We, Mumbaites (people staying in Mumbai erstwhile Bombay - prefer ourselves to be referred to or rather pride by this name), are perpetually short of time, money and of course, then also fall short of enthu to go on a holiday. For us Holiday means planning, planning and only planning for long or short tours away from the hustle - bustle of this city. Quite often we begin to accept the fact that ''Man proposes and God disposes'' till we take time out to relax and plan our holiday. Yes, we need to actually relax even to plan our holiday!!
Now, you want to go on a holiday within a small budget??How often have you thought of going to Hill Stations as a big hole in your pocket??? But again relax!! You need not wait till you have collected a large amount of cash that you can afford to spend on holiday. Within a decent budget, you can have a good, memorable holiday. Though there are other places around Bombay, one of the places that I would recommend is Mahabaleshwar.
Mahabaleshwar - It is a place where one can go for honeymoon or a holiday with your family or could be a picnic with friends. There are quite a few buses going to Mahabaleshwar from Bombay everyday. It is about eight hours away from Bombay by Road. This place has some old temples and a fort but are now ruined and not really worth mentioning. It has a few ''points'' where tourists like to go for sight seeing.
In case you plan to go to Mahabaleshwar, I would like to give details of a hotel where we had stayed during our visit. It is very close to the Main Market and Taxi & Bus Stand … about 10 min. walking distance!! The name is ''Giri - Vihar '' a lesser-known hotel in Mahabaleshwar. It was earlier known by the name - Ramakrishna Bhavan. However, the place is really worth staying. It is a family-run Hotel and the ambience and serenity is that of a ''House''. You wouldn't feel like you are in a hotel. There is a small family temple, for the religiously inclined, where ''Aarti'' is performed twice a day. It is a very quiet and peaceful place.
There are small gardens with Slide, See-saw, etc. for children to play and a Swing for elders too!! Perfect place to relax after Dinner!!!
Rooms…two types avail … Room costs include Morning Tea/Coffee, Breakfast with Tea/Coffee, Lunch, Afternoon Tea/Coffee with light snacks and Dinner. Breakfast is served in the Room but no Room Service for Lunch and Dinner. A Huge Dining Hall is available for the purpose.
Deluxe Rooms - Suitable only for couples on honeymoon/holiday. It is a Room attached to a Verandah. The Verandah has a decent sofa set and a centre table … a perfect place to have your morning tea/coffee and relax. The Room has a Double Bed, a small wardrobe to keep your belongings, fancy lights, a small side table, beautiful artefacts, etc. Cost would be Rs.1500/- per day per person.
This room is not recommended for couples with children, since the Double Bed is not big enough to accommodate all three. You can ask for an extra bed at an additional cost (Rs. 200-300) per Bed. But then the place gets too cramped up. It would be better to go in for the Economy Room.
Economy Rooms: Again two varieties here, one with three Single Beds and the other with Four Single Beds. Both are suitable for small families or for picnic groups. These rooms are also attached to verandah. Verandahs are the same for all the rooms but the Rooms in this range are very plain without fancy lights, artefacts, etc. Cost would be Rs.900/- and Rs.1200/- respectively.
Most Important Part of the Holiday - FOOD - yummmmmyyyyyy (sorry if I am exaggerating but the food is real good - taste, quality as well as quantity) What I have not only heard but also seen is that the owner of the Hotel personally goes on these inspection rounds in the Kitchen. He ensures clean, hygienic conditions and tasty food (yes, he actually tastes the food and sees to it that the proportions of all ingredients are perfect!!)
Food is available only as a Thali and no a la carte menu and is bit towards Maharashtrian side. Secondly, no choices here; whatever is available will be served; a kind of binding is it?? but then they also offer variety everyday so I think its ok;Not a single item was repeated for the five days that I stayed there; so no regrets at all And yes, you would not feel like having anything once you go out into the market. Why?? Your stomach is already full after having their lovely Lunch;and yet somehow you cannot help but imagine what you would get for Dinner. You get my point, right?
Breakfast is the usual simple kind such as Poha, Upma, Sabudana Khichdi, Toast Sandwich with Tea/Coffee. Milk if required is charged extra.
DINING HALL
There is this huge ''Dining Hall'' where Lunch and Dinner is served during the timings fixed for the purpose. Tables are arranged for different size of groups.
Lunch/Dinner includes, two vegetables, one variety of ''Usal'', Salad, pickles, Papad, Phulka/Puris (u have a choice here), Plain Rice/Dal or Khichdi (another choice!) all this unlimited and ends with a sweet dish (mostly indian) - no second helping here.
A small Ice-cream parlour (if you can call it a parlour that is) is right outside the Dining Hall where you get varieties of ice creams at an additional cost. It is fun to have ice cream even during the biting cold and chilled weather. Don't you think so?
Last but not the least - costs involved:
Considering that a couple would stay in the Deluxe Room of this Hotel, a five-day holiday at Mahabaleshwar would come to a max. Rs.18000/- (Includes Bus Fares - Ex Bombay, Room charges, Food, and two days Sight Seeing). Obviously does not include Shopping Costs. You get lovely items made of Jute and Cane material. Wall Hangings, Hand Bags/Purses, Serving Trays, Fruits Trays, etc. at very reasonable rates. For e.g. Handbags range between Rs.40 and Rs.100 depending upon the size. Fresh strawberries and juices, jams made out of these are very famous.
Considering all the Pros, it is definitely worth a one-time try. It is risky to go during monsoons (mid-June to mid-sept.)since it experiences heavy rains (six metres)Must not be matter of concern for Adventurous souls right??
I am sorry, I cannot provide you with costs involved for children b'cos my child was about 1 and 1/2 year old when we had been there and we only had to pay for milk that we used to order for him. Roughly, I can tell is that only food is charged at half the normal rate for children below a certain age.
We first opted for the Deluxe Room but found it too small and moved to the Economy Room next day. We managed to save our money and at the same time enjoyed our stay at the Hotel.
Tip: If you are going as a family (one or two children), I would recommend the three - bed Economy Room since the Room is big enough and all the single Beds can be put together on one side so all can sleep comfortably.
