Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Thursday, April 14, 2016
My first trip towards the North of India, Maharashtra on a Mahindra Scorpio SLE
Disclaimer: This blog does not encourage you to take long distance trips nor asks you to speed up your vehicle beyond the stipulated mark as and when mentioned on the highways. Drive responsibly. Slow down as you reach villages.
Left home exactly at 4.30 am. Road to davanagere are good. Tolls all the way. Reached Guru kotureshwara hotel, davanagere (14.453710, 75.915252), at 8.30. Turns out that is the perfect time for breakfast. The place is too modest. Just the size of a small room. Ur order is limited to set dosa or benne dosa. We opted for the benne dosa. Had to wait approximately 20 minutes. All this while I was just watching with awe the chef was continually going through the motion of belting out 10 dosas at a time with such perfect timing and finesse. He exactly knew when the dosas were fried just right. The aroma is unbelievable. The hotel is truly Japanese ideology. It just doles out what it can do best. The first bite presents my tongue with a medley of salt, chilly, pepper, mixed in the preparation of the batter itself. and all these harsh flavors moderated by oodles of butter. U also get a handful of potato mash and coconut chutney. But, believe me, u can have the dosa as is or with any other side dish u want and it will taste the same. We ordered two dosas per person in the beginning itself and that was an excellent decision.As a side note, we returned to this hotel again during our return journey at around 1.00 PM in the afternoon and the activities in the hotel are the same. They are outstaffed and out of space. Had to wait a good 15 minutes before my order was taken.
It was the time to hit the road again towards kolhapur. The stop at kolhapur was only for having kolhapur mutton. Again excellent tolled roads all the way and reached hotel opal, kolhapur, (16.703068, 74.250572) at around 1.30 pm. Parking is available. The layout of the hotel was very confusing and sonny rightly called it bhul bhulayya. The rooms were spacious. Toilets were clean. Ac working. With another small bed. By the side of the double bed. Just right for a couple with a kid. The restaurant serves all Maharashtrian delicacies. Had a Maharashtrian thaali which had all the regular food u can find to be specifically Maharashtrian. If u had Hyderabad dishes u will be at home with all the spicy nature of kolhapuri food.
Did not want do go out much. Sonny pressed us to visit the mall just next door. Went there and did the unthinkable. Watched a Telugu movie. Woke up in the morning and headed towards the restaurant for breakfast. The assortment was truly Maharashtrian. We had misal pav, upma, poha, sweet curd. The misal was a revelation. The taste and the ingredients going in r unique. A mixture of healthy and sinful ingredients. U have bhujia on the one band with varying thickness and shapes which is to be drowned in a spicy, oily curry of sprouts. The combination is a spicy and very tasty did efor use with any Indian bread, but normally used with pav. The poha is nice, mildly fried and spicy. In the South the poha ingredient is used to make a variety of kheer. Was thinking of visiting phadtares misal kendra, udyam nagar, (16.694454, 74.233168), but decided against it after having it in the restaurant itself. Checked out of the hotel and drove towards Mahalaxmi temple, kolhapur, (16.660884, 74.211154). Be very careful while visiting this place. It is somewhat hidden in the centre of the city. Google maps was totally confused. Ask the locals. And be careful there are a lot of mahalaxmi temples around kolhapur. The next stop was rankala lake, kolhapur, 16.693724, 74.209255. It is a big lake and I did not see any boating activity. Maybe it happens in the evening.
Time to hit the road again. Headed towards hotel panorama, mahabaleswar, (17.924890, 73.656868). This decision was solely based on the availability of swimming pool, nearness to market, parking and ac rooms. Not disappointed. It had all our requirements. It was located right in the heart of the market area. Had lunch at the hotel and it was ordinary. U receive a food coupon on arrival and u have no option but to use them. At checkout i was told that there is a balance in my food coupons and was advised to take a parcel. Decided to take a sandwich. One issue, the room was not serviced, though we gave the keys to the reception and instructed them to do so.
The market area was unique. It displayed nothing else than whatever was grown or fabricated in house. It rarely had the usual fare. Had a mixed fruit ice gola. Mahabaleswar is red, red with strawberry plantations. If u like strawberries, then, there is no better place than here. Everything is strawberry. Juice, ice cream, fudge, chikkie, u name it. Sone juice making companies are housed here. Maple is one among them. The maple restaurant is huge. Pizzas sandwiches, juices, mock tails, ice creams, sinful. U have a plethora of fruit concentrates, bottled pulp and plenty of ready to drink mock tails. Bought pina colada and a mojito. Sonny bought a chocolate drink, The better half bought a rose based drink. Visited venna lake boat club, mahabaleshwar, (17.934275, 73.668901) row and pedal boats r available.
For lunch we headed towards panchgani, (17.923644, 73.798307), another hill station approx 18 kms. Hidden here unknown to the lesser mortals is jafer bhai's Delhi darbar (17.921530, 73.796844), Do not miss this place, if u r not a delhite. Ordered a chicken starter and two mutton biryani. The ambience is nice with a bit of parking available. The starter was spicy, juicy, creamy and fresh. They just called it darbar special. Next was the biryani. If u r two, start with just one biryani otherwise u will struggle plenty to finish ur meal. Enough about qty, let us talk about quality. The biryani is aromatic, just spicy enough with a medley of colors and flavors. The mutton juicy, tender, spices spread throughout the core, indication of good marination and nice dum style cooking. A good biryani doesn't require anything to support it except itself. This was proved once again here. Here u r served only the biryani, no curds nor any other curry. other masala. It was not required. Excellent fare. This space is a haven for meat lovers. I just enjoyed every byte of food at this place
Next destination was shirdi. The route took us through the most gruelling drive. Pune is a concrete jungle in the most realistic sense. The traffic drove me mad. Approx 100 kms of hateful driving. My beast was huffing at the traffic. It did not hide its dislike for the traffic.
Reached mtdc shirdi, aka, travellers inn, around 3.30 pm. It is just at a distance of 100 metres from the temple. The moment u near the temple there will be touts and they will virtually catch u by ur hand and take u to their shop and give u all the required pooja things and charge u starting from INR 450/-. But there is really no need except u know what u r doing. Back to the hotel, had a coffee. It was good. For dinner we decided to have it in the in-house restaurant. Food was also good. Had a masala soda just to wash things down, just in front of the hotel, was good
Checked out around 9.00. Drove to etrange resort, 8 kms from ellora. Came to know that very day that ellora caves are closed on Tuesdays(Ajanta caves are closed on monday). Also came to know on that day, ajanta caves are 112 kms from our resort. No option but to visit ajanta. And in all the reviews, ajanta gets more brownie points. Got out the beast and headed towards ajanta caves. The road is good for 80 percent of the distance. The other 20% is nerve rattling. Reached around 1.30 pm. The last 4 kms are to be covered only by mtdc buses which are available every 10 minutes in both AC and non AC versions. There r three ways to climb the hills.
