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Reviews of hotels, resorts, cruises, operators and everything else related to travel and tourism

Fabulous property, excellent location : Norbu House, Mcleodganj

June 28, 2017 swamiupendra Leave a comment

Best thing about places like McLeodganj is that, distances seem longer in the map than they actually are. Although being a hill station there are some slopes and ascends, but then that’s what you have come here for. It took hardly five minutes of us to reach the Hotel Norbu House in taxi from the McLeodganj bus stand, but if you travel light than you can easily walk down, if indeed you love walking. It has a small place to park vehicles though, and in place like McLeodganj it often seems like a bonus as most hotels in the market area won’t have a parking at all and one would have to use public parking place near bus stand.

Reception area of the Hotel Norbu House reflects Tibetan culture

I had been to Mcleodganj earlier. This time search for a different stay landed us to Hotel Norbu House. Online posts and reviews made me the admirer of the property. And actual visit and subsequent stay did nothing to disappoint in any manner. Its a charming hotel with mix of modernity and tradition. We had reached here quite early because our bus from Delhi has a scheduled early morning arrival. Hotel staff was quite courteous and responsive to allow us an early check-in and our room was ready by the time we had a lemon-honey-ginger tea at the beautiful terrace restaurant. It is said to be one of the most beautiful terrace restaurant in Mcleodganj. Room was spacious and clean.

Terrace area right outside the restaurant can be used as place for dining or just relaxing and reading while enjoying the terrific views

This hotel is actually a family owned property who earlier had a Green Hotel in the main market on Bhagsu Temple road. That Green Hotel was one of the earliest properties in town. Now the Green Hotel is more of budget hotel and Norbu House is a bit niche. I had hear a lot about the owner Mr Wagdu and the way he takes care of each and every guest himself so lovingly. I wanted to meet him, but he was away those days.

Splendid view of sprawling Kangra valley from the terrace of the Hotel Norbu House

Stars descend in the valley. That’s how the night looks like from the terrace of Hotel Norbu House

One of the prime attraction of hotel is its location, which is quite close to market and on the top of ridge right opposite to Dalai Lama temple. Easily approachable and what stumps you is the view of the valley that it commands. The lobby and the restaurant area through its design and decoration makes you feel that you are in Dalai Lama’s city with glimpse of Tibetan culture and traditions.

Restaurant of the Hotel Norbu House. You can have meals here or outside at the terrace. Buffet breakfast is also served here.

Hotel provides a buffet breakfast and it was quite delicious. Even the meal options were good but a bit on higher side of price range in comparison to options available in the market. So, not a budget hotel but look for some deals online to get best prices as this is one of the top places worth staying in Mcleodganj. You can also enjoy some Tibetan delicacies here.

A conference room that can be multi-purpose hall

Hotel has rooms in different categories- suites, luxury rooms and the executive rooms. It also has a conference room. Hotel is build along the ridge in six floors. Reception area is actually on the third floor. There is a lift along with the stairs. Lift goes up from the terrace side and is made of glass to let you enjoy the panoramic views of the valley while going up or down.

Bedroom in one of the suites of Hotel Norbu House

Living area in one of the suites of the Hotel Norbu House

Suites and the Luxury rooms on the lower floors have common terrace in from of the rooms with a full valley view and ample sitting and relaxing area. While rooms on the upper floor have balcony attached to the room. Dhauladhar ranges are right behind the hotel and you can also have a glance of snow-peaked mountains from the terrace or balcony.

Terrace on the upper floor along with balconies for rooms

Common terrace for another floor in front of set of rooms

Terrace in the front of the suites and luxury rooms

There is also a nunnery inside the hotel complex. This hotel is also favourite among those who come here either for meditation or some spiritual time. Hotel provides a free wifi facility. Rooms have all type of amenities and facilities. Hotel might not look impressive from outside (although there is hardly any face of the hotel that you can see), but it is as comfortable as it can be, once you enter. Certainly worth a try, if your budget permits.

