Squash2Scotch: Trip to Ooty

Last June, my wife and I went on a trip to Ooty. This trip was planned at the last minute as we were not sure whether we will be able to make the trip or not. I was waiting for a project to end and any delay would have made this trip impossible as my wife was about to enter a new, long-term project. Thankfully, things fell in place and we decided to have a 4 day trip to Ooty.

Through my research about Ooty, I found out that it is a fairly commercialized place and hotels for any kind of budget are available. Trouble was that it was a weekend and lots of people from Bangalore and Coimbatore were expected. We tried to book a hotel but found out that most “recommended” places were sold out for the weekend. Though cheaper options were available, we decided to stay at Taj Savoy Resort on the first day of our trip. We decided that we will stay at three different hotels during our four day trip at Ooty. The idea was to know more about the kind of hotels that are there in Ooty and also enjoy different view each day!!! Here is how the trip went;

Getting There

From Hyderabad, the best option for reaching Ooty is by air, especially if it is not a long trip. Train or road journey would have been much cheaper but they would have been time consuming. Moreover, they would have left the body tired which is not good for a short trip. In any case, there are no direct trains for Ooty from Hyderabad. So, we took a flight to Coimbatore. We took a morning flight on Saturday, June 19. It was a Spice Jet flight and though we made the booking at the last minute, we got a fairly good rate.

Before starting our journey, I arranged for a cab to take us from Coimbatore to Ooty. I made the booking through a travel agency called Rich Tours and Travels. The driver, Manoj was waiting for us at the Coimbatore airport. I do not really remember how much I paid for the trip from Coimbatore to Ooty but it was in the range of INR 1,500. The information is available on the website of Rich Tours and Travels. From Coimbatore, it takes around 3 hours to reach Ooty.

It is a nice journey from Coimbatore to Ooty. We went in June, which is not really the peak season, but the weather was pretty pleasant. The weather was hot at Coimbatore but as soon as we came out of the town and started the journey towards Ooty, the weather became extremely pleasant. The roads are not too wide, which is typical of roads in the hills. Driving on these roads is certainly not for the weak-hearted. However, we were in the experienced hands of Manoj, who is a resident of Ooty and has made this trip a zillion times. Manoj was pretty polite and was fairly talkative (but not cocky). Throughout the journey, he gave valuable suggestions of what to do at Ooty, Dos and Donts etc. At first, I was under the impression that he is only trying to get more business but later found out that it was not the case. He was just being helpful. The journey is especially great for the shutterbugs as the mountains, clouds, tea gardens and the monkeys give enough opportunities to click some great pictures. We stopped several times during our journey to do exactly that.

Day 1: Saturday, 19 June to Sunday, 20th June 2010

We reached Taj Savoy at around 11:30 in the morning. Though it was not a peak season, there was rush at the resort and all the rooms were booked. We had made prior bookings and had got a room at INR 9,500 (inclusive of three meals as well as taxes). It is not inexpensive but they charge much more in the peak season. In any case, we did not have much of an option as Taj Savoy was the only decent option left…thanks to the weekend rush.

Taj Savoy is a pretty nice property. The rooms are clean and comfortable, something you expect from Taj and for that matter any hotel/resort where you are shelling out 9,500 for a day’s stay!!! The rooms have a fireplace and the staff sets up the fire when asked. It has a good restaurant and pretty decent bar. Infact, Taj Savoy is the only option in Ooty for having good hard drinks. Most of the hotels/resorts in Ooty do not have a liquor license!!! (shameful!!!) Moreover, there are not many liquor shops in Ooty. In any case, the liquor shops in Ooty do not sell most branded liquor. In one shop, when I asked for Vodka the shopkeeper gave me a look as if I am asking about UFOs. So, if you are planning a trip to Ooty, please carry your liquor.

Coming back to the Taj Savoy resort, it has a lot of options for recreation. It has nice lawns, options of indoor games like table tennis, carrom, chess, outdoor games like cricket, football, volleyball, cycling etc. One can take a horse-ride as well.

Overall, one gets pretty nice service at the Taj Savoy resort but I will recommend this resort to only those people who are not planning to do much of sightseeing. If you are going just to relax, the resort is a great option. However, if you are planning to stay out for most of the time then what is the use of paying so much money? Another drawback that the resort has is that it does not have a great view. In fact, it does not have a view at all!!! From the rooms, you can only see the lawns of the resort, not any valley.