1. Crossing the bridge available, it will take u directly to cave no 9.
2. Climb the steps, the hardest and the best way. It will take u to cave no 1 and will in reality take u from 200 BC to the next 800 years.
3. If u can't walk then there are people to carry u in a palki like chair
Don't use cameras with flash, it is supposed to affect the paintings. Drinking water is available along the entire distance of the caves. Chilled water is available somewhere around the 9th cave. Do not forget to take guide. If u don't take a guide then, don't visit the place. U will not be able to appreciate the art, history, evolution of techniques, phasing out of ideas and ideals. There is an mtdc restaurant at the hills, for info. The best time to visit is the monsoons. It will be more picturesque and cool. If u head out in the summers wear chappals and carry an umbrella. Of course a water bottle.
Came back to the resort, had food. Half handi of mutton masala, semi gravy and chapattis. Both were prepared well. Nothing out of the ordinary. The chef, seeing, us south Indians had just made the mutton fiery enough. He admitted that he did not want to take any risk. The last course was kheer without dry fruits and it did taste good. Swimming pool was not clean, disappointing day for sonny.
The resort is good. It has a conference hall which can be converted to a dancing hall with a computer ready to accommodate a DJ. A swimming pool. Made to order dishes, a further free area after the swimming pool for other games. Negatives, don't go in summer, guests r minimal. It is a very solitary place. All the facilities might not be as u thought it would be. No WiFi. No shops nearby.
There was one big issue from stayzilla, through which I booked the resort, they booked a double AC room and then three days later, I get a call telling me though I booked an ac room, the amount I paid was only sufficient for a normal room. So if u book through stayzilla, confirm with them about the room and all the amenities. I also received a link to provide feedback, but it takes me to the homepage, so......
Had a veg sandwich in the morning and left for ellora caves. Reached at 9.00 AM and then came to know it is open from morning 6.00 AM to evening 6.00 PM. Biggest mistake of the day. Again beware of touts and head towards mtdci nformation centre. It is a huge campus with facility for an expansive vehicle parking. From thee again, mtdc/msrtc operates buses to the ellora caves. Just remember the caves are spread across a distance of 4 kms. If u buy a ticket here u can catch any bus moving within the ellora campus and move around between the caves. U r totally lost without a guide. Not much paintings to see here. They r damaged. But the carvings r more pronounced here.
My 2 cents tip when u go to any place if art is
1. Look closely at the face. Lot of feelings will be expressed here. The intent of the art piece is evident from the face.
2. The other portions of the body will reinforce this feel.
3. Keep the religion, race, creed, language, color for later. The artist talks to u irrespective of all these.
4. Majority of the carvings and paintings are serial and follow a certain progression. The progression is visible in the quality also, a result of learning.
Its time to go home. The route taken, hotels chosen have been affected by this blog post on team-bhp. I am stressing this here because, I wanted to skip pune altogether in my return journey. The route to be taken to do so was taken from this blog. Couldn't return home on the same day. Rented a budget hotel at kolhapur and called it a day. I don't like driving in the night when surroundings and people r not visible and I cannot taste the local food, the local fruit.
Honorable mention regarding food. On my return journey I tasted a twist of the venerable dum biryani. With the regular masala, this had fried corn chips, deep fried onions, lots of cloves and plenty of pepper. The concoction was tasty and crispy. The mutton definitely was beautifully dum cooked. There was only one chicken item, fried chicken. No twist here, but tasty. I don't remember the hotel name. Who cares. U might find a different twist in some other place. For a foodie, is there any limit......
Everything about any trip starts with and ends with the "drive". There is a catch 22 here. Whether the destination or the path to the destination, which is more important or which comes first. Without path you don't reach the destination and without a destination you cannot formulate a path. It is "very" difficult to single out which was more beautiful, the journey or the destinations. My jumbo did a 140 Kmph as effortlessly as it did 160 Kmph. I have a suggestion for the RTO of India. The driving license for a two wheeler should be given only and only if the driver passes the test given for cars also. These two wheeler drivers spoil the entire fun of a "drive" in a car. They should be shown "this" fun of driving a car and then they will know how not to destroy the journey for all the car drivers.
Almost throughout the journey the roads were good owing to the pune highway. With fuel guzzlers, it is always better to fill up when the fuel gage reads half way.
Left home exactly at 4.30 am. Road to davanagere are good. Tolls all the way. Reached Guru kotureshwara hotel, davanagere (14.453710, 75.915252), at 8.30. Turns out that is the perfect time for breakfast. The place is too modest. Just the size of a small room. Ur order is limited to set dosa or benne dosa. We opted for the benne dosa. Had to wait approximately 20 minutes. All this while I was just watching with awe the chef was continually going through the motion of belting out 10 dosas at a time with such perfect timing and finesse. He exactly knew when the dosas were fried just right. The aroma is unbelievable. The hotel is truly Japanese ideology. It just doles out what it can do best. The first bite presents my tongue with a medley of salt, chilly, pepper, mixed in the preparation of the batter itself. and all these harsh flavors moderated by oodles of butter. U also get a handful of potato mash and coconut chutney. But, believe me, u can have the dosa as is or with any other side dish u want and it will taste the same. We ordered two dosas per person in the beginning itself and that was an excellent decision.As a side note, we returned to this hotel again during our return journey at around 1.00 PM in the afternoon and the activities in the hotel are the same. They are outstaffed and out of space. Had to wait a good 15 minutes before my order was taken.
It was the time to hit the road again towards kolhapur. The stop at kolhapur was only for having kolhapur mutton. Again excellent tolled roads all the way and reached hotel opal, kolhapur, (16.703068, 74.250572) at around 1.30 pm. Parking is available. The layout of the hotel was very confusing and sonny rightly called it bhul bhulayya. The rooms were spacious. Toilets were clean. Ac working. With another small bed. By the side of the double bed. Just right for a couple with a kid. The restaurant serves all Maharashtrian delicacies. Had a Maharashtrian thaali which had all the regular food u can find to be specifically Maharashtrian. If u had Hyderabad dishes u will be at home with all the spicy nature of kolhapuri food.
