So near to Mumbai, yet miles away. Review on Manoribel, Mumbai

Overall Experience: Manoribel, so near to Mumbai (actually it’s in Mumbai) yet once you reach here you feel you are hundreds of miles away from the city. Reaching here is an experience in itself. From Marve beach (Near Malad) it’s a short ferry ride to Manori jetty from where you can take a horse cart or an autorikshaw to reach the resort. Say within 20 to 30 mins. You are transported to a place which is very different from the main city. During weekends the resort get full quite often so advance booking is a must. The resort area is quite big & has direct access to Manori beach. The resort has A/C & Non A/C Cottages (Most of them are sea facing) A/C & Non A/c rooms (most of them are garden facing) & they have recently added a tree house as well. We opted for an A/C room, as A/C was must during October & the sea Facing cottages were quite costly. The room was quite big with a big bathroom.

Although the interiors of the room are quite old but they are well maintained. Apart from going to the beach for long walks & of course a dip in the sea there are plenty of other activities like Badminton (open air), table tennis, carom. Also there are hammocks where you can take afternoon nap as they are shaded by trees. There are no televisions in the rooms; however they have a common area where you can catch on the news. Almost all the staff at the resort is from Manori village & they are very helpful & very much dedicated to their work. Food is good (a little costly I would say) but with limited options for us Jains but plenty of options in Non veg. Manori beach is crowded especially on Sundays, so if you want to enjoy the beach then go there during weekdays, however if you want to keep it to the resort any day is fine. Going on a weekday has an added benefit as the tariffs are around 20 to 25 % cheaper as compared to weekends. So, if you are looking for a quick break to recharge your batteries (even for a night if you are going for the first time spending two nights would be ideal) you know where to go.

Best Experience:Relaxing on a hammock during peak afternoon (instead of the room) & the sun rays not even touching you was one of the highlights.The restaurant (it’s slightly elevated so you get uninterrupted sea view) is one of the attractions of the resort. Very much dedicated & ever smiling staff (mainly local villagers).

Worst Experience: During weekends when the resort is full the restaurant service is very slow as they do not keep additional staff.

They provide bicycles (for free) but you cannot take that out on the beach, it’s to be used only in the resort premises. May be they should start charging for bicycles on per hour basis but allow the guests to take it on the beach & in to the village also. They also had Kayaks, but when we inquired they said those are only for the owners.