We spent most part of our stay at Taj Resort in the resort only. I had asked Manoj to arrange a bike during our stay at Ooty. He had discouraged the idea saying that rains are round the corner and the bike may not be used much. However, it is always better to have some sort of mobility and so I got the bike. In the evening, we did venture out for a while. It was mainly to find another hotel/resort for the next day's stay. While roaming around on the bike, I realized that Ooty is an extremely small place. The center of the town is fairly commercialized and the market area remains pretty crowded. While coming from Coimbatore, we had noticed a resort which was on the slope of a hill. The location was amazing and the view would have been great. After roaming around for a while, we managed to locate the resort. It is called “Sagar Resort”. The best part of the resort, as I have mentioned earlier, is the view. And the room tariffs are pretty low as well. I think it is in the range of around 2.5k per day. Ideally, we were looking for a hotel with low tariff as we were planning to spend the next 2-3 days roaming around places in and around Ooty. Before finalizing Sagar Resort, we decided to check the food in its restaurant. The ambience of the restaurant was average and the food was below average. Hence, we dumped the idea. There is another resort next to Sagar Resort and it is called Hill Country. In fact, Manoj had recommended the place. We checked out the rooms as well as the view from the room and quite liked it. The room charges are INR 4,500 per day….costlier than we had planned but what the heck……you do not come out for a vacation everyday and one has to pay something extra for the convenience. So we finalized and booked the room for the next day.

Taj Savoy: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Clean and Comfortable

b. Good food

c. Best beverages in town as other don’t offer alcoholic drinks

d. Lots of options for recreation

e. Great staff

f. Amitabh Bachchan stays here!!!

2. Negatives

a. No view

b. Low value for money

c. Not worth paying so much for the room if one is planning to spend a lot of time outside

Day 2: Sunday, 20th June 2010 to Monday 21st June 2010

I could not get good sleep in the night. I usually do not get good sleep at new places. Then the “extra comfortable” hotel mattresses are not for me. On top of that, there was no AC or fan in the room at Taj Savoy!!! After paying 9,500, I was feeling royally cheated. (I think I was the only one feeling hot. It was fairly cold outside, thanks to the rain. So noone really cared about fan or AC. But unlike me, they had not downed a beer and a few pegs of whiskey!!!) On top of that, my wife asked the staff to set up the fire in the fireplace!!! In the night, I had no option but to ask the housekeeping to bring a pedestal fan!!! Thanks to all this, I woke up pretty early on the Sunday morning. I used the time to get ready and try out the functionalities of my SLR camera.

We had a sumptuous breakfast at the Taj Savoy Resort. After that, we played table tennis for a while and then clicked some pictures to prove to the world that we stayed at Taj. I had asked Manoj to send across a vehicle around 12 pm to pick our stuff and take it to Hill Country Resort. We followed on the bike.

Hill Country is located on the slopes of a hill. You can have the view of the valley below and it becomes absolutely beautiful when its gets a little cloudy. Then you can have cloud right outside your window!!!!

After checking-in Hill Country, we relaxed for a while and then decided to hit the road (much to the agony of my lazy companion). Before starting from Hill Country, we booked a place called “Willow Hill” for our third day’s stay at Ooty. For lunch, we went to a resort called “Sherlock Holmes”. After reaching the place, we felt sorry for booking Willow Hill!!! Sherlock Holmes resort has the theme of Sherlock Holmes. It has lots of stuff related to Sherlock Holmes, which makes the resort fascinating. The food at Sherlock Holmes was splendid!!! We requested the staff to show us the rooms and found them to be pretty amazing. They are not too costly as well….INR 3,500 per day. They have a nice lawn with beautiful flowers. Since the resort is located on top of a hill, the view is pretty nice. The only trouble is that it is too far from the town and getting a transport (if you do not have one) will be an issue. Otherwise, it’s a great option for stay at Ooty.

Post lunch, we went to Ooty lake for boat riding. On the way, it started to rain and we took shelter in the restaurant of a resort near Ooty Lake. As a matter of fact, before starting from Hyderabad, we had considered this resort for staying at Ooty. The pics that have been posted on their site as well as some travel sites are truly misleading. I am glad that we did not stay over there.

