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Resort with a view
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Where you can pack your days with activity or just sit back and relax
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TIME TO UNWIND Hotel Villa Park Resort, Ooty Photo: K. Ananthan
Pink daisies, ornamental Sylvia and bright red balsams border sprawling lawns and you gear up for a peaceful weekend. Hotel Villa Park Resort in Ooty, previously Hotel Dasaprakash, has been renovated keeping modern day comforts in mind; yet it retains its colonial charm.
Each of the 105 rooms comes with a view — of lush manicured lawns of the Ooty racecourse, the railway station, the settlements and a panorama. It sprawls over five acres of beautifully landscaped gardens — just perfect for unwinding.
The resort, owned by AGS Hotel and Resorts Private Limited, has been operational since March this year and it is said to be the biggest in Ooty in terms of area and rooms in the 3-star category.
Idyllic location
You can choose either a standard room, a deluxe room, family room or a suite spread across four blocks, each one named after a flower — Daisy, Jasmine, Lavender and Vanilla. The standard deluxe rooms are spacious and can comfortably accommodate a family of two and cost Rs.1,800 a night. An additional bed comes at Rs. 300 during season and Rs.150 off-season. The suites cost Rs. 2,400 and the deluxe suite Rs. 2,800 (excluding meals).
Each room has exquisite wooden flooring and an elegant foyer that serves as a study, a bedroom with TV, room heater and a neat bathroom. Other facilities at the resort include, a centralised hot water system, in-house laundry, campfire, banqueting venue for 80 to 100 people, a travel desk, a spacious car park, easy accessibility to various tourist destinations and trekking options.
"We have gone into every detail keeping in mind the comfort of guests. The basic idea behind retaining the old world charm is to make guests feel at home," says J.L. Narasimhan, general manager.
The luxury suite can also double up as a family apartment. With interconnecting rooms, they can be booked individually for small families or together for a larger group of eight. The apartment block can be converted into a six-room set for a group of 30 to 40 students. Group tariffs can also be worked out and the rates depend on numbers and time of the year.
The summer holiday package comes at Rs. 3,999 for two nights for two persons on twin sharing basis including breakfast and dinner (fixed menu) and one sight seeing trip of Ooty. There is also a honeymoon package (Rs. 6,499), complete with a candle-lit dinner at your choice of restaurant or lawn. A trip to the Ooty Lake, the Doddabetta peak, the Botanical Gardens, Lambs Rock, Dolphins Nose, Sims Park and tea plantations are part of the package. The property offers plenty to do for a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend.
One of the beautiful aspects primary charms is the sound of birds chirping. If you are ready for an early morning walk, there is a pathway around the resort. Watching the horses on the racetrack from the lawns with a cup of tea in hand is worth waking up early for. Kids have plenty of opportunity to make friends in the play area.
In Dasaprakash tradition, the food is strictly vegetarian. So, there is Udipi Krishna Bhavan overlooking the racecourse that specialises in South Indian fare. For North Indian and Chinese cuisine, there is the Almora restaurant. Steaming, the bar will open soon. Final touches are being given to an in-house fitness-cum-Ayurvedic massage centre.
Promoting adventure
Ample space makes the resort ideal for small parties; yet, each villa provides complete privacy. There is a wonderful outdoor dining area, secluded and serene, that is perfect for groups and reunions. "We want to promote residential conferences that combine business with pleasure. While businessmen attend to work, their families can holiday. We also have plans to promote adventure holidays by taking the guest on treks to places like Thengumarahada from Kodanad viewpoint located in Kotagiri. They can stay there for a day and on the return trek visit villages and the Badaga settlements to get a taste of tribal culture," says the manager.
To get a view of the vast stretch of the landscape, climb the steps and take a good look from the Krishna temple located at the top. If you are not in a tourist frame of mind, just take a good book, choose a nice spot on the lawns and relax.
For reservations, call: 0423- 2442434/ 2224444 or mail contact@villaparkhotels.com
K. JESHI
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