Did not want do go out much. Sonny pressed us to visit the mall just next door. Went there and did the unthinkable. Watched a Telugu movie. Woke up in the morning and headed towards the restaurant for breakfast. The assortment was truly Maharashtrian. We had misal pav, upma, poha, sweet curd. The misal was a revelation. The taste and the ingredients going in r unique. A mixture of healthy and sinful ingredients. U have bhujia on the one band with varying thickness and shapes which is to be drowned in a spicy, oily curry of sprouts. The combination is a spicy and very tasty did efor use with any Indian bread, but normally used with pav. The poha is nice, mildly fried and spicy. In the South the poha ingredient is used to make a variety of kheer. Was thinking of visiting phadtares misal kendra, udyam nagar, (16.694454, 74.233168), but decided against it after having it in the restaurant itself. Checked out of the hotel and drove towards Mahalaxmi temple, kolhapur, (16.660884, 74.211154). Be very careful while visiting this place. It is somewhat hidden in the centre of the city. Google maps was totally confused. Ask the locals. And be careful there are a lot of mahalaxmi temples around kolhapur. The next stop was rankala lake, kolhapur, 16.693724, 74.209255. It is a big lake and I did not see any boating activity. Maybe it happens in the evening.
Time to hit the road again. Headed towards hotel panorama, mahabaleswar, (17.924890, 73.656868). This decision was solely based on the availability of swimming pool, nearness to market, parking and ac rooms. Not disappointed. It had all our requirements. It was located right in the heart of the market area. Had lunch at the hotel and it was ordinary. U receive a food coupon on arrival and u have no option but to use them. At checkout i was told that there is a balance in my food coupons and was advised to take a parcel. Decided to take a sandwich. One issue, the room was not serviced, though we gave the keys to the reception and instructed them to do so.
The market area was unique. It displayed nothing else than whatever was grown or fabricated in house. It rarely had the usual fare. Had a mixed fruit ice gola. Mahabaleswar is red, red with strawberry plantations. If u like strawberries, then, there is no better place than here. Everything is strawberry. Juice, ice cream, fudge, chikkie, u name it. Sone juice making companies are housed here. Maple is one among them. The maple restaurant is huge. Pizzas sandwiches, juices, mock tails, ice creams, sinful. U have a plethora of fruit concentrates, bottled pulp and plenty of ready to drink mock tails. Bought pina colada and a mojito. Sonny bought a chocolate drink, The better half bought a rose based drink. Visited venna lake boat club, mahabaleshwar, (17.934275, 73.668901) row and pedal boats r available.
For lunch we headed towards panchgani, (17.923644, 73.798307), another hill station approx 18 kms. Hidden here unknown to the lesser mortals is jafer bhai's Delhi darbar (17.921530, 73.796844), Do not miss this place, if u r not a delhite. Ordered a chicken starter and two mutton biryani. The ambience is nice with a bit of parking available. The starter was spicy, juicy, creamy and fresh. They just called it darbar special. Next was the biryani. If u r two, start with just one biryani otherwise u will struggle plenty to finish ur meal. Enough about qty, let us talk about quality. The biryani is aromatic, just spicy enough with a medley of colors and flavors. The mutton juicy, tender, spices spread throughout the core, indication of good marination and nice dum style cooking. A good biryani doesn't require anything to support it except itself. This was proved once again here. Here u r served only the biryani, no curds nor any other curry. other masala. It was not required. Excellent fare. This space is a haven for meat lovers. I just enjoyed every byte of food at this place
Next destination was shirdi. The route took us through the most gruelling drive. Pune is a concrete jungle in the most realistic sense. The traffic drove me mad. Approx 100 kms of hateful driving. My beast was huffing at the traffic. It did not hide its dislike for the traffic.
Reached mtdc shirdi, aka, travellers inn, around 3.30 pm. It is just at a distance of 100 metres from the temple. The moment u near the temple there will be touts and they will virtually catch u by ur hand and take u to their shop and give u all the required pooja things and charge u starting from INR 450/-. But there is really no need except u know what u r doing. Back to the hotel, had a coffee. It was good. For dinner we decided to have it in the in-house restaurant. Food was also good. Had a masala soda just to wash things down, just in front of the hotel, was good
Checked out around 9.00. Drove to etrange resort, 8 kms from ellora. Came to know that very day that ellora caves are closed on Tuesdays(Ajanta caves are closed on monday). Also came to know on that day, ajanta caves are 112 kms from our resort. No option but to visit ajanta. And in all the reviews, ajanta gets more brownie points. Got out the beast and headed towards ajanta caves. The road is good for 80 percent of the distance. The other 20% is nerve rattling. Reached around 1.30 pm. The last 4 kms are to be covered only by mtdc buses which are available every 10 minutes in both AC and non AC versions. There r three ways to climb the hills.
1. Crossing the bridge available, it will take u directly to cave no 9.
2. Climb the steps, the hardest and the best way. It will take u to cave no 1 and will in reality take u from 200 BC to the next 800 years.
3. If u can't walk then there are people to carry u in a palki like chair
Don't use cameras with flash, it is supposed to affect the paintings. Drinking water is available along the entire distance of the caves. Chilled water is available somewhere around the 9th cave. Do not forget to take guide. If u don't take a guide then, don't visit the place. U will not be able to appreciate the art, history, evolution of techniques, phasing out of ideas and ideals. There is an mtdc restaurant at the hills, for info. The best time to visit is the monsoons. It will be more picturesque and cool. If u head out in the summers wear chappals and carry an umbrella. Of course a water bottle.
Came back to the resort, had food. Half handi of mutton masala, semi gravy and chapattis. Both were prepared well. Nothing out of the ordinary. The chef, seeing, us south Indians had just made the mutton fiery enough. He admitted that he did not want to take any risk. The last course was kheer without dry fruits and it did taste good. Swimming pool was not clean, disappointing day for sonny.
The resort is good. It has a conference hall which can be converted to a dancing hall with a computer ready to accommodate a DJ. A swimming pool. Made to order dishes, a further free area after the swimming pool for other games. Negatives, don't go in summer, guests r minimal. It is a very solitary place. All the facilities might not be as u thought it would be. No WiFi. No shops nearby.
There was one big issue from stayzilla, through which I booked the resort, they booked a double AC room and then three days later, I get a call telling me though I booked an ac room, the amount I paid was only sufficient for a normal room. So if u book through stayzilla, confirm with them about the room and all the amenities. I also received a link to provide feedback, but it takes me to the homepage, so......
