My first experience with Club Mahindra Holidays……

I recently visited The Club Mahindra Safari Resort, Corbett and had an amazing holiday with my family (hubby and kids).  Also it took me down the memory lane…. How it all started, I mean the association with Club Mahindra.

One evening in February 2009, when I got home from office hubby asked me to go along with him to the Palm Beach Galleria, a Mall at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. I wondered why on a weekday, he told me that he wanted us to visit the Club Mahindra holiday world, he had had talks with one of the executives. The executive must have done some hardcore selling is all I thought of.  I being from the hospitality industry and understanding the product wasn’t too keen on taking up a membership. Went along, with hubby and my little son anyway. On reaching the office the executive made us go through a presentation meant for the customers. Hubby was impressed but I found it to be just okay.

I was expecting our second child then and I knew it wouldn’t be possible for us to go on a holiday at least in the next 2-3 years. But my protests were in vain as hubby said that we’ll have a reason to go on a holiday and as kids grow up we’ll be able to have a family vacation every year. I gave in; we registered for a studio (1 bedroom) apartment. We got a 2N/ 3D complimentary holiday voucher, which we haven’t yet utilized.

We received our welcome kit and it sat in the cupboard comfortably as hubby Capt. Rajesh Todiwan went sailing and I got busy with work and the arrival of our second son. Holiday wasn’t in the scene as yet. First time that I thought of booking a holiday was in June 2011 when our younger son Abhinav was touching 2 years. Made reservations and hoped that Capt. Todiwan was home during that time, can’t be very sure of the sign off as it can get delayed at times. As true to my fears, he couldn’t be home till mid June and I had to cancel the holiday.

Then booked one for December  when its vacation time for me and the elder son.  But we didn’t get the requested dates so had to agree with the suggestions made my Club Mahindra Reservations, for Safari Resort, Corbett.  Once this was communicated to hubby, he agreed and I planned our travel and booked the tickets.

We finally started looking forward to our first holiday, hubby was excited and so were the kids.  And I was also looking for a nice break from routine.

Come 17^th December 2011 and we start our journey. Arnnav kept asking if it was time for us to travel right from the first of December.  We head  to the station to board our train to Delhi. Rajdhani  reached in the morning on 18^th. From Hazrat Nizamuddin station, we went  to Old Delhi railway station to board the Ramnagar Link express that starts from there at 3.30 pm. It was a short journey of about 5 hours. The train managed to reach almost on time considering the fog during winters. We reached Ramnagar at 9 pm, the hotel car was waiting for us. We went straight to The Club Mahindra Safari Resort.

The drive was beautiful, we loved the winding roads. We finally checked in to our apartment 1402. Found it nice, clean, comfortable and just ample for our family. I was finally accepting the fact that it was after all a good idea to have become a member with Club Mahindra. As we sat in our room, hubby told the kids that it was a gift for them. I was really pleased to hear that. We had had a tiring day so we all retired quickly. The next morning as well as the entire day was for exploring the resort and plan our sight- seeing and visits. The kids woke up early and were outdoors. Hubby and I joined them after our morning tea. We took a walk around the resort  and realized that so much of thought had gone into planning and detailing, the resort on the bank of river Kosi, not only made it a place for relaxation and rejuvenation but also very serene.  

We met the travel desk staff and planned the itinerary for the next 5 days, 20^th to 23^rd December. That included sight- seeing on the second day, Jeep Safari the following day, the day after that was for a tour of Nainital. And the last day was dedicated for the elephant safari.  We realized that our apartment did not get the early morning sunshine so we requested for a room change which the reception obliged. The time at the resort was very relaxing as we didn’t pack in too many activities. The kids loved spending time at the Fun Zone, hubby tried his hand at nature photography using his Nikon for the first time! For me it was the tranquility of the place and watching hubby and kids have a good time. I guess we all bonded well over little things and kids learnt to plan and stick to time to be ready and out of the resort for the adventure activities. The jeep safari from Bijrani gate at Corbett National park was a great experience for us so was the elephant ride. Kids loved ‘Lucky’ our magnificent elephant. We did get to see some wild animals. Deers, Sambhars and a few others of the species, we saw elephants in the wild and also a python….a huge one. We missed seeing the tigers but did see some fresh pug marks. That really didn’t matter what we valued is the experience. You have to live it to believe it!

Kids at the Fun Zone

We found the staff at the resort to be extremely courteous; they always had smiles on their faces. The food was good; the restaurants were quite busy at times. The housekeeping was prompt. What the kids really liked was the towel origami; they rushed back to the room each day to check what animal was waiting for them. Be it an elephant, a swan, a duck or a rabbit to name a few. Finally, the stay at the resort was coming to an end, so 23^rd afternoon was for packing up and ready to check out the following morning. We are thankful to the staff the resort for making it a great experience for us. We had a pleasant stay at the resort and carry with us beautiful memories of our first experience with Club Mahindra resort…. And we look forward to many more.





The boys appreciating the little elephant.

Elephant safari along the banks of river Kosi.

Ready for the Safari.