The property was newly opened, had only been one week when I’d visited. I heard some good things from a friend and the price was also reasonable. So, chose to stay at Shola. And seeing as how it was brand new, I expected the rooms and facilities to be in perfect condition.. and I was not disappointed! We chose the Junior Suite, primarily cos it offered a sofa cum bed in the living room.. figured that’d do for my son. The staff still gave us an extra bed for him, a pleasant and welcome surprise. Then again, maybe they weren’t super enthusiastic about people already sleeping on the sofa.. lol.
The room was tastefully decorated, offered a ‘fireplace’ which was cute.. but let’s just say my wife wasn’t over the moon with the idea of purposely lighting a fire in the bedroom while we slept in it… and a bath tub! which my son was definitely excited about. The bed was super comfy and the weather was nice enough for me to want to stay in all day long. Unfortunately, I travel with two busybodies so that plan was moot.
The location is awesome, in that the place offers some wonderful views, and they’ve set up park benches in out-of-the-way corners around the place to sit down and just soak in the beauty of Ooty. At one point, I noticed a group on these benches with a little bonfire in the middle!
But above all this.. if there’s one thing that I simply can’t stop talking about.. it’s the food! As it was a new place, I didn’t have a lot of expectations in that regard going in… but boy was I blown away by the food. We reached early evening on Saturday and after a 10 hr drive, we really didn’t want to go out looking for a restaurant, so decided to try the one in the hotel! After that, believe it or not, we literally ate nowhere else in Ooty. Although they had a buffet dinner we went for the ala carte menu. Everything we tried got oohs and aahs from my wife and son. Personally, I felt the Chicken Tikka Masala could have been a little thicker, but it tasted great. We had the Naan, Rice, Dal… all absolutely yum! Breakfast was also good… I personally recommend the “Medhu Vada’ – gloriously crispy! We had ghee roast, onion roast and chole bhature! The next day for dinner we tried the Chinese. I’ll simply say it was great, so this doesn’t turn into a food blog!
Of course, the place is still not entirely up and running, a whole half of the property is going through some construction. The approach road needs some work, also you might miss the off-road lane that takes you to the property if you aren’t paying attention. The landscaping and shrubbery might need a couple months before they are fully lush… and you will find workers here and there. And yet, while I have no idea if the property was sold out when I was there, the restaurant was definitely full. Also, if you haven’t been to Ooty in a while like me, keep in mind it’s a plastic free zone. So, bring your own non-plastic water bottles for when you are out and about.
To sum it up.. great food, great room, great view and not to forget… great food!