Had a veg sandwich in the morning and left for ellora caves. Reached at 9.00 AM and then came to know it is open from morning 6.00 AM to evening 6.00 PM. Biggest mistake of the day. Again beware of touts and head towards mtdci nformation centre. It is a huge campus with facility for an expansive vehicle parking. From thee again, mtdc/msrtc operates buses to the ellora caves. Just remember the caves are spread across a distance of 4 kms. If u buy a ticket here u can catch any bus moving within the ellora campus and move around between the caves. U r totally lost without a guide. Not much paintings to see here. They r damaged. But the carvings r more pronounced here.
My 2 cents tip when u go to any place if art is
1. Look closely at the face. Lot of feelings will be expressed here. The intent of the art piece is evident from the face.
2. The other portions of the body will reinforce this feel.
3. Keep the religion, race, creed, language, color for later. The artist talks to u irrespective of all these.
4. Majority of the carvings and paintings are serial and follow a certain progression. The progression is visible in the quality also, a result of learning.
Its time to go home. The route taken, hotels chosen have been affected by this blog post on team-bhp. I am stressing this here because, I wanted to skip pune altogether in my return journey. The route to be taken to do so was taken from this blog. Couldn't return home on the same day. Rented a budget hotel at kolhapur and called it a day. I don't like driving in the night when surroundings and people r not visible and I cannot taste the local food, the local fruit.
Honorable mention regarding food. On my return journey I tasted a twist of the venerable dum biryani. With the regular masala, this had fried corn chips, deep fried onions, lots of cloves and plenty of pepper. The concoction was tasty and crispy. The mutton definitely was beautifully dum cooked. There was only one chicken item, fried chicken. No twist here, but tasty. I don't remember the hotel name. Who cares. U might find a different twist in some other place. For a foodie, is there any limit......
Everything about any trip starts with and ends with the "drive". There is a catch 22 here. Whether the destination or the path to the destination, which is more important or which comes first. Without path you don't reach the destination and without a destination you cannot formulate a path. It is "very" difficult to single out which was more beautiful, the journey or the destinations. My jumbo did a 140 Kmph as effortlessly as it did 160 Kmph. I have a suggestion for the RTO of India. The driving license for a two wheeler should be given only and only if the driver passes the test given for cars also. These two wheeler drivers spoil the entire fun of a "drive" in a car. They should be shown "this" fun of driving a car and then they will know how not to destroy the journey for all the car drivers.
Almost throughout the journey the roads were good owing to the pune highway. With fuel guzzlers, it is always better to fill up when the fuel gage reads half way.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
A few days in vasco, Goa
Now, vasco is a strange city. To start with its name is vasco da gama. Only to the outside world this is the name. Once you land in the place it is just vasco. May be in the long run it will be renamed such.
Goa normally is associated with fun, frolic, lazy, hazy and other synonyms. But vasco is not so. This, now, is a regular city. The heart of the city is bustling with activity. A walk through the fish market in the night will pop your eyes out with the variety. There is a sad side to all this. As a tourist you dont get to see hotels providing you with that same variety of fish food that is caught. All the good/best ones make it out of Goa. The ordinary ones are left. In one of the best hotels also the fish food fare is quite ordinary and well known and one more common thing is the cost, it is no way competitive.
The heart of the city is flush with veg and non-veg hotels doling out the same usual stuff common across India. My gripe whenever I go is that the local cuisine is not doled out in the city areas. Unless you know where to eat local fare, you will be provided with the standard Indian food. How can we be a roman in Rome, If you are not treated so? I believe a foreign traveller who is travalling across our country would know all our standard fare by-heart. If the numer of languages baffle everybody the real local cuisine is going blow their taste buds out.
The closest beach is Baina. It is a nice beach, a quite one. Not much of commercial activities around it. If you want to spend a quite evening I would recommned it wholesomely. The next closest one is the Bogmallo beach. Here I observed plenty of commercial activities and a lot number of tourists both foreign and local. Though the population on the beach is no way comparable to the ones in the other sides of Goa. The best thing is there are lots of shacks lined along the beach for you to have a drink until the sun goes down and a few hours more. If you want that to continue then your best bet would be Bagamallo resort right at the beach. The huge walls along the resort is a big turn off for me. But it succeds where the shacks fail, a comfy bed for the night. By now you know what to do to get the better of both the worlds.
To start with I am not a fan of goan cuisine. So, I limited myself to less adventorous food. Anantasram was the first pit stop. It was suggested by a friend. Turns out this place is exactly how I wished it would be. A large open area and two comfort levels of AC areas. The open large area is best in the evenings and for the afternoons....Yes, you guesed it right. It offers all the usual Indian fare with a bit of continental and chinese. Major issues with these mid-tiers is the limitation in the brands of beer. They normally stock two to three brands utmost. If your want to have variety the best bet would be the retail shops spread across the city, ofcourse your hotel where you are staying should allow it. I would always like to keep my drinks and food away from my hotel room so as to have a neat comfy space to sleep onto. Coming back to Anantasram, they have a good selection of cocktails, All well known, standard ones. I had a pina colada. It was the most "classic" pina colada I had to date. They strictly stuck to the book. Then it was the turn of Feni, the local drink. I tried a cocktail based on it and it was different and fresh. It tasted cashew all the way. Two more lemons did not douse the cashew in it. Feni is also supposed to be made from pine, but it was in short supply across the city, the option was always cashew feni. The fish fingers were one of the lonest ones I had and were tasty.
The next stop on an other day was spice chariot. Ordered a fenny based drink and fish fry. Again un-succesfully tried to dilute the cashew flavor. For the next drink, I asked the bar tender to "Surprise me". I was offered "Sex on the beach". The drink was vodka based with fresh lime and peppermint flavors garnished with tulsi leaves. The drink was very refreshing and succesfuly removed the ramaining feni flavors.
The roads are decent. Public transport is through private vehicles. Good enough, sufficient and frequent. Be careful during lunch time. Better have a looong lunch or you will be stranded for want of transportation. And again normally lunch at any hotel ends around 3 - 4 pm and they shut down until evening.
The next day was a veg day, vasco fails you totally. Majority of the south indian restaurants are run by north indians who dont know anything about the sambars. So, you are warned.