Mcleodganj

Mcleodganj is best know as the headquarters of the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government in exile. There is Dalai Lama temple here and also his residence. Although he travels so much around the world that his being in Mcleodganj is treated as a big occasion. Dalai Lama temple is on walking distance from Hotel Norbu House. Mcleodganj is also know for Bhagsu falls and Bhagsunag temple. Mcleodganj is also base for many trekking expeditions in the Dhauladhar ranges of Himalayas including the very famous weekend trek to Triund.

Please Read: Triund in the shadow of the Indrahar Pass

How to Reach:

Mcleodganj is eight kilometres further ahead of Dharamshala. Dharamshala-Mcleodganj are well connected by road to nearest railheads- Kangra (for narrow gauge on Pathankot-Jogindernagar line) and Pathankot (for broad gauge on Delhi-Jammu line). Kangra is 20 kms and Pathankot is 90 kms from Dharamshala. Dharamshala has an airport at Gaggal, which is 12 kms from the city. Major cities in North like Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar or Shimla have overnight luxury bus services to Dharamshala-Mcleoadganj.

How willing are you to have a phone for live streaming!

May 25, 2017 swamiupendra Leave a comment

Honestly enough, I never tried live streaming myself on any social media platform. Never found any occasion to do so, or if there was an occasion, it never came to my mind. Although, before Facebook or Instagram, I had opportunity to go live for my YouTube channel. I would have loved to do that given the number of subscribers, but still I didn’t. That makes me really wonder, whether people go live on social media platforms that often! I have indeed seen a few facebookers going live, but not in big numbers. Having said that, I still find it a cool idea to have a smartphone dedicated to live streaming. ASUS has been leader in many technological innovations and now it claims that its Zenfone Live is the first phone to have live beautification technology.

So, the idea of phone depends on how willing are you to go live streaming. But then, will you go for a phone for just live streaming on social media platforms? It can be an added advantage but can it be the main driving force for your decision to buy a phone?

Zenfone Live comes in three exciting colours- Navy Black, Rose Pink, and Shimmer Gold.

Given that one needs to live stream itself quite often- what would be the requirements! A good connectivity which doesn’t breaks the streaming or freezes it, good microphones that can relate the sound as desired and of course a good camera that captures you beautifully. All these three things are also necessities of modern smartphones. But for this phone ASUS has specifically worked upon last function the most. In this regard, ASUS has sensed that a live streaming most means broadcasting oneself and one hindrance to that is the apprehension about how one would look on the camera. That’s the reason for ASUS to work upon the live beautification technology which can control the way you look on live streaming. That means that you can control the fairness or sharpness of your features.

Still not reviewing the phone as yet to get a unit for the full review. Just discussing here the features of the phone. ASUS claims that ZenFone Live’s front-facing camera is made for snapping sharper, clearer selfies. The sensor has extra-large, 1.4μm pixels that improve sensitivity to light by up to 200 percent compared to smartphones with standard smaller pixels. ZenFone Live also has a soft-light LED flash that illuminates true skin tones, and it’s equipped with a wide-angle lens with an 82° field of view — so users are able to frame, capture details in wide angle and broadcast it to the world.

ZenFone Live also has a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0-aperture, five-prism rear lens, and benefits from ASUS PixelMaster’s industry-leading low-light technology to increase light sensitivity by up to 400 percent. It also enhances noise reduction and boosts color contrast by up to 400 percent. It supports up to 12 different camera modes, including real-time Beautification, Low Light and Super Resolution modes, to captures beautiful, high-resolution photos.

To ensure that the user’s voice is always heard, ZenFone Live has a pair of highly sensitive MEMS microphones that are expertly tuned and precisely positioned to reduce noise. This careful arrangement means that speech pickup is crystal clear, so users are able enjoy live-streamed social-media fun in total clarity — whether the backdrop is a busy street, a noisy bar, or the hustle and bustle of a shopping mall.

ZenFone Live features a powerful speaker with a five-magnet design and metal voice coil to produce loud and clear audio with supreme quality in every scenario. This speaker is powered by a smart amplifier that increases audio resolution and loudness while ensuring that the speaker is not damaged.

ZenFone Live also features DTS Headphone:X™, a revolutionary surround-sound technology that synthesizes a full 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound experience, making all content sound better over headphones. With this unique combination, ZenFone Live produces delivers audio that’s up to 67 percent louder than the previous generation, while also extending low-frequency reproduction by up to 17 percent and reducing distortion by up to 15 percent.

BeautyLive app introduces the world to real-time beautification, allowing users to create and maintain the perfect look when going live on their favorite social-networking sites.

BeautyLive combines smart software algorithms and hardware acceleration to automatically smooth skin and remove blemishes, and it integrates seamlessly with Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The result is the ability to craft and broadcast instant glamor that keeps the user looking as beautiful as they want to be throughout every live-streaming session. The BeautyLive feature works with both front and rear camera.

ZenFone Live’s brilliant 5 inch IPS HD display shines brightly through strong glass that is precision-milled at the edges to create a gentle, 2.5D curve. The natural, ergonomic feel of the glass flows around to the back, for comfort that matches the fine style. ZenFone Live also has an impressive 75 percent screen-to-body ratio, for more screen and less bulk.

The ZenFone Live features a premium build quality with sandblasted metallic finish that feels as great as it looks.

To enable all these features in a decent phone apparatus Zenfone Live has got Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Quad-Core Processor with Adreno 305 GPU. On storage front it has 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM (MicroSD support up to 128GB SDXC) and 100GB of Google Drive space for 2 years. AT 2650 mAh, the battery might be a bit turn-off, but than there has to be some compromise.

It has got multiple connectivity options- Dual SIM Dual standby (2G/3G/4G); Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi-Direct, Miracast, hotspot, Bluetooth V 4.0; LTE Cat. 4 and GPS/AGPS/GLONASS.

Like it or hate it, but ASUS’ standard ZenUI app is there to boost up many performances. Phone comes with Android 6.0 with ZenUI 3.0. And, all this comes for mere 9,999 INR for the starting model!

So! Wanna Go Live!! I will certainly like to go live next time I am travelling, but still not sure whether I would need the BeautyLive App!!

India, Reviews

A Den of wilderness

May 13, 2017 swamiupendra 2 Comments

Its vacation time and also plan some quick trips. Besides regular beach and hill station trips, national parks, especially the tiger reserves are the most preferred ones. For two reasons precisely- it is time to go to tiger reserves before they close for yearly four month monsoon vacation period. Secondly, in this sweltering heat, chances of wildlife sightings around water bodies is more likely.

(Read: Some wild moments in Sariska!)

Outside the main gate of the Tiger reserve, which is very close to Tiger Den

Had done quite a few posts about Sariska Tiger Reserve and places around it of lately. Now it is time to look at places of stay.So here is the review of the place, where we stayed- RTDC’s Tiger Den, located at the Sariska Gate of the Tiger Reserve. I have stayed in these government tourism properties at various places across North and had mixed experiences.

(Also read: Birding in a Tiger reserve)

RTDC hotel Tiger Den at Sariska Tiger Reserve

There can be no denying to the fact that when you are visiting a jungle, you will certainly like to stay at a place closest to the jungle, which can give you real feel of it. Tiger Den is definitely one such place near Sariska Tiger Reserve and National Park. Obviously, when you are there for a jungle trip, least you should expect is any luxury. Tiger Den is a property of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC). Hence, it has all the pros of a government property and it also has all the cons of a government property. But despite all the cons, I will still always love to stay here, whenever I visit Sariska. Ever since, I went to Sariska for the first time, may be roughly thirty years back, I had dreamt of staying in Sariska Palace, but this time I felt that apart from luxury, Tiger Den is better in all other respects.

Biggest positive is the distance. This RTDC hotel is just about 100 metres before the entry gate to the tiger reserve. In this respect, this is the closest place to stay near Tiger Reserve. As with all government properties, they have the best locations and are the most spacious. Hence, being close to jungle means that its wild around and you feel like staying inside the jungle. Peacocks and monkeys are around everywhere to give you some wild company. But this also means that you are discouraged to walk out of the hotel on foot, once its dark outside.

