Excellent hotel to stay in Manali. I had booked this hotel through OYO rooms. After reading the reviews in trip advisor, I was hoping to get a decent hotel as I was travelling with my family. I was not disappointed.We were received with smiling face at 8 pm by the hotel staff, our luggages were quickly shifted to our rooms and our check in process was smooth. Since we had 3 adults and a kid, we were given a room with extra bed. Manali with its cold temperature gave us the perfect reception as we had visited Shimla before and the temperatures were around 35 deg C mark...With 3 Deg C, Manali gave us the much awaited chillness.. The Room allotted to us was 107, with River Beas flowing right behind and the majestic view of the snow capped mountain ranges. Food was awesome and was served quickly. Since we had done white water river rafting near Kullu on the way from Shimla, we were tired and had to hit the sack. Next day morning, I got up at 545 am and was enjoying the majestic view with the river flowing...With the Sunshine Breaking out around 630am, got to see a rare sighting.. The snow capped mountains suddenly turned into peaks capped with gold (due to sunlight reflection), I felt my trip was made.. Such an awesome sight... Had breakfast (Aloo paratha and Jam toast) in their lawns with the family & river beas for company, couldn't have asked for more. We did some local sightseeing that day. Had dinner at the hotel and the food was nothing but awesome. We being Vegetarian, food served was exceptional in taste and quality. This hotel has a small kitchen garden, the cilantro was reaped right in front of our eyes for making our breakfast and dinner..Nice to see that the hotel is into some kitchen gardening.. We decided to start early the next day for a Rohtang pass Visit, But to our dismay the taxi could not go beyond a point as the roads were blocked. Every tourists aim is to see and play with snow while in manali. We had rented our snow boots and the dress and were all set for playing in snow.. but alas... we requested our driver to take us back to the shop we rented our dress and the guy there arranged a trip to the other side of the mountains.. It costed us some money but we were determined to see and play with snow whatever it took,, After an hour and half and 32 kms, we crossed a hydro electric project, did some high altitude trekking for 3 kms and reached a place with some melted snow turned into ice.. Kids loved the place and immediately started jumping around in that patch of snow that had turned into ice.. Our guide was helpful in getting us there. Kids had some fresh Maggi made by the locals there and sandwiches packed from hotel. With the mission to see and play in snow accomplished, we headed back to hotel after a 3 KM trek back... It was a back breaking trek, but the pain disappeared on seeing the snow ... Headed back to hotel happy, had an awesome dinner.. We started around 7 am the next day back to Shimla by road. Amazed to see a 2 KM long road tunnel (hydro electric project, dam on beas), true engineering marvel and the crystal clear waters of Beas running besides till Mandi. So pristine, hope they maintain it that way. Back in Shimla, we took the Shivalik Deluxe toy train back to Kalka with dinner being served in the train itself... That route was unforgettable, what a scenic beauty this place has. This route from Shimla to Kalka is listed as an Unesco Heritage route.. Would suggest people to take this ride... though the road travel takes less time (4 hrs).. this ride is worth it (5.5 hrs).. On the whole a very nice vacation covering Amritsar, Wagah, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu and Manali.... Back from fairy tale land to to reality..