And while in vasco, it is by default to visit panjim and Margao. Have a visit and you will not be dissappointed. They are much more commercial in their approaches and is what people think of when they think of Goa. Just opposite to the railway station, the dead end on that road, the Goan government runs buses regularly, every 10 minutes i believe towards Margao and Panjim. The cool thing about these buses are they are non-stop. Thet start at vasco and stop at margao or panjim, whichever you had chosen. It takes around 45 minutes and more in the evenings. There are a few A/C buses also.
Goa normally is associated with fun, frolic, lazy, hazy and other synonyms. But vasco is not so. This, now, is a regular city. The heart of the city is bustling with activity. A walk through the fish market in the night will pop your eyes out with the variety. There is a sad side to all this. As a tourist you dont get to see hotels providing you with that same variety of fish food that is caught. All the good/best ones make it out of Goa. The ordinary ones are left. In one of the best hotels also the fish food fare is quite ordinary and well known and one more common thing is the cost, it is no way competitive.
The heart of the city is flush with veg and non-veg hotels doling out the same usual stuff common across India. My gripe whenever I go is that the local cuisine is not doled out in the city areas. Unless you know where to eat local fare, you will be provided with the standard Indian food. How can we be a roman in Rome, If you are not treated so? I believe a foreign traveller who is travalling across our country would know all our standard fare by-heart. If the numer of languages baffle everybody the real local cuisine is going blow their taste buds out.
The closest beach is Baina. It is a nice beach, a quite one. Not much of commercial activities around it. If you want to spend a quite evening I would recommned it wholesomely. The next closest one is the Bogmallo beach. Here I observed plenty of commercial activities and a lot number of tourists both foreign and local. Though the population on the beach is no way comparable to the ones in the other sides of Goa. The best thing is there are lots of shacks lined along the beach for you to have a drink until the sun goes down and a few hours more. If you want that to continue then your best bet would be Bagamallo resort right at the beach. The huge walls along the resort is a big turn off for me. But it succeds where the shacks fail, a comfy bed for the night. By now you know what to do to get the better of both the worlds.
To start with I am not a fan of goan cuisine. So, I limited myself to less adventorous food. Anantasram was the first pit stop. It was suggested by a friend. Turns out this place is exactly how I wished it would be. A large open area and two comfort levels of AC areas. The open large area is best in the evenings and for the afternoons....Yes, you guesed it right. It offers all the usual Indian fare with a bit of continental and chinese. Major issues with these mid-tiers is the limitation in the brands of beer. They normally stock two to three brands utmost. If your want to have variety the best bet would be the retail shops spread across the city, ofcourse your hotel where you are staying should allow it. I would always like to keep my drinks and food away from my hotel room so as to have a neat comfy space to sleep onto. Coming back to Anantasram, they have a good selection of cocktails, All well known, standard ones. I had a pina colada. It was the most "classic" pina colada I had to date. They strictly stuck to the book. Then it was the turn of Feni, the local drink. I tried a cocktail based on it and it was different and fresh. It tasted cashew all the way. Two more lemons did not douse the cashew in it. Feni is also supposed to be made from pine, but it was in short supply across the city, the option was always cashew feni. The fish fingers were one of the lonest ones I had and were tasty.
The next stop on an other day was spice chariot. Ordered a fenny based drink and fish fry. Again un-succesfully tried to dilute the cashew flavor. For the next drink, I asked the bar tender to "Surprise me". I was offered "Sex on the beach". The drink was vodka based with fresh lime and peppermint flavors garnished with tulsi leaves. The drink was very refreshing and succesfuly removed the ramaining feni flavors.
The roads are decent. Public transport is through private vehicles. Good enough, sufficient and frequent. Be careful during lunch time. Better have a looong lunch or you will be stranded for want of transportation. And again normally lunch at any hotel ends around 3 - 4 pm and they shut down until evening.
The next day was a veg day, vasco fails you totally. Majority of the south indian restaurants are run by north indians who dont know anything about the sambars. So, you are warned.
And while in vasco, it is by default to visit panjim and Margao. Have a visit and you will not be dissappointed. They are much more commercial in their approaches and is what people think of when they think of Goa. Just opposite to the railway station, the dead end on that road, the Goan government runs buses regularly, every 10 minutes i believe towards Margao and Panjim. The cool thing about these buses are they are non-stop. Thet start at vasco and stop at margao or panjim, whichever you had chosen. It takes around 45 minutes and more in the evenings. There are a few A/C buses also.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Touching a tip of the iceberg called Kerala
Left the residence at Sunday early morning 3.30 AM.
Wifey prepared puliyogare, curd rice, Hot milk. Cranked the beast(Mahindra Scorpio SLE) up and we r ready for the malabar.
The first stop was to be at Dindigal to have their special ginger biryaani. But it was not to be so. We reached dindigal around 9.30 AM. Had puliyogare, curd rice and proceeded towards thekkady.
We were supposed to reach thekkady around 2 pm. But we reached the tiger reserve @ 12.15 pm. This was made possible by the awesome tolled roads. I reached 170 kmph( disclaimer: I am not suggesting anybody to speed up. Please be careful while driving and drive within the speed limits and the capabilities of ur vehicle)
I want make few things clear here. I don't know the exact path taken. I just gave myself up to my MapmyIndia navigator. The distances mentioned are approximate and as per the route suggested by the navigator. Ktdc offers different tariffs based on the calendar. Check their website for tariffs of the month. All ktdc hotels tariff default to room + breakfast + dinner. All ktdc hotels don't care for ur vehicles. There r disclaimers everywhere to put the responsibility of vehicles on the owners
The roads in Kerala, well, no words to describe them. U will be shocked that that the roads u r driving through r national highways. People and vehicles will be moving across the broad a as though they are crossing a city road. It was very difficult to find a secluded spot on the roads to take a leak. Take sufficient breaks between driving. All the commercial activities r concentrated on these roads. Various stretches are under video surveillance for over speeding. The limits r a max of 60-70 kmph. I heaved a sigh of relief after entering Karnataka and saw that highways are still highways here. One more thing, A complete catch of fish was sold for INR 2k by a fisherman. But sea food was very costly and on par with Bangalore......
dindigal Ponram Briyani Hotel 10.360274, 77.976013(Lat, Long)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
First Stop: Periyar tiger reserve
At the periyar tiger reserve I stayed at ktdc periyar house
9.584698, 77.179869(Lat, Long), INR 2700 per night.
Entry to the Hotel/Forest is allowed only during the Day time 7Am to 5:30 PM.
Beyond this time, forest Guards will not allow. On certain conditions(listed below), entry is still allowed beyond 5:30 PM.