Ooty lake is pretty calm and serene. I am sure a lot of movie songs have been shot over there. A motor boat ride costs around INR 350. Just when we finished boating, it started to rain pretty heavily but we decided that we will enjoy the ride in the rain. That was not really a very wise decision as soon we started to feel pretty cold. On our way back, I tried looking for some alcohol as that’s the best way to get rid of the cold (and every other problem in life!!!). It was only after trying several shops and riding for 45 minutes in heavy rain that I could find a branded drink…..Bagpiper!!! Not my kind of drink but anything is better than nothing, isn’t it?

We returned to the resort and had snacks and dinner in the room only. The staff helped us in drying the cloths and shoes. They put them in a dryer and arranged a room heater for the room. On our way back, we had bought a bottle of locally made eucalyptus oil. Due to the cold weather and the adventure of riding in the rain, my sinus had started to trouble me. But the oil acted as magic!!! I became absolutely fine in 30-45 minutes. If you have sinus, cold….apply Ooty-made eucalyptus oil…ting tong. Few pegs of Bagpiper helped too!!!

The next day, we checked out around 11:15. Willow Hill guys arranged an auto (they had promised a cab) to pick us from the Hill Country resort.

Hill Country: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Amazing view

2. Negatives

a. Limited facilities for recreation

b. Rooms are pretty average

c. Room service not up to the mark

d. Overall, low value for money

e. They do not serve liquor

Sherlock Holmes: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Great view

b. Great food – taste, variety…everything great

c. Great ambience

2. Negatives

a. Little too far. Approach road is pretty bad. Reaching there in the night would be a nightmare!!!

b. They do not serve liquor

Day 3: Monday 21st June 2010 to Tuesday 22nd June 2010

I must admit that I was not too eager to go to Willow Hill. We had booked the hotel as I had read nice comments about the hotel. I had read that it has the looks of English cabins and “Inns”. That is what had fascinated me. However, after having been to Sherlock Holmes, I was more interested in Sherlock Homes. Moreover, when Willow Hill sent an auto instead of a cab, I became even more disappointed. But I was in for a pleasant surprise!!!

Roshni and I at Willow Hill Resort, Ooty

Willow Hill is far from the city and is located on a hill, which has several hotels/resorts. It is a small resort with around 10-15 rooms. Several types of rooms are available but they are not too different from one another. The costliest room is on the ground floor and boasts of a small private garden. As it was raining and ground floor can invite reptiles, we opted for a room on the 2nd Floor. The room charge was 1800 per day!!! A comfortable room with TV, big bed, clean bathroom….what more can you ask for in 1,800. The food was decent. The staff was extremely responsive. The TV in our room was not working and they promptly changed our room. Overall, total value for money.

After checking-in, we went to King’s Cliff resort for lunch. The resort is right infront of the Willow Hill Resort. The place was recommended by Manoj as well as the Manager at Sherlock Holmes Resort. King’s Cliff is part of the same group as Sherlock Holmes resort. The resort is pretty nice and big. It has great ambience, beautiful lawn and grrrrreat food!!! I would definitely recommend the resort to anyone who is planning a trip to Ooty.

After lunch, we decided to visit the Pykara Lake. It is around 30 kms from Ooty. The ride is good; mountain roads are always a pleasure. However, Pykara Lake is nothing great. It is not worth the effort and I won’t recommend it to anyone. After returning from Pykara Lake, we went to the market and did some shopping. We bought some local specialties like oil, home-made chocolates, tea etc. My wife bought…..artificial jewellery!!! Not that Ooty is famous for that but do women need any excuse for buying such stuff?!!?

We had dinner at Willow Hill resort. The dinner was pretty okay but next morning, the breakfast disappointed me. Soon after breakfast, we started our journey back. From Ooty to Coonoor, we went in the toy train. Manoj dropped us at Ooty station and picked us from Coonoor station. Then we did some sightseeing in Coonoor, which included SIMS Park, Lambs Rock, some tea estates etc. After that, Manoj dropped us at Coimbatore airport. Then...we were back to the everyday grind :(

Willow Hill: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Decent room

b. Great staff

c. Decent view

d. Total value for money

2. Negatives

a. Okay okay food

b. They do not serve liquor

Kings Cliff Resort: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Great food – taste, variety…everything great