Too much of work on the shoulders could really get you limping someday and its a good idea to take a break and just forget everything for a few days – tension free, work free! I too needed a break and had been planning for a long time, but never got a chance to fix the date. Eventually, I could see the fatigue figure on my forehead and it was high time I ran to the woods and sucked up some dew drops from the moisture laden leaves.
So the plan was done, and we took a trip to Bhutan first. Bhutan is a nearby country and from Darjeeling its not much of a burden to reach. Glad I had some friends in Bhutan who are in the travel business – it was easy for me to move around. Bhutan as a nation has a rich cultural heritage with Buddhists as part of the overall population. Most of them speak Bhutanese or ‘Dzongkha’, their national language. A trip from Paro to Thimpu was breathtaking. Thimpu is the capital of Bhutan. Its a beautiful town full of ethnic values and sacred monasteries.
From Bhutan, we came back on our homeward journey to Sikkim which is a nearby Indian state to Darjeeling and West Bengal. I have been to Sikkim several times, some on a business trip and some travel oriented to Temi Tea Estate, the only tea estate of Sikkim. As the title of this post mentions, its about a hotel, a spa resort as they call – “Mayfair Spa Resort“.
My first stay and the result is excellent. Its one of the finest establishment in the hotel business relating to these parts of the Himalayas. which has taken great care in structuring the whole architecture. The best part which I liked is the preservation of the ‘woods’, the forest reserve – I would call it an eco-hub for anyone who would like to share their time with nature and get refreshed in body and soul.
The amenities are excellent with efficient and polite staff. Food is another thing that is going to make you marvel at. The peace and tranquility is not going to leave you, but keep you away from the maddening and crowded hustle and bustle of a busy and polluted city life. Suddenly life became so serene and relaxing. Apart from the basic amenities, the area is huge and wide spread, consisting of almost every facility that a good hotel should possess. A spa is first of its kind in the whole area and definitely you can get those old bones working. Normally hilly accommodations don’t have a swimming pool due to cold weather prevalent, but Mayfair has a tiny pool which overlooks the surrounding hills of Gangtok. They have beautifully crafted individual restaurants like the “Jungle Cafe” where you get the chance to devour local Sikkimese cuisine.
They even have a small casino, just five minutes walk from the main hotel premises. Its called “Mahjong”! However there is an entrance fee of Rs. 2500 where Rs. 500 seems to be the Sikkim Govt.’s entertainment tax. With the Rs. 2000 left you get its value worth of non-cashable chips which you can spend playing or win from it. They have some Bollywood oriented dance performances which you can watch as you roll the dice, but I guess a band playing live would have been better. Play the roulette, as I magically earned back my entrance fee.
All perfect, but one thing I would like to share is don’t book it online from their official site. I had done a booking online and the whole transaction showed that it had processed by credit card and I got a confirmation message as well. Well, I hadn’t checked my cc statement and one of the managing authority called up my room and asked for payment – I was furious! Upon interaction, I came to know that the whole credit card processing that went online was some kinda dummy transaction where my card was not actually processed. My question is, if they can’t process the credit card online, why the hell ask for it? I had to swipe my card and pay while checking out. Anyways, online booking is not impossible, but book it through some travel companies like Makemytrip.com, yatra.com etc., but not through the official hotel site. If you don’t want to book it online you can call them up and book it through the phone.
The next thing which I faced was lack of loose leaf teas provided by the hotel. If not Darjeeling Tea, Temi tea would have been fine, but rather than the whole leaves, a bag full of tea bags to quench ones thirst with. However, this loose leaf tea thing, I faced it along the whole trip from Bhutan to Sikkim – Now sipping my pot of goody goody Darjeeling Tea back home. The trip was good, but at the same time, it feels good to be back home to Darjeeling.
Rest, everything with this spa-resort was a lovely experience and I highly recommend it. Go have an experience!
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