1. Watching the Tribal Dance, which is outside the forest. And the event starts after 6 PM.
2. Jungle Night Scout. Starts outside the forest after 7PM.
If we are participating in these events, then the Forest Guards allow the entry after 6PM.
I just basked in the wild by sitting on the benches spread across the hotel. The sounds are totally different and for once you will love the sounds coming out of the forest. More like a lullaby.
The last boat ride is at 3 pm. If the influx of travellers are high then tickets get sold before 12 pm. The boat ride is best at 7.30 AM, the first ride. But, rememberrrr, U have to wear the most awkward life guards. U have to sit in ur seat without moving. The boat moves at a snails pace to help the visitors sight the wild.
Lunch was junk. Don't eat anything chicken, was, I think in the freezer for eternity. Paid coffee is good. The same for complimentary breakfast was nonsense. It is located a good 2km inside the tiger reserve. Gives u a feeling of living exactly in the heart of the jungle. Lots of monkeys. Close all windows at all points. Towels and beds are fresh. Toilets r clean. There is a badminton court for people interest The staff will arrange for safaris and boat rides, no need to stand in the Q.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Second Stop: Kovalam Beach
tekkady to kovalam 250 Km.
On the way we were suggested to have food at this place, karimpumkala restaurant, 9.531084, 76.512465(Lat, Long). After having food here, I strongly recommend it for anybody wanting to have Kerala cuisine. Service is fast and good. Decide in advance regarding ur choice of food. It will be quicker. It is a decent restaurant in terms of the looks. Dont expect any extravagance.
KTDC Samudra Kovalam 8.400096, 76.973013 INR 5800
U Will be impressed by its location. Constructed on rocks overlooking the beach, this facility is professionally run. It is more in the resort category. Food is good and so is the well maintained outdoor swimming pool, a private beach. Clean rooms, nice breeze, chairs to sit outside coupoutside, hamlocks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Third stop: Kumarakom
kovalam to kumarakom 200 km
ktdc waterscapes Kumarakom, Kerala, India INR 6200
9.631815, 76.430437
U Will again be impressed by its location. Kumarakom is the biggest backwater in Kerala. Constructed of only wood, the cottages are constructed on man made canals branching water from the backwaters. Ther r some 40 cottages. The ones opposite the backwaters are the costliest. Professionally run. It is in the resort category. Food is good and so is the breakfast. Well maintained outdoor swimming pool, boat rides organized by the hotel itself, with their own boats. The options r a snail pulled, motor boat ànd an adrenaline pumping speed boat. The speed boat option is the best and the experince is awesome. Clean rooms, nice breeze, chairs to sit outside, hamlocks below the cottages. Bird sanctuary is an added attraction.
------------------------------------------
Fourth Stop: Fort Kochi
Time to visit a beach again.
kumarakom to fort kochi 55Km
Stayed at hotel rossitta wood castle 9.966611, 76.241692. Happy to learn that this facility was built 300 years ago. The third generation owner, Mr. Joseph was kind enough to show me around the facility. He has kept it true to its lineage. Parking is a problem. U have to park ur vehicle in the road in front of the hotel. Clean room, bathrooms. For dinner we were recommended to eat at a restaurant whose chef was at rossitta. The food there had a definite twist. The same chef made breakfast and let me be frank, he prepared the best stuffed omelets I had ate to date in flat 10 minutes. Hot water only available on request.
As To the place, no, it is not a regular beach. The beach is full of weeds and u cannot play with the waves. The sunset started well, but clouds took over. The place is rife with foreign visitors to enjoy the visuals of their supremacy at that time as well as today.
Return to Bangalore
The return journey will take a minimum of 12 hours. Be prepared for the return journey because you will pass through the entire hell of path through keral roads before entering into Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Have a plan for the return path to drive through kerala at a minimum.
------------------------------------------------
Mistake made: After the tiger reserve we should have gone to Kumarakom and then to Kovalam. On Kerala roads this mistake is very costly and you will remember the mistake your entire life.
Wifey prepared puliyogare, curd rice, Hot milk. Cranked the beast(Mahindra Scorpio SLE) up and we r ready for the malabar.
The first stop was to be at Dindigal to have their special ginger biryaani. But it was not to be so. We reached dindigal around 9.30 AM. Had puliyogare, curd rice and proceeded towards thekkady.
We were supposed to reach thekkady around 2 pm. But we reached the tiger reserve @ 12.15 pm. This was made possible by the awesome tolled roads. I reached 170 kmph( disclaimer: I am not suggesting anybody to speed up. Please be careful while driving and drive within the speed limits and the capabilities of ur vehicle)
I want make few things clear here. I don't know the exact path taken. I just gave myself up to my MapmyIndia navigator. The distances mentioned are approximate and as per the route suggested by the navigator. Ktdc offers different tariffs based on the calendar. Check their website for tariffs of the month. All ktdc hotels tariff default to room + breakfast + dinner. All ktdc hotels don't care for ur vehicles. There r disclaimers everywhere to put the responsibility of vehicles on the owners
The roads in Kerala, well, no words to describe them. U will be shocked that that the roads u r driving through r national highways. People and vehicles will be moving across the broad a as though they are crossing a city road. It was very difficult to find a secluded spot on the roads to take a leak. Take sufficient breaks between driving. All the commercial activities r concentrated on these roads. Various stretches are under video surveillance for over speeding. The limits r a max of 60-70 kmph. I heaved a sigh of relief after entering Karnataka and saw that highways are still highways here. One more thing, A complete catch of fish was sold for INR 2k by a fisherman. But sea food was very costly and on par with Bangalore......
dindigal Ponram Briyani Hotel 10.360274, 77.976013(Lat, Long)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
First Stop: Periyar tiger reserve
At the periyar tiger reserve I stayed at ktdc periyar house
9.584698, 77.179869(Lat, Long), INR 2700 per night.
Entry to the Hotel/Forest is allowed only during the Day time 7Am to 5:30 PM.
Beyond this time, forest Guards will not allow. On certain conditions(listed below), entry is still allowed beyond 5:30 PM.
1. Watching the Tribal Dance, which is outside the forest. And the event starts after 6 PM.
2. Jungle Night Scout. Starts outside the forest after 7PM.
If we are participating in these events, then the Forest Guards allow the entry after 6PM.
I just basked in the wild by sitting on the benches spread across the hotel. The sounds are totally different and for once you will love the sounds coming out of the forest. More like a lullaby.
