Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Hotel Review - Club Mahindra Fort Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur

I visited the Club Mahindra property in Kumbhalgarh near Udaipur in November, 2010 for 4 nights. I would rate this as one of the better properties from the Club Mahindra stable and it definitely deserves the Gold Crown Status given to it by Resorts Condominium International (RCI).

The resort is at the foot of Fort Kumbhalgarh about 6 kilometers from the mail entrance of the fort. Contrary to what I had heard before visiting the resort is that the resort is not located within the Fort boundaries itself. It is I think approximately 120 kilometers from Udaipur and is about a 2 hour drive. For travelers like me who are car sick all the time I would also like to state that half the journey is very smooth on the National Highway and the remaining half is a topsy turvy road leading upto Kumbhalgarh. I got very car sick so request you to take the necessary tablets before undertaking this journey.

Once you reach the resort you experience utter bliss. The staff is very warm and friendly and the check in process is very smooth. We had a 1 Bed Room apartment which had a hall, kitchenette and a bed room. The hall had a Flat Screen T.V, DVD Player and a Sofa Cum Bed with a sit out overlooking the hills where you could easily spend the lazy afternoon reading a book and sipping a cup of tea. Adjoining the hall is the dry kitchenette which has all the crockery, cutlery, toaster and microwave. You can get yourself the necessary supplies from the resort store and make the basic meals such as sandwiches or any other stuff that does not require a cooking range.

The bed room has a very comfortable bed with roll down cane windows. There is a small balcony outside overlooking the hills where you can have your breakfast in the morning or your evening tea. I think the room design of this Club Mahindra Resort coupled with the amenities is very good and you can have a great family holiday here, within the confines of the resort itself.

Food is always out of the world at Club Mahindra Resorts. If you avail of the Fun Dining you get a 5 Star spread for all 3 meals for Rs.550 + tax which is a very reasonable deal. The alacarte menu is limited but is also very good. The resort also has a library, Internet Kiosk, a Games Room and a DVD Rental store which add to the things you can do when you stay at the resort.

For sightseeing outside the resort there are primarily two attractions.

(1) Fort Kumbhalgarh: This is a must visit for all residents of the resort. You will be able to get a guided tour from the resort. Please ask for one of the in house Club Mahindra tour guides who are local residents. They double up as Tour Guides as well as Drivers and explain the history related to the fort very well. Do not take a guide from outside the fort.

(2) Haldi Ghati: This is where the Battle of Haldi Ghati was fought by Rana Pratap and the Mughals (if I remember correctly) Chetak (the horse of Rana Pratap) died here as well. This is 50% of the way between Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh and you should go there either on your way from Kumbhalgarh Resort or on your way back from there. Again take an in house guide from Club Mahindra

Hope you have a great trip as and when you decide to visit Fort Kumbhalgarh!

2 comments:

  1. hi.. i plan to visit club mahindra, fort kumbhalgarh in a few weeks time.. i just need to know a few things..

    1. how far is shreenathji temple from the resort? google map says it is approx 20 mins.. but the resort site says it is around 50 kms.. so i suppose it should take me an hour to reach the place..

    2. is local transport available outside the resort? for local sightseeing? or do i have to book the resort car?

    it would be a great help if you get back to me. my email id is : neharakeshdoshi@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete