Wednesday 19 October 2011

Te Aroha - A Place of Love

Mean and lazy. How else would you describe my choice to pick Te Aroha as my travel post to launch my blog. I could promote my own hotel, use all the flowery words to glorify it and I did not need to make a visit as I had been there tens of times. What else could be more mean and lazier. But then those who travel wouldn't be fooled by my blog.  You will make your own judgement, don't you guys! And I will let you be. Because what you experience first-hand is what matters notwithstanding what I or any one else writes.


So here is Te Aroha.  A place of love. Yes, that is what the name indeed means, in the maori language of New Zealand. And its not just the name, your experience would be no less than a celebration of love when you stay at Te Aroha. A morning or an overnight train, or a 7 hours drive from Delhi is what it takes to embrace the paradise. What more could you ask?  It truly is heavenly. As you drive up a winding road, passing a small and lazy bazar, the hotel emerges suddenly out of no where. As you walk up the broad steps to the garage-turned-into-front office, two imposing structures bonded by the glass-house restaurant welcome you.  You do of course get your welcome drink as you admire the twin-wings that dwarf you. One is the old colonial style summer house and the other a new building no less majestic than the older one. The pair is a part of the story that runs through the hotel as you will find when you visit you room and explore the hotel. I won't spoil your experience by disclosing the details.


The rooms are large. Furniture is authentic antique. A number of stories are weaved around them.  Comforts are contemporary. Windows open up to the Himalaya. Food is simply magical. Service exceeds expectations.  All this indeed adds up to a fatal cocktail - not just for experience but also to explore the depth of your pockets! Guys there is nothing called free lunch. Of course be prepared to shell out some money to enjoy one of the best properties of Kumaon. Rooms are not that expensive but food is priced high. But then exception food produced by three chefs in an ultra modern kitchen served in a candle-lit fine dining setting won't come at McDonalds prices.


It has a coffee loung too. And then to top it up there is a cafe coming opening later this month. Cafe Flashback believe you me is a unique enterprise. I assure the first of its kind. A must-experience place.

The hotel has cycles with all the safety equipments which is great to ride through the pine forests! Only if you have muscles to pull them. Changing gears alone won't help I assure! Or do star-gazing at night. The hotel has a state of the art telescope. It takes an hour to set it up though and not all the staff can tell you about the stars. But then what else are Ipads for? Make the most of them.  There are plenty of books to select from to read if that is what you prefer. There are plenty of inviting corners to sit and light a cigerrete as all indoor areas of the hotel are non-smoking.  Strictly. Believe you me as the hotel website says you could be fined 5000 rupees. Phew!

Jungle walks are tempting. Village walks enduring. If you know how to  click the camera Dhanachuli won't disappoint. In fact it won't disappoint even if you can't as what you see  will surely get stored in your mental memory card. That is more helpful as far as Te Aroha is concerned as that will ensure you will be back again!

So here is a perfect destination for spending three to four days in the blissful mountains. When ever you have a long weekend just don't browse websites. Take my advice - open the website link below and add it to your list of favourites. And more importantly, believe me. Believe my blog.

Te Aroha is located in Dhanachuli  near Mukteshwar in Nainital District of Uttrakhand. The hotel website is www.tearoha.in and its face book page is wwww.facebook.com/tearohadhanachuli

Curse me for sure if you find Te Aroha otherwise!

















4 comments:

  1. Beautifully written post. I liked the name of the blog, nothing could have been better than this..

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  2. Very passionate .... Reading the blog brings me to Te Aroha and I love the place so much ....

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  3. Very well crafted piece!! your dexterity with words and passion imbibe worthy!!

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