This was my second stay at the Grand Dragon Ladakh. The first time I stayed there, it was of January 2016. Both the times I have stayed as a blogger, my stay was complimentary. The January 2016 was a group trip whereas in October 2021 I was staying alone and doing my own things!
There are two ways in which I can start the story. In September 2021 I called my friend Meenaskhi and asked for a recommendation for a homestay in Ladakh. She convinced me to stay at the Grand Dragon instead. Not that it needed much convincing. I stayed there before, I knew how good it is.
Then on the third day of my trip I was roaming around the Leh Palace at my leisurely pace. I met a girl who was seriously making content, so we started chatting. After a few minutes we connected on Instagram. After looking at my feed for a few seconds, she asked, “So you are staying at the Grand Dragon?” I was once again reminded to be thankful for the wonderful blogging opportunities I get!
Once I settled in my room, I marveled at the view from my porch, I was going to wake up to it for 5 days. After the tough 2020 that we all had and then the horror of April 2021, this was the sight for my sore eyes! While I was posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, many people messaged me and asked about the weather. I stayed in Leh from October 13 to 18. On all days the day temperature was above 12 degrees Celsius. The nights were cold but I would get tucked in my centrally heated room by 9.30 pm so it was never a problem. The last day on October 18 I woke up to 0 degree but all I was doing on that day was catching a flight! I liked the weather during my stay plus I got to see the gorgeous fall colors!
I was eating all my meals at the hotel. I did walk to the market many times, I saw all the cute cafes but in the end I chickened out, due to the crowd. October was busy in Leh. At the hotel the restaurant was spacious, so I felt safer eating there than in the cafes. I start checking out the buffet from the dessert counter and I was worried about eating so much hotel food. To my surprise I did not gain any weight during my stay even though I ate plenty of dessert. I believe the walking around at the high altitude balanced out my sweet intake!
As I was present at every meal over 5 days the staff got used to me! They also knew my whims, and catered to it. I must have been the only person eating all my meals alone but I never felt it too much! I do not remember all the names but I so remember Dolma, Gagan, Tanmay (front desk) and Tara ji. We met at every meal and when they were not too busy they took out time to chat with me.
I am a chai person and I hardly ever swap it for anything except Kahwa. There is something magical about Kahwa at that height and weather. I can drink a lot of it.
My vacations center around the amount of tea I drink and I had a lot of happy cups on this one. After my meals or breakfast inside the restaurant I would walk out to the terrace with chai or Kahwa in hand and bliss all around me.
I made a few rookie mistakes on this trip. Instead of resting completely I went for a walk in the evening on the first day. For the first two days I also did not increase my water intake. So, on the second day of my trip, I was having headache and I barely moved. My porch was my shelter and the views still were stunning. In fact, if I could force myself I would make it mandatory on all my trips to do nothing on one day. But I know it won’t happen unless I need to rest, like on this trip!
Apples were growing in plentiful in the garden of the hotel! For a low altitude person like me it was exotic to see so many of them on the tree!
It was so nice to spend a few days in such beautiful settings. When I arrived, I was so tired both physically and mentally. Many days have gone since I came back, I still feel rejuvenated after this trip.
It is the people who make the stay memorable and here a few of them in one picture. I was late from sightseeing one afternoon and the lunch just got over. They got so many things for me from the kitchen that I could not finish it all. I fondly remember the hot gulab jamun that Dolma got me at the end! I requested them to take off the mask just for this picture! I do hope that travel will remain open now and that the worst is behind us. I feel so blessed to have been on this trip to Ladakh and for my wonderful stay at the Grand Dragon Ladakh.
Looks great, Beautiful photos.
Thank you Rupam!
awesome blog
Thank you Rahul!
Such a beautiful video…It sure is a lovely place..
Thank you Rajeev!
Overwhelming views, especially those of the mountains. Very well captured and presented.
Thank you Abhishek!
Amazing Write up
Very nice pictures and amazing place to stay !! Enjoyed reading about the place as much as you enjoyed staying there 🙂
Amazing and Looking very nice
Landed on this blog via your FB profile. However, don’t remember how, in the first place, I found your FB profile. May be FB thought it fit to recommend your Profile page to me. Well! I am glad if it did.
Your pics of the hotel are very attractive and same I can say about the text too. However, I am curious about one thing. When a hotel is offering you complementary stay for 5 days, not once but twice, how do you manage to write about the place in an unbiased manner. What the hotels really expect from bloggers when they are being so generous? Do they want sort of paid promotion?
Thank you for your thought provoking comment Sushant. I would say the hotels that invite bloggers and journalists are very sure about their product. I mean anyone will write good things about Grand Dragon because it is a beautiful hotel.
Also I disclose my association for the readers so that they know I was staying as a blogger. I hope this answers your question to some extent.
Now that you say it, true they hosted me twice, I must be doing something right at my blog too? 😀