(Want to go around Sariska? Read: Khajuraho of Aravalis: Neelkanth)

Main gate of the hotel complex coming from the jungle

This hotel is also close to the booking office for the safaris inside the park. SO, when you are staying here, you have an added advantage of reaching booking office in less time and thus get early in the queue if you don’t have an online booking. Its helpful mostly for spot booking for early morning safaris, when you need to be as early as 4.30 or 5 in the morning at the queue for a 6 am safari. Being close means, you don’t have to take whole your group to booking office, as just one early riser can go and stand in queue, by the time others get ready.

Hotel has two wings and two floors. Only the front wing has two floors. Back wing has only rooms on ground floor. These rooms have beautiful, big, lush green lawn in their front. Nice place to relax and for young ones to enjoy. These rooms also have balconies.

(Enjoy forts? Read: Kankawari: A fort and a history in deep jungle!)

Biggest con of this property is the general apathy towards maintenance of the property, which is common to perhaps all government tourist properties, barring few exceptions. If at all they give some effort to maintenance, these government run tourist rest houses can give a run for money to all private players. But since that’s not going to happen anyway, so better to keep prepared. Its not messy, but furnitures, beds, cupboards etc seem to have not been refurbished for ages. They need to bring in some professionalism, but honestly speaking it seems very unlikely having heard all the inside stories from the department and within the government.

Food is normally buffet here, with no menu of choice, but it is still good and tasty. I would have preferred some local dishes in the food. But there are non-veg items as well as sweet dishes included in the meal. Best thing is that buffet breakfast and buffet dinner are included in room tariff. That makes it a bit easier to manage daily routines. Otherwise, there are very-very limited options of eating out anywhere nearby. As for day time, you will normally be out visiting nearby places, where you can get food. If in any case, you are still in the hotel during day time, you can order food, for a charge ofcourse. Besides, you can get tea, and other snacks, pakodas etc at any time of the day.

(Looking for some thrill around Sariska? Read: Haunted fort of Bhangarh: Nothing spooky about it!)

Staff here has been generally helpful and courteous. Two winter nights, when we were here, they arranged separate campfire for us. They were also accommodating in our choice of room, though unfortunately they had limited options in their inventory. Despite that, it was a nice stay overall.

Its so beautiful around, especially in spring time

International, Reviews

Getting pulse of Bali’s buzz!

April 27, 2017 swamiupendra 2 Comments

Well, Mercure Legian Bali hotel is located in the area, where heart of Bali beats. When we were in Nusa Dua area, we were in a sort of exclusive zone with all sort of luxury and privacy. But this hotel lies in an area, where as soon as you step out of the hotel, you find yourself in the hustle & bustle of a busy tourist destination like Bali. Hotel is just a five minutes walk from the beach. Hotel is close to Legian, Seminyak and Kuta areas. Mercure has two hotels in the area. There another property Mercure Kuta Bali is located right on the Kuta beach and is slightly away from the, what few people may call as, chaos of Legian area.

Hotel is located on a busy intersection on Legian street. Running parallel to a long coastline this street is just a five minutes walk from famous Legian and Kuta beaches. This street is quite close to Bali’s international airport. With hotels suiting all sizes of pockets in close vicinity, this place is famous among tourists who prefer being close to beach. That makes it one of the busiest places in Bali.

You will find constant stream of tourists from all around the world, flowing up and down the street. You will find here everything- from massage parlours to money changers and from souvenir shops to 24 hour departmental stores. Street is lined up with number of restaurants offering all types of cuisine to take you to a rich gastronomical experience. Being one of the best places for shopping, you need to bargain hard to get best prices.

Also remain aware of the strangers offering services of escorts and ‘more’. Its a busy tourist place so all the pros and cons of such places are to be taken care of. There are many shops selling tour, tattoos, clothes and spas. A lot of people will try to stop you for a sale. Need to be careful about, whom to cater and whom not. Since Legian is more famous for some street shopping, therefore more serious shoppers might like to go to Kuta or Seminyak markets nearby.

The way to beach passes through the busiest tourist market of the Kuta area. So staying at Mercure Legian is like enjoying everything day out and night and then relaxing in comfortable environs of your room.

