being four laned and you have to constantly switch between single and double roads, but I think things will be much better shortly as construction is complete. The route is via Merrut, Muzzafarnagar, Haridwar, Rishikesh and Narendernagar. We were staying at the Classic Hilltop Chamba, which is literally at the top of a hill and at least 200m above in height from the Mussoorie-Chamba road. The first thing that strikes you as you hit the place is the wonderful view of the snow capped peaks of Himalayas giving you and almost 180 degree view of these wonderful natural precipices. You can see Yamunotri, Nanda Devi, Gangotri and more. The view from the lawns is fantastic and having tea at these lawns was as great a welcome as it gets. The weather in middle September was just perfect, not too cold and not warm in the day. Chamba is about 50k from Mussoorie
                     The rooms at Classic Chamba are comfortable and some of them give the same view. The breakfast was refreshing and the group were given some free time to recuperate. Post lunch we headed for the Tehri Dam about 15 km away. The Dam, which has been recently commissioned, is important to the whole of North India for it’s electricity generation and irrigation. The whole of Tehri town was submerged to make a reservoir for the dam, the depth of the reservoir is more than a km and the view from the  Gallery of the two rivers merging is seen to be believed.
                       In the evening we had a poolside party with DJ where various games and dance were organized and the whole group including the children enjoyed it a lot. Next day we traveled to Dhanaulti/Dhanolti which is about 22 km from Chamba. Dhanolti is an un spoilt hill station with lovely views and thick Deodar forests with green meadows. There is an eco park at Dhanaulti giving an insight to vegetation of the area and it is great place to relax and visit. One can also stop at Kanatal on the way to Dhanauti. On the way back we stopped at Haridwar, Har Ki Paudi where most guests took a dip in the holy Ganges. So Chamba, Uttaranchal turned out to be a perfect leisure destination with great weather, lots of thing to and not too far from Delhi.

Contact  Anand 0-9811193634/ Seema 0-9891458220/  EMAIL us for bookings and packages and group tours to Chamba,Mussoorie or Kanatal.
R.Anand,
Around Delhi

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mussoorie Hotels Claridges Nabha


                            Had a fantastic time last weekend at a 4 star hotel of Mussoorie Claridges Nabha, with family. I have never been too fond of Mussoorie because of too much commercialisation and concretisation of this hill 
station. Lots of construction and deforestation had left the hill station, the Queen of Hills as a barren lot. The last few years has seen a sea change in this place with a bar on all new construction leading to a revival in greenery and better weather and rains to Mussoorie. This Monsoon the city had an excellent downpour and it had turned wonderfully green as we reached it in mid October of '09. Even the highway route to Mussoorie via Merrut, Khatauli, Muzzafarnagar, Roorkee and Dehradun is on improving as four laning is going on at most of the places along the highway. Once complete I think this will lead to decrease in time take to reach Mussoorie (presently 7-8hrs).
                              We were staying at the Claridges Nabha, Mussoorie, the only Claridges hotel outside the NCR region. Claridges Nabha is a heritage hotel of  Mussoorie and the old residence of Mahraja of Nabha about 4 km from Mall Road, Mussoorie. The place is a heaven when you compare it to the hulla-gulla of the Mall Road, Mussoorie as it is surrounded by dense Cedar forests and immaculate gardens. Nabha Mussoorie is a small place with 21 rooms, a mixture of deluxe and Duplex rooms. It was just wonderful to stroll in the dense forest area around the place with a nice and cool breeze just about feeling the chill. The deluxe rooms are with a sitout area and some of them face the jungle. The Duplex rooms are for a family of 2 adults and 2 children with a master bed and two single beds in the attic. The radiation warmer keeps you warm in the winter as the temperature turns freezing outside. The hotel provides free transfers to the Mall and it becomes convenient as you do not have to search for parking around the Mall Mussoorie, so we took this facility and visited the Mall in the afternoon.
                         There are various hotels on the Mall road Mussoorie like Hotel Silver Rock, Shiva, Green Castle etc along with a lot of places to eat like the wonderful confectionary shops, Dominoes, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista and some good Chinese/Tibetan outlets with authentic Chinese & Tibetan food like Kasrang etc.We also tried the trolly which takes you to the Gun Hill which affords wonderful views of the surrounding area along with snow capped peaks of Himalayas. The peaks view was blocked by the clouds but still the surrounding view was worth the visit. One can also see the snow capped view from the Camels back road or the Himalaya facing rooms of Silver Rock or Shiva. You can also take other walks around Mussoorie. In the evening the view of the Doon Valley with thousands of shimmering lights is just superb. Around Mussoorie one can also visit Kempty falls, Dhanolti and Yamuna bridge beyond Kempty. I am sure you too will experience the change for the better in Mussoorie on your next visit.