The last boat ride is at 3 pm. If the influx of travellers are high then tickets get sold before 12 pm. The boat ride is best at 7.30 AM, the first ride. But, rememberrrr, U have to wear the most awkward life guards. U have to sit in ur seat without moving. The boat moves at a snails pace to help the visitors sight the wild.
Lunch was junk. Don't eat anything chicken, was, I think in the freezer for eternity. Paid coffee is good. The same for complimentary breakfast was nonsense. It is located a good 2km inside the tiger reserve. Gives u a feeling of living exactly in the heart of the jungle. Lots of monkeys. Close all windows at all points. Towels and beds are fresh. Toilets r clean. There is a badminton court for people interest The staff will arrange for safaris and boat rides, no need to stand in the Q.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Second Stop: Kovalam Beach
tekkady to kovalam 250 Km.
On the way we were suggested to have food at this place, karimpumkala restaurant, 9.531084, 76.512465(Lat, Long). After having food here, I strongly recommend it for anybody wanting to have Kerala cuisine. Service is fast and good. Decide in advance regarding ur choice of food. It will be quicker. It is a decent restaurant in terms of the looks. Dont expect any extravagance.
KTDC Samudra Kovalam 8.400096, 76.973013 INR 5800
U Will be impressed by its location. Constructed on rocks overlooking the beach, this facility is professionally run. It is more in the resort category. Food is good and so is the well maintained outdoor swimming pool, a private beach. Clean rooms, nice breeze, chairs to sit outside coupoutside, hamlocks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Third stop: Kumarakom
kovalam to kumarakom 200 km
ktdc waterscapes Kumarakom, Kerala, India INR 6200
9.631815, 76.430437
U Will again be impressed by its location. Kumarakom is the biggest backwater in Kerala. Constructed of only wood, the cottages are constructed on man made canals branching water from the backwaters. Ther r some 40 cottages. The ones opposite the backwaters are the costliest. Professionally run. It is in the resort category. Food is good and so is the breakfast. Well maintained outdoor swimming pool, boat rides organized by the hotel itself, with their own boats. The options r a snail pulled, motor boat ànd an adrenaline pumping speed boat. The speed boat option is the best and the experince is awesome. Clean rooms, nice breeze, chairs to sit outside, hamlocks below the cottages. Bird sanctuary is an added attraction.
------------------------------------------
Fourth Stop: Fort Kochi
Time to visit a beach again.
kumarakom to fort kochi 55Km
Stayed at hotel rossitta wood castle 9.966611, 76.241692. Happy to learn that this facility was built 300 years ago. The third generation owner, Mr. Joseph was kind enough to show me around the facility. He has kept it true to its lineage. Parking is a problem. U have to park ur vehicle in the road in front of the hotel. Clean room, bathrooms. For dinner we were recommended to eat at a restaurant whose chef was at rossitta. The food there had a definite twist. The same chef made breakfast and let me be frank, he prepared the best stuffed omelets I had ate to date in flat 10 minutes. Hot water only available on request.
As To the place, no, it is not a regular beach. The beach is full of weeds and u cannot play with the waves. The sunset started well, but clouds took over. The place is rife with foreign visitors to enjoy the visuals of their supremacy at that time as well as today.
Return to Bangalore
The return journey will take a minimum of 12 hours. Be prepared for the return journey because you will pass through the entire hell of path through keral roads before entering into Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Have a plan for the return path to drive through kerala at a minimum.
------------------------------------------------
Mistake made: After the tiger reserve we should have gone to Kumarakom and then to Kovalam. On Kerala roads this mistake is very costly and you will remember the mistake your entire life.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Trip to Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram and vellore
Switched on Mapmyindia navigator and put the destination to point the resort we booked at Pondicherry. Left Bangalore around 6.00 AM, just to beat the traffic on hosur road. Lot of "work under progress" along the route so reached the resort at around 1.00 PM in the afternoon. Went to the restaurant in the resort itself. Ordered butter naans and related side dishes. The butter naan was out of the world. It was soft and really buttery smooth. It just melted in the mouth. The side dishes were alright. Took a nap. Left the resort to visit a beach and headed straight towards paradise beach. Heard and read about it a lot over the public network. The beach lives up to its name. It is absolutely non-commercial. No hawkers, No vendors. Just a plain and beautiful beach. It is populated only by the fishermen going about their chores. Do carry enough eatables. You really dont get anything here. Stayed until dawn then returned back to the resort. While returning back, had food at a restaurant which claimed to offer chettinad fare. The butter naans were bad. Biryaani was one of the worst I had.
Next morning it was more beach after having complimentary breakfast from the resort. This time it was serenity beach. The temperature was soaring and we were wet with the sweat itself. Sonny played a while along the beach. We then had fish from the nearest hawker on the beach. It was horrible. We washed it down with tender coconut and cucumber. Went back to the resort. Took some rest and strolled around. There is an eerie calmness in the place made possible by the Non-Indian settlers. Everybody goes about their chores without any complaints. Went out for dinner and just 500m from the resort was this place called tanto. They make awesome Pizzas. Be sure to see the size of the pizza being served before ordering one. Go for the one with sea food toppings. It has everything from shrimps, fish and ....... I think one big pizza is enough for a family of three.
Second morning had breakfast packed the things and headed to Mahabalipuram. Checked into the hotel and it gave me one of the worst experiences on the trip. Visited the shore temple. The sun was burning down, but the visitors cared a damn. It was crowded. Nobody understood anything. They just roamed through the shore temple. No guides were in sight. Then it was time for Crocodile park, about 15 kms from Mahabalipuram towards chennai. It was a nice park. Many varieties of the reptile was on display in their natural habitat. Went back to the hotel. For dinner I searched for a barbecue restaurant and couldn't locate it. Just had a pure veg lunch instead.
Third morning had complementary breakfast and then headed to Arjuna's penance. There we did get a guide and he took us through all the rocky history and architecture. The most important thing which caught my ears was that King krishnadevaraya built a shelter for one of the carvings in Mahabalipuram. Checked out from the hotel and started towards Kanchipuram. Checked into the hotel and the experiences worsened. Plan was to visit kamakshi temple on the next day. But seeing the hotel condition decided to return that very day. Family did some shopping of cotton silk sarees. The whole town is full of silk emporiums bigh, small and all other sizes in between. Had lunch at saravana bhavan. I dont know from when Daal became south Indian. The worst south Indian food money can buy.
