Paradise in Panchgani!. Review on Ravine, Panchgani

Enough was enough!! I wanted to try out something exciting amidst my not-so eventful happenings in office and at home. That's when I decided for a weekend trip to Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani. Well, one may ask, what's so exciting about it?

Being a meticulous planner (most of it being inculcated at work!), going on a holiday, with your family that includes a 4 year kid, without a hotel booking, that is how adventurous I can get these days!! Its not that I shy away from adventures (I have been married for almost 6 years now!!) but the state of affairs at work is taking a toll on my aging heart & soul!! The past couple of weeks have

been very jumpy for me & every morning, I dread opening my mail box!!! Call it customer-escalation-phobia or work-phobia or what ever you want, I have had enough of it & wanted a change of scene.

Let me not go into the details of my journey to Panchgani (which was extremely good, a nice drive in my lovely Baleno) but we landed up in Panchgani by noon. I had done some homework regarding the hotels in Panchgani, non-consciously, and wanted to first try out Hotel Ravine (https://ravinehotel.com). This is located just after the "Fleece" Nakha - what's a better word for describing the tax collection points, who rob you of Rs20-50 per person per day at every Hill Station, in and around Pune!!

The Hotel is situated on a steep cliff overlooking the grand valley. Luckily for us, they had a single - twin sharing valley side room

available. We checked it out, just to affirm if what I saw (on the webpage) is what I get, and my wife & kid liked it so much that  they peacefully settled down in the room. Not to mention, I had to go all alone to the car to get our luggage!!

The Hotel rates are as mentioned on their web page, we got a discount of 30% on the Rs2.8 K room (accommodation only) as it was off-season.The room was pretty decent, nice & clean bed, a good set of furniture, an open sort-of French window overlooking the valley, a passable cupboard, clean toilets with toiletries, a battered TV set and finally, a soothing painting hung right in the middle of the room.

Pros (as I found it):

• Excellent view from the Hotel Room ie. if you choose the Valley View facing room

  
  




• Good Staff members & prompt responses

  
  




• Nice lawn, small play area for kids, tennis court, not sure if I remember visiting the Gym

  
  




• They have Outposts (cabins & tents) with an excellent view of the valley. They looked nice & clean (from outside)

  
  




• Small & functional swimming pool & a great outdoor restaurant with a good view (good for hosting parties for large groups)

  
  




• Good restaurant called "Melting Point" that serves tasty North/South Indian & some Chinese cuisines as well. One side of the

  
  

restaurant has a glass wall overlooking the valley! Its breath taking!

• Para gliding base is close to this place & if you are lucky, you can see lots of para gliders landing a couple of feet away from this hotel.

Cons (my perspective):

• Though the accommodation is not that expensive, the restaurant charges are whopping!! Try digesting this:

  
  




• a cup of tea costs Rs45

  
  




• a plate of idly (3 nos) Rs 75 (25 bucks for an idly!!)

  
  




• Dosas start at Rs 85

  
  




• the cheapest north indian side dish is around Rs175 & the quantity is not that great as well

  
  




• all murg dishes are Rs 225 upwards

  
  




• Meals are not served in the room and anything served in the room is burdened with 10% service tax

  
  

(a nice cuppa tea in the early morning along with my wife taxed me Rs100).

Overall, its a nice place to visit at least once. If you can brave the restaurant charges or opt to eat out, you can surely consider spending a weekend at this place.