Need a place to stay in Mussoorie call Seema @ 9891458220 or Anand @ 9811193634 for options and bookings or log onto our website- Hotels of Mussoorie

R.Anand

Monday, October 5, 2009

Delhi-Rishikesh rafting trip




Organized an all inclusive trip for rafting at Rishikesh end of October for 3N/3D. A group of 22 people enjoyed a wonderful rafting and camping adventure trip on the beautiful White sands of Rishikesh at the banks of the Ganges at

Camp 5 Elements, Byasi,Rishikesh
Run by the Leisure Hotels the camp the rafting camp in Rishikesh offers serene and rejuvenating environment. The Camp is indeed the most scenic, secluded & romantic beach camp on the Ganges. Sprawling over 500 meters of Silvery Sandy beach, the camp is surrounded by thick forests and mountains. The camp is located 27 kms from Rishikesh on the road to Deoprayag  between Shivpuri and Byasi Village. The tents are deluxe with a twin/double bed. There is an attached bathroom having running water (The only camps in Rishikesh with attached bathrooms). Toilets, the typical dry pit ones are separately made. 

Rafting Itinerary - Delhi-Rishikesh-Delhi

Day 01
Friday 30th October
Left Delhi -11PM by 27 seater A/c Deluxe bus
Arrival at the Camp. Welcome drink on arrival followed by breakfast. Briefing about the camp stay followed by chk in.
Lunch and camp orientation ; briefing. Post lunch
we left for our first encounter with the rapids at the Ganges,The first session included the stretch from Marine Drive
to Shivpuri covering thrilling rapids like 'Black Money',
'Three Blind Mice', 'Crossfire', 'Body Surfing', and 'The Shivpuri' rapids. Some of the people were nervous as this was their first encounter with the Ganges and rafting, but still all were super excited. One does not need to know swimming for doing rafting as Life jackets are provided and all safety precautions are taken. Post lunch camp activities such as Rock Climbing,
Rappelling, Beach Volleyball, Beach Cricket, Kayaking etc. kept the group ready.
.In the evening lazed over a Bonfire along with fun games followed by a sumptuous dinner specially
prepared by the Chef. Some of the hidden talents of singing etc came out of the group. Tucked into our Deluxe Tents at The Camp 5 Elements.


Day 02 Saturday

Woke up early to enjoy a refreshing Nature Walk with our guide. After a hearty breakfast changed into our rafting gear
and proceed for rafting on the river Ganges for the second round of rafting, the second stretch of Rafting
from Shivpuri to NIM beach. This stretch had even more rapids than the first round and the fear of water too had subsided for most.
Return to the Camp and go for lunch.

Post Lunch -
in camp activities such as Rock Climbing,
Rappelling, Beach Volleyball, Beach Cricket, Kayaking etc.
Evening Tea/coffee with cookies
Evening bon fire with cocktail snacks and a game of antakshri among participants

Day 03 2nd November, Monday

Breakfast & after breakfast 1100 Hrs Departure from the camp. Lunch on the way back. Evening tea with cookies.
Reached back Delhi



Cost Charged Per Person
Rs 6000/- inclusive of transfers Delhi-Rishikesh-Delhi , Stay for 2nigths in deluxe camps, Meals as per itinerary, Two rafting trips.
Does not include- Personal/medical expense of any nature, Service tax (2.58% extra), anything not mentioned in the Package as above.
Contact  Anand 0-9811193634/ Seema 0-9891458220/  EMAIL us for bookings and packages.
Wait for announcement of our next trip. Individuals and groups for customised itineraries can contact us any time.
 Other Rishikesh White Water Rafting options

 R.Anand 

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