I had decided to take my team out for a weekend during the rains. My team members were new to Maharashtra and had not experienced the ‘Maharshtrian monsoon’.Like every one else they wanted to go to Lonavla or Khandala. I decided to make a bit more adventurous by going to Panchgani.
We left on Friday evening after office hours and drove through the Pune expressway. We missed the left to Mahabaleshwar and relaised our mistake after driving for 21 Km’s.The delay cost us a dinner at the Dhaba, because we had paid for our dinner at Hotel Prospect.
We reached prospect around 1.30 am Saturday and were greeted by a closed and dark office. I personally did not expect any one to be around at that unearthly hour. After a few knocks a old lady opened the doors and greeted us cordially and asked us if we had, had our dinner. She arranged housekeeping boys and saw to it that we were comfortably settled.
The boys also arranged for hot water for the ladies to take bath and ice for the boys for their drinks. Lovely.
The rooms were extremely well put with Victorian charm and all modern facilities. The baths were nice and clean the towels were nice and soft.
The next day we woke up to a hot cup of tea delivered to our room. The breakfast was in the dining hall.. Sausages, eggs (cheese fried, boiled, scrambled), bread, butter, tea coffee, poha and upma served on the table. After a bit of sight seeing we came back for lunch, soup, startes, Chicken, mutton, bread, chapatti, rice, paneer, and a sweet dish; excellent!
After lunch we went out and got drenched at Veena Lake. And came back to the hotel soaked. The host’s senta clothes dryer to the ladies room without request!. It saved a lot of mess in the rooms and was very appreciated. They did not stop there, knowing we were cold and wet they sent tea/coffee to the room and also a charcoal heater for the room.
Dinner was equally nice. With two preparation of rice, mutton, chicken and Veg. followed by ice-cream and hot chocolate. The hotel is very near to Panchgani market, Sydeny point and Table top land. The hosts are very nice and very helpful. The property is very well maintained. Beautiful gardens and ample parking space make a nice place to be.
Cost : Rs.25, 000.00 for 9 people. 2 days two nights all inclusive.(off season)Accomodation: 5 Bedroom Bungalow with Hall & verandah.I recommend this hotel for all tourist who want peace and serenity with privacy. The only drawback is they do not have a restaurant and the menu is fixed. No room service for food.