This hotel might not be so spacious like hotels in Nusa Dua area or Ubud region of Bali but it still provides enough luxury to enjoy stay in romantic destination like Bali. Rooms are descent and service is excellent. Highlight is the rooftop pool and the nearby bar. Either go for a poolside room or a room high up with a balcony to get best of views. There is another bar near restaurant at lobby level. We didn’t had the opportunity to dine here, but had breakfast in two mornings and they were quite relishing. Overall, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience of stay at Mercure Bali Legian. We didn’t dine here, as we tried some Indian food at Queens.

Well, it might quite be OK if you are a non-Indian and searching for an Indian restaurant in Bali and land at Queen’s. But if you are an Indian and love your taste, than you will feel a bit disappointed here, especially for the taste of Indian foods you love. Ambience is good but lot more needs to be done for the food items and also in terms of service. The staff needs to know about Indian food, when they are serving in an Indian restaurant.

International, Photogallery, Reviews

A slice of Balinese paradise

April 12, 2017 swamiupendra 2 Comments

Bali itself is a dream destination and staying in Melia Bali adds zing to this dream! Its an ultimate Balinese hospitality and captures all the aura & beauty that can be associated with this beautiful island. It is a big beach resort and actually staying here is itself a complete holiday with there being a private beach and all sort of activities.

Also read: Bali is the top destination in the world

Nusa Dua area is distinctively calm and serene

Hotel is in Nusa Dua area, which itself is a calm and secluded area reserved for top class hotels, quite far from tourist frenzy at Kuta or what is like in Ubud. That might not be of liking to all, but certainly favourite for those who love to be in calm and serene place.

Also read: Bali from the sky – few captures

Once you enter the hotel, you will feel how it is like to be in a high end hotel in Bali. You will be welcomed traditionally with flowers and coconut.

Hotel has a beautiful lobby, befitting the mood of the place. It is such a big property that you won’t find too many people (guests) around at any place, else than the beach area.

Hotel is not a high rise. It is often said about Bali that there as a rule you can’t have a building higher than a coconut tree. Hence only the main section of hotel has three floors. Rest all villas and apartments are spread in sprawling coastal greens. Overall, there are 494 accommodations in ten different categories.

A bit of old world charm at Yogyakarta

April 9, 2017 swamiupendra 4 Comments

Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java is often called locally as Jogja or Jogjakarta. It is known for its traditional arts and cultural heritage. Hence it was quite apt for us to have stayed in a hotel known for its heritage itself. The Phoenix was such a hotel.

The original building was built in 1918 as a private residence of a trading company owner. At a time of recession in 1930s this building was auctioned. The new owner rented it out to a Dutchman who converted it into a pensioner’s hotel by the name of “Splendid”. From their the journey of almost a century has brought the hotel to its present day avatar.

This hotel has got a very distinct charm. It is certainly not of those big hotel types, but it has got a unique appeal that takes slightly back into history. It is historical in its appearance but modern in its comfort, hence it combines modernity with tradition. Though I stayed two nights at this hotel on our whirlwind tour to Indonesia but in the end, I felt that I got less time to enjoy the hotel. On to our both nights in the hotel, we had long days- first one being a day-long train journey from Bandung to Yogyakarta and next day, tiring trips to Borobudur and Prambanan temples. The Phoenix provided perfect relaxation to our exhausted souls and bodies.

Also read: Magical Sunset at Prambanan Temple

Despite its colonial appearance, hotel didn’t disappoint in its Indonesian hospitality- from traditional welcome to traditional Indonesian drinks with the buffet breakfast. For us, a mix traditional Indonesian with continental was always a preferred choice and we were delighted to get that. Being a heritage property, this hotel also gives some very unique experiences, whether through its signature cocktails or through its vintage car drives around the city to give you some fantastic experience of the city often called as Indonesia’s soul.

Also read: Amazing Ramayana Ballet of Java

Vintage Mercedes Benz to give you a heritage drive

Indonesian drinks at the buffet breakfast were simply amazing. This hotel has also been famous for one if its signature drink- “The Gin Sling”. It is a delicious recipe with gin, sweet and sour mix, grenadine syrup and soda on top. It was said to be the only drink available when this hotel was run for pensioners. Originally, the Gin Sling was meant as a woman’s drink, hence the attractive colour. But today, it is definitely enjoyed by all and regulars usually say that without this drink, any visit to The Phoenix Hotel in Yogyakarta is incomplete.

