The IBNII Coorg as the name suggests is in Coorg, Karnataka. Coorg has lovely climate and a laid-back charm. IBNII Coorg compliments the mood of the city beautifully, it is laid back. The resort is set in 120 acres of coffee plantation. If you are looking for all things serene you should consider IBNII Coorg.
Responsible Luxury
And it gets only better. IBNII is not just luxury, it is responsible luxury. The staff takes pride in the initiative, so if you would ask, they would talk. There are water harvesting in a huge reservoir, they compost their food and other waste. They recycle water.
They have no small plastic bottles in the bathroom. They use cloth napkins in the hotel. The amenities are placed in large containers which can be refilled. They do not use plastic anywhere! The vehicles used on the premises are electric other than the laundry car, which is the only petrol vehicle on the property.
The taking care of nature combined with luxury makes IBNII an alluring proposition. I stayed in two rooms, wooden cottages and the pool villa.
The Rooms
Both the rooms were charming. The wooden cottages are cosy and compact. The pool villa is well spread out with a private splash pool for your own exclusive use. However, the pool is not temperature controlled and it was too cold during my stay to use it.
There is a jacuzzi in the bathroom instead, which was nice and warm. I enjoyed it a lot during my stay. The wooden cottages have a shower, the pool villas have both jacuzzi along with the shower. I liked both the rooms. They suit different moods but both are nice.
There was nice tea, coffee that you could make for yourself in both the rooms. They leave cookies along with it!
The Food
I dined at all the places at IBNII. The Fig is where the buffet meals are served. It is a multicuisine restaurant. The view from the restaurant is amazingly lush. I loved my morning breakfast out there.
Baalelle or banana leaf in Kodava language serves only vegetarian cuisine. I had a lunch there and enjoyed the South Indian meal they served.
I also enjoyed a dinner at Masi Kande the BBQ place. I was not expecting much being a vegetarian but they did excellent food with mushrooms, broccoli, corns and such things! I did enjoy the vegetarian fare a lot in the end.
We did sit down for drinks at the bar Elevate, and I don’t remember which about it, which means the drinks were good! I am kidding. I do remember the experience. At the time I went to elevate, they were not fully functional. I hear the Elevate is fully functional now.
There is a coffee shop within the premises too and they offer a coffee tour every evening to all the guests staying at the resort. It is a fun tour where you learn about the history of coffee and get to drink good coffee at the shop. They do a baking session after the tour.
The ambiance around the coffee shop will stop you in your tracks, at least that is what it did for us. After coffee and cookies, we just sat there till it became drank, talking and chatting.
Overall
I liked IBNII Coorg. If you are looking for luxury and serenity, you would certainly like to look at IBNII Coorg as your stay option. And it is always good to support eco-friendly practices which the resort supports at a large scale.
PS. I was invited to the IBNII Coorg as a travel blogger.
Ramgarh Heritage is a resort that has been painstakingly restored to its 325 year old glory! It is a luxury property in Panchkula. It is a beautiful place to visit, if you wish to relax over a weekend. It will also work for you if you wish to break your journey while heading to the mountains ahead.
I spent two nights there and I had a good time. I had a nicely done premium room in Jagjit Mahal. My room was large, in a city a smallish flat can be cut out in the same space! The bathroom was huge too with modern amenities.
The resort is well spread out. There is a Krishan Temple within the premises. It is an old temple and it lends to the charm of the property.
They have large lawns, pool side area and dedicated halls for conferences and weddings. The resort is popular for weddings and events.
The restaurant used to be the old Diwan Khana and it still goes by the same name. I quite enjoyed my food and beer at Diwan Khana. I mostly went with Indian food and liked it, though I am sure my calorie counter went through the roof.
I still remember their khasta paratha, it is so tasty. Their bati is amazing too. In desserts Shahi Tukda was fantastic. The Diwan Khana has a bar too.
I went for a village walk on one of the mornings. Even though the village is developed now, there are signs of the old days.
There are temples, old houses, dharamshalas to remind us of the old days. I had the best and the freshest ever chach (buttermilk) at a local home.
I was eating so much that I went to the pool on the second evening. The pool area is beautiful, ideal for holding a party. The pool is on the smaller side yet I managed to get a workout by swimming continuously.
Ramgarh Heritage is an excellent place to relax at a long weekend or to break your journey if you are heading to the hills.