Left towards Bangalore around evening. The we see that vellore is on the way to Bangalore. decided to vist vellore golden temple. Proved to be a big mistake. Reached temple around 7.00 PM. Immediately joined the line and it led into one of the lock rooms which declared that the waiting time for the rendezvous with the goddess would be 3.00 hours. The whole family sprung into action and started searching for a way out of the locker. Got the guard to open the gate and we rushed back towards our vehicle. The moment we left the enclosure, it started raining in torrents. It was a good .5 km to the vehicle and we saw all the sizes of cats and dogs during this period. Drove into the rain for approximately 2.00 hrs. Then the rain calmed down. The roads were excellent. The vehicle was always on a paid toll road.
All the hotels in the itinery were booked through stayzilla.com. Their followup is nice. Once you login to their website, you will have a chat window floating to the bottom right of the screen. If you are overwhelmed by the choices and are having a specific requirement you can chat up with their rep. If the phone number is mentioned then they will give you a call and help in finalizing the hotel. At that time the prices on stayzilla were the lowest.
Purple resort at Pondicherry
1. Neatly maintained rooms
2. Fresh and clean towels
3. Soft and heavily cushioned beds and neat covers.
4. Neat toilet
5. Fabulous swimming pool
6. Tasty food(Awesome butter naan)
7. Lot of variety in the breakfast buffet
8. Parking space.
9. Lot of service staff
10 Neat cupboards
11 Complimentary Wi-fi
Mamalla inn at Mahabalipuram
1. No parking space at all. Have to park at the reception area
2. Cheap tactics(With one kid you have to buy an additional bed, though you don't require it or you have to pay for the breakfast for your kid)
3. My vehicle got damaged at the bumper owing to the wrong directions from the hotel boy.
4. Broken wooden planks in the bathroom
5. No hangers in the bathroom
6. Very less variety in the breakfast buffet
7. 1 or 2 service staff
8. Unpleasant swimming pool at the roof with plenty of chlorine for ultimate dis-satisfaction
9. Dirty cupboards
10. Wi-fi Forget about it.
Ramco residency at Kanchipuram
1. No parking space. You are on your own. It is the heart of the buzzling shopping activity
2. Rooms have not been cleaned for years together
3. No towels given
4. The bed covers were not washed in years. You can see the white spots throughout the sheet.
5. Dirty toilets and mugs.
6. Forget about using the cupboards
7. Wi-fi Dont speak that language
Happy holidays.
Next morning it was more beach after having complimentary breakfast from the resort. This time it was serenity beach. The temperature was soaring and we were wet with the sweat itself. Sonny played a while along the beach. We then had fish from the nearest hawker on the beach. It was horrible. We washed it down with tender coconut and cucumber. Went back to the resort. Took some rest and strolled around. There is an eerie calmness in the place made possible by the Non-Indian settlers. Everybody goes about their chores without any complaints. Went out for dinner and just 500m from the resort was this place called tanto. They make awesome Pizzas. Be sure to see the size of the pizza being served before ordering one. Go for the one with sea food toppings. It has everything from shrimps, fish and ....... I think one big pizza is enough for a family of three.
Second morning had breakfast packed the things and headed to Mahabalipuram. Checked into the hotel and it gave me one of the worst experiences on the trip. Visited the shore temple. The sun was burning down, but the visitors cared a damn. It was crowded. Nobody understood anything. They just roamed through the shore temple. No guides were in sight. Then it was time for Crocodile park, about 15 kms from Mahabalipuram towards chennai. It was a nice park. Many varieties of the reptile was on display in their natural habitat. Went back to the hotel. For dinner I searched for a barbecue restaurant and couldn't locate it. Just had a pure veg lunch instead.
Third morning had complementary breakfast and then headed to Arjuna's penance. There we did get a guide and he took us through all the rocky history and architecture. The most important thing which caught my ears was that King krishnadevaraya built a shelter for one of the carvings in Mahabalipuram. Checked out from the hotel and started towards Kanchipuram. Checked into the hotel and the experiences worsened. Plan was to visit kamakshi temple on the next day. But seeing the hotel condition decided to return that very day. Family did some shopping of cotton silk sarees. The whole town is full of silk emporiums bigh, small and all other sizes in between. Had lunch at saravana bhavan. I dont know from when Daal became south Indian. The worst south Indian food money can buy.
Left towards Bangalore around evening. The we see that vellore is on the way to Bangalore. decided to vist vellore golden temple. Proved to be a big mistake. Reached temple around 7.00 PM. Immediately joined the line and it led into one of the lock rooms which declared that the waiting time for the rendezvous with the goddess would be 3.00 hours. The whole family sprung into action and started searching for a way out of the locker. Got the guard to open the gate and we rushed back towards our vehicle. The moment we left the enclosure, it started raining in torrents. It was a good .5 km to the vehicle and we saw all the sizes of cats and dogs during this period. Drove into the rain for approximately 2.00 hrs. Then the rain calmed down. The roads were excellent. The vehicle was always on a paid toll road.
All the hotels in the itinery were booked through stayzilla.com. Their followup is nice. Once you login to their website, you will have a chat window floating to the bottom right of the screen. If you are overwhelmed by the choices and are having a specific requirement you can chat up with their rep. If the phone number is mentioned then they will give you a call and help in finalizing the hotel. At that time the prices on stayzilla were the lowest.
Purple resort at Pondicherry
1. Neatly maintained rooms
2. Fresh and clean towels
3. Soft and heavily cushioned beds and neat covers.
4. Neat toilet
5. Fabulous swimming pool
6. Tasty food(Awesome butter naan)
7. Lot of variety in the breakfast buffet
8. Parking space.
9. Lot of service staff
10 Neat cupboards
11 Complimentary Wi-fi
Mamalla inn at Mahabalipuram
1. No parking space at all. Have to park at the reception area
2. Cheap tactics(With one kid you have to buy an additional bed, though you don't require it or you have to pay for the breakfast for your kid)
3. My vehicle got damaged at the bumper owing to the wrong directions from the hotel boy.
4. Broken wooden planks in the bathroom
5. No hangers in the bathroom
6. Very less variety in the breakfast buffet
7. 1 or 2 service staff
8. Unpleasant swimming pool at the roof with plenty of chlorine for ultimate dis-satisfaction
9. Dirty cupboards
10. Wi-fi Forget about it.
Ramco residency at Kanchipuram
1. No parking space. You are on your own. It is the heart of the buzzling shopping activity
2. Rooms have not been cleaned for years together
3. No towels given
4. The bed covers were not washed in years. You can see the white spots throughout the sheet.
5. Dirty toilets and mugs.
6. Forget about using the cupboards
7. Wi-fi Dont speak that language
Happy holidays.
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