I discovered this property through tripadvisor. It was an interesting experience. Reccomended for anyone who wants to get away from delhi for a few days. The best part was that all arrangements were made to tackle the cold weather of December with heating blankets for the beds and fire places in the rooms. Best visited with a group of friends. The owners were very welcoming. It feels like a home stay more than a hotel.

We wanted to re-acquaint the kids with snow and decided to head for the hills this winter. We visited Soulitude. Its peaceful, its beautiful, its comfortable and to be honest Manish & his family are excellent hosts; so you enjoy good company in the evenings if they happen to be visiting at the same time as you!

We arrived late after a long drive. During the evening we went out on the terrace with Manish & his wonderful telescope. Checked out the Moon and Saturn. It was wonderful and the telescope allows some dramatic vision of the planets. Discovered an amazing phone app which allows you to aim your camera at the stars; the app tells you exactly what you are looking at - as it happens, I learned that Betelgeuse was a real place and not just a figment of Douglas Adam's imagination. I miss Douglas Adam's, God Bless his soul, for he has provided me days of brilliant reading pleasure.

Next day was lazy. Hung around the property, walked around the orchard, smelt the flowers, breathed the fresh air and life felt good. Nice evening chatting with Manish, his Dad Suresh and several friends. And yes, we saw wonderful views of the mountains; seeing Pindari glacier brought back memories of the various treks I went on as a lad and I looked at my now substantial gut with regret!

The next day was amazing. We visited the Riverside property at Chamfi with its lovely natural swimming pool. Its a lovely half hour walk through pretty and untouched mountain villages. And you get to this lovely place for lunch; all organic, home grown, hand plucked and delicious. But before lunch, you must walk on to the sacred lake; its another half hour walk through a river, slightly tricky in parts if you are carrying a 3 year old on your shoulders, but very do-able (specially with Puran helping at the more difficult spots). Just before the lake, there is a place where you can walk around some high rocks, or climb over them (the ropes are all in place). It is quite an amazing place; a beautiful small lake, pretty much untouched by man; being here remined me of Alex Garland's "The Beach"; its immaculate, its mysterious and its untouched. And when you get there Puran (the person running the guest house, whose family has belonged to the village forever) can tell you some very interesting lake stories about the dance of the Apsara's and the Paanch Bakri ka Balidan in years gone bye and all this while you sip lake chilled beer & snack on chips (no swimming though; it is a sacred lake). Evening was a misery because of one over-exhausted daughter; but hey it was worth it.

The next day we drove down to Saat Taal. Took the kids on a boat ride; got the boatman to give us the history of the seven lakes (the ones dedicated to Ram, Lakshman & Sita have merged into one, while Hanuman, Garuda and Bharat's lakes are separate; can't remember who the 7th lake was dedicated too). Its really a very pretty setting and fortunately off season it was quite deviod of the masses. Had another lovely evening chatting. Then slept; it was cold and we were thrilled with the warm electric blankets! And guess what. Over-night it snowed.
And what a sight it was in the morning. We spent a couple of hours in the snow before starting back for Delhi.

Every room has beautiful views with windows built to show them. Decor is lovely and it is comfortable. The property has been built with great love; huge attention has been paid to the smallest detail. The talent of the Sandeep & Geeta Uppal (the architect/designers) shines through and because the property has that special feel of a lovely home, you can see the invisible hand of Manish & Ratna.

The bad part of the trip was having to leave; all good things must end. We will certainly be back one day when my smaller daughter is big enough to do the Devi Mandir & Tagore Top walks and be able to walk through the woods looking for leapords (hoping they are never met).

Chose this place after extensive search. Criteria was a place anywhere in the hills- not too far from Delhi (travel sickness) - which was close to nature with good views, not touristy and a good comfortable classy property (non hotel). Could not find another property meeting the criteria and the tripadvisor reviews were too good to ignore. Still had apprehensions till we reached the place.

Once we reached the place, we were blowen away by the beauty and attention to detail- both outdoors as well as the house it self. Since there were only two families at the time, we had the whole place to ourselves and it almost felt like home- only better ! Stayed in 'Quietude" and the view from the room was amazing and a bunk bed to keep the kiddo amused. The highlight of the stay was the food which if I remember correctly was not repeated the 4 days we stayed- the barbeque was amazing. The staff is good and the chef amazing. Special mention for Dinesh who was good enough to accompany me to the next town to get some medicines.

Overall, will visit again and recommend to anyone who needs a touch of class in the hills.

Been to Soulitude numerous times and loved the experience on each visit. The rooms are luxurious and tastefully done. The staff is extremely helpful and the food served is great. Don't miss the excursion trips to the villa beside the river, or better plan to stay a night there as well.