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11/12/2014

Cabin in the trees, head in the clouds

Here is what happens when Jane takes Tarzan for a romantic week-end in the trees…

Jane spends quite a bit of time looking for nice gateways around Mumbai – which are far from plenty – and finally settled for something expensive: a cabin in the trees! With overview on the Western Ghats which are never more beautiful than at the end of the monsoon. There they should get peace, be able to yog and relax and maybe even go for walks (Jane doesn’t think that being at 6 months of pregnancy she can not climb a canyon and, as a matter of fact, she will).

A dream place. But which turned out to have the wrong vibe! Jane and Tarzan did enjoy their stay – mostly thanx to the impromptu trek on the top of the hill and certainly not thanx to the hotel staff. See they even wrote this review on Tripadvisor:

“Stunning views and amazing accommodation (a big WOW to the bathroom of the Forest Machan)!! BUT… Luck was not with us it seems…

We started by parking the car and it just happened that we stopped opposite an open air garbage dump! So much for eco-friendliness… Plastic bottles everywhere, which is not surprising since it is very difficult to get filtered water in glass bottles there.

Then we met the manager who greeted us with a request to pay a 3,000 Rs deposit. For what?

Because there is handicraft in the room… So 1. You are calling me a thief and 2. Haven’t I actually paid in advance 25,000 Rs?? He later turned completely rude when we asked to see another room, for in case we come back, and he said it was against the policy – even if the entire place was empty.

We then tasted silence and peace in our very nice room… Superb! Until our below neighbours came… They would have been in our room it wouldn’t have been nosier!

And came the time for dinner. Non-veg buffet: One yellow dal, one plain rice, one vegetable and one chicken with rotis. For 700 Rs. And it was not even tasty. Food was better the next day though, when it was only the 2 of us having dinner.

There is no consistency in the service. The staff wear track pants and chappals (dressing up for week-end guests). They make-up your bed one night and not the other. They don’t offer cushions to sit on the balcony. I could go on. All this would be okay if the rooms were not SO expensive and the staff unable to be a little friendly… It is an amazing place, just missing some good vibe and this is kind of sad…

But I guess they don’t care, the place is full all the time anyway!!”

India,Lonavala,The Machan,Mumbai getaway,week-end out of Mumbai,western ghats