PS. I was invited by Ramgarh Heritage to experience the property.
I stayed for two nights at Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort which I will call simply Sofitel Krabi in the post. It is a beautiful property and has a magnificent swimming pool, a pool which is the biggest in Thailand. The architecture of the hotel is in colonial style.
I had a lovely room at the third floor, the top story of the hotel. It was a pool facing room, which gave a peak of the ocean beyond. It was a large, spacious room with a work area and a cozy chair for reading or if you prefer watching TV. I would take the stairs to my room but there is a lift too in the extreme corner of the floor as well.
The bathroom was luxurious too, with products from L’occitane for use. The bath tub was beautiful and deep. Everything was maintained well and I really had a comfortable time.
The highlight of the hotel was the pool for me! I heard of it even before reaching there and I was so looking forward to swim. But my itinerary was such that I could find time to take a dip only once! It is a 700 meter pool and I have not made a typo.
I knew I would didn’t had enough time to swim around it all but I surely wanted to walk around it. I could not even do that! The short swim that I managed was wonderful. It was a favorite hanging place for many guests. There were hammocks in the lawns around the pool and they too found a lot of takers.
I used to take my breakfast at Maya and the spread used to be huge. I checked out a few things only from the buffet. My standard was fruit and juice followed by either pan cake or eggs. I liked their organic muesli too.
One night I was so hungry I ordered a veg Pizza as there were not too many veg options on the room service menu. I do not what it was, whether I was so hungry or the pizza was so good or a combination of it, but I polished it off all alone! And it is a record of sorts!
Their Spa is called So Spa in association with L’occitane but I could not try it out. They arrange various excursions for their guests on shared or private basis. I visited Hong Island with them on a private speed boat trip. It was so much fun and such luxury. Do click the link and check out the post on Hong Island too. They have a golf course too as the name suggests, but I only caught a glimpse of it while driving in and out of the resort!
The beach is right across the road to Sofitel but it is a public beach. I loved it, I was lucky to see two amazing sunsets on it. But due the location, the hotel cannot have an exclusive beach. But I have a feeling that this is true of other hotels in the area as well.
The lobby of Sofitel Krabi had a lively environment. Whenever I was coming or going, someone from the staff would say a kind word to me, or simply greet me. If you are looking for luxury in Krabi with a lively atmosphere, you will enjoy Sofitel Krabi. I had a truly lovely time with them.
I was invited by TAT New Delhi to visit Thailand and I lived in such luxury on this trip!
When our driver Rajendra ji pointed out the Pratap Palace, Ajmer in the distance, like true Rajasthani architecture it blended with the surroundings.
Pratap Palace, Ajmer is a Keys Resort, situated on the Ajmer Pushkar road. It is surrounded by the Aravalis and away from the hustle and bustle of both the cities. It is a luxury property and I was invited to visit the hotel.
The Room with a Jhula (Swing)
After the check in where we were greeted with the traditional tikka and welcome drink. I headed to my room after a quick check-in. I quite liked the idea of the jhula in the room. I am not sure how men folk would react to it but I loved it. The room was big, even bigger than what I am used to in luxury hotels. There was tea in the room, which is the first thing I look for in any room.
There are some teething troubles with the TV and some cell phone operators as the hotel is new. But I am sure these things settle down with time. There are 86 rooms in all in the hotel. One entire floor dedicated to suites.
A Beautiful Courtyard
Pratap Palace has a beautiful courtyard at the back which has the swimming pool too. Surprisingly for May it was still not too hot in Rajasthan and I went and soaked in the atmosphere for a while. I wanted to go swimming but as there was a dust storm in the morning they had put chemicals in the pool. They advised me not to swim. At the end of the pool a local artist was painting on the wall.
Beautiful Paintings, Good Food
There is a lovely mural on the wall of the main lobby which depicts a large procession. At first glance it looks like a painting but it is carving in marble. I wanted to click a selfie here but missed it somehow.
An entire wall in the palace café depicts a wildlife scene. I noticed only later that it depicted a hunting scene. It adds a lot of color to the dining room.
Now that I am talking about the dining room, I should take the opportunity to talk about food too. I had Indian food mostly and it was good. I tried Jodhpuri Gatta Pulao for Rajasthani and cream of mushroom soup for continental. Both were done well. They also serve excellent cookies with tea
Meeting the Owner, Mr. Pratap Rangwani