Also read: Borobudur Buddhist Temple – Spectacular & outstanding

The traditional drinks at buffet breakfast

At your table, sweeteners of all traditions!

Staff was very warm, courteous and responsive. Not too sure about the locals, but for overseas tourists, it is a hotel worth a stay to get a slice of Indonesian heritage, hospitality and luxury.

India, Reviews

Leela Palace Udaipur is the best hotel in the country

January 29, 2017 swamiupendra 4 Comments

Rajasthan seems to have developed a penchant for exquisite and exclusive hotels. No doubt, most of these hotels are a different class altogether which make them loved ones among those who are looking for something elite. As per TripAdvisor Travellers’s Choice survey for 2017 among the top 25 hotels in India, 9 are in Rajasthan and all the top three are from state with two among them from Udaipur. Actually City of Lakes Udaipur along with Pink City Jaipur have three hotels each in the list which is maximum for any Indian city. And interestingly, in this list there is also a mini competition among the big hotel chains that quite explains the Indian hotel industry scenario. Among the top 25 hotels eight belong to the Oberoi Group of Hotels and seven to Taj Group of Hotels. That leaves only ten of top 25 out of the fold and among these ten two are from Orange County, one from Leela Group and One from ITC’s Fortune group. Rest six are independent boutique hotels or resorts.

Owing to its history, most of the top hotels in Rajasthan are either heritage hotels or the modern hotels with heritage look and feel. Numero uno hotel in India as per 2017 TripAdvisor Travellers’s Choice is the Leela Palace at Udaipur. In a tough competition within the lake city, Leela Palace has established itself at the top notch. It was also voted most favourite leisure hotel of the country couple of years back by Conde Nast Traveller India readers. Umaid Bhawan Palace at Jodhpur is the second which was India’s top heritage hotel in 2014 in TripAdvisor travellers’s choice. At 3rd position in the list is arguably one of the most beautiful lake hotels in the world- Taj Lake Palace, again at Udaipur. Of the two Orange counties in the list, Orange county Coorg is at the fourth place. At 5th place is another city from Rajasthan- Jaipur through Oberoi Rajvilas. Oberoi has another property at 6th place, this time Oberoi Amar Vilas from Agra.

At no 7 is another of Orange county resort at Kabini, located in Nagarhole National Park which has been already included in National Geographic’s list of 25 best ecolodges in the world. On 8th is Wildflower Hall at Mashobra near Shimla which was sometime back, India’s best hill station hotel in TripAdvisor Travellers’s Choice. 9th is third entrant from Oberoi bouquet in the top 10- The Oberoi, Bangalore. Completing top 10 among all these biggies is Namah at Dhikuli in the Jim Corbett National Park region.

Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur. In foreground is the lake Pichola.

At 11th is the third hotel from Udaipur- Oberoi Udaivilas, which for long has been touted as the costliest hotel in India. Next one is also from Oberoi, its flagship hotel in Gurgaon. 13th is second entrant from the Jim Corbett National Park- Aahana, the Corbett Wilderness. 14th in the list is a comparatively new entrant from Rajasthan- Suryagarh near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Built in a fort style on way to Sam dunes, this hotel is quickly rising up the ranks. 15th is Aveda Kumarakom in Kerala and next is a beautiful heritage property in Jaipur owned by, Oberoi again- Rambagh Palace. Then comes another Oberoi property- Oberoi Cecil in Shimla, a heritage hotel part of Shimla’s rich colonial history. The iconic Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai has been ranked 18th and at 19th is third property from Jaipur in the list- Jai Mahal Palace. Only property from Goa in the list- Taj Exotica Goa at Benaulim is on the 20th position.

Among the last five, at 21st is the only ITC property in the list Fortune, The Savoy at Mussoorie. The Tamara Coorg at Yavakapadi Village is on 22nd position. There is no Delhi hotel in the list but Gurgaon has second hotel- Trident at 23rd. On 24th is Vivanta by Taj at Madikeri. Completing the list is Amanbagh at most unlikely of the places- Ajabgarh in Alwar, Rajasthan.

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