13th Annual International Hospitality and Travel Awards @ Ashok Hotel

Being in the travel, food and hospitality industry when I heard about the 13th Annual International Hospitality and Travel Awards at Ashok Hotel on 27th october 2017, I was instantly interested.  I was curious to know about which hotel gets award in which category.

The event was organised by DLK Publication Pvt. Ltd. in association with Cox & King Ltd and various state tourism boards like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra , Punjab and more. Shri Alphons Kannanthanam, Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Tourism was the Chief Guest of the event.

Eminent personalities like Salman Khurshid, Rajesh Khattar, Miss India 2013- Simran Ahuja were part of the panel.

My experience at 13th Annual International Hospitality and Travel Awards @ Ashok Hotel

When I reached, I saw stalls for hotels, tour operators. Huge crowd had gathered. After the arrival of panel members and worshiping lord Ganesha, awards ceremony started.

[caption id="attachment_11131" align="alignnone" width="669"] 13th Annual International Hospitality and Travel Awards @ Ashok Hotel[/caption]

There were many award categories in industries like Hotel, Airline, restaurant, social media influencers, travel agency and tourism board. Star performers be big or small were given recognition.

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 Fashion Show

10 Must things to do in Indonesia

I have been fascinated to Indonesia since long. I got a chance to visit Indonesia last year and visited Bali, Flores island and Komodo Island. It was a wonderful trip for six nights and seven days.

 Beautiful skies and clear water

We had gone to Indonesia through Malaysia airlines. The first stopover was at the Kuala Lumpur airport. 

From Kuala Lumpur we reached Bali and spent a night at Hotel Mercure Grand. Next day we headed to Flores island to witness Tour De Flores, cycle competition! I was thrilled to first time see cyclists pass by and the enthusiasm of public.

There are many similarities between India and Indonesia. One gets to know about this by experiencing the cultural and historical treasures of the country.

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 Ramayana at Uluwutu Temple 

 Hanuman burning Lanka 

Experience nature's incredible heaven at The Residence Maldives

When I got the invite to experience The Residence Maldives at Maldives I was thrilled! I looked at their website and was totally fascinated by the property of The Residence Maldives. I was eagerly waiting to visit the property and experience it!

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 The Residence Maldives

The Falhumaa restaurant is a fine dining restaurant at the Residence Maldives. It is syrategically location on the island of The Residence Maldives. One has to go there by golf car. Its built on the lagoon. Because of its exclusivity, having a meal at Falhumaa is an experience in itself! We were supposed to have a formal dinner there.

Ambiance at Restaurant The Falhumaa

Falhumaa means a 'Solitary flower'. The restaurant truly reflects its name. It is one and only located at a place where one has to go to specially. Totally secluded from rest of the resort! It was a nice and pleasant evening. As we entered the restaurant , there was an indoor seating in a big area followed by an outdoor seating facing the beach.

Restaurant The Falhumaa

It was open air seating on the ocean facing the ocean.

Open Air Seating

The other section - bar area was inside. As we sat in the open air restaurant, I realized the beauty of stars and there was sound from sea with cool breeze flowing . It was a great experience! I wanted to be there for endless hours and simply sit and gaze the sky.

Food

I ordered Mushroom soup and it was delicious! The texture, aroma and taste of soup was irresistible.

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Nidhi KM

Tips and tricks to make a comfortable journey to Vaishnodevi

We had started planning for our trip to Vaishnodevi well in advance. So, our tickets were booked in time. However, had we planned it better we would have got confirmed seats in the beginning only. Our recent trip to Vaishnodevi was a great learning experience for all of us. We had gone as a group of six adults and 4 kids. Two from our group were 60+ age. Although ten years before I had been going to Vaishnodevi almost every year since childhood. But since last 10 years, we were not able to go there due to some or the other reason. Since our group had varied ages, I would say each one of us have an experience to share. I am going to share some useful tips and tricks that can help you organise your trip better.

Tips and tricks to make Vaishnodevi Yatra comfortable 

1. Plan ahead of time at least three months before you are travelling to Vaishno Devi. Try and book train tickets as soon as possible when the booking opens. You have an option to directly reach Katra in various trains. These trains are convenient. One can even book aeroplane tickets and the plane would drop at Jammu. From Jammu, take a taxi till Katra

2. If you're planning for a helicopter ride till Saanjhi Chhat it's a good idea for people who have problems walking due to health issues. The amount that is spent on a helicopter is the almost equivalent to the one spent at the ground hiring horses or taking pitthoos (people who carry luggage and kids) and palkis (palanquin)

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Restaurant review- The Dining Room @ The Residence Maldives

The Dining Room restaurant at The Residence Maldives is the main restaurant there. It offers both Asian and Western cuisine. The day we landed, it was an Indian menu for us.

Ambiance at The Dining Room

The restaurant is by the sea on both the sides. We have to approach the restaurant by the golf car. If you love walking then you can walk down as well. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating. They had displayed The Taj at the restaurant.

 

There was a lavish spread of buffet having salad section, breads area, desserts counter and buffet both vegetarian and non vegetarian.

 

There was a live kitchen as well. One could have the beautiful view of sea while enjoying meals. There is enough space between dining tables to provide adequate privacy to guests.

 

Food   We had most of our meals in the Dining Room. Breakfast is ala carte or buffet with fruits, juices, salads, breads, omlette, cutlets, baked beans and non vegetarian dishes including chicken, fish, pork and

more options are there. I had club sandwich which was good. Vegetables pizza was delicious. It had a thin and crisp base topped with fresh broccoli, bell pepper and mushrooms. An additional thing that was present in pizza was french fries. It tasted good on pizza.   Mocktails were excellent. Smith Granny, Iceberg were few jazzy names. Read more Nidhi KM

Experience in air on my way to Maldives on Srilankan Airlines

We were ready to board our flight from Delhi to Sri Lanka in the business class in Srilankan Airlines. It was a three and a half hours journey. I was very excited to reach Maldives and boarded the flight. It was a nice and cosy ambiance in business class. Although the seats were not hundred percent reclining but they were comfortable and I could easily sleep in the plane. I was sitting with my colleague Vishakha Talreja from The Hotel Explorer. Soon we realized that since they had not provided pre fixed screens on the seats ,on special request we could get laptops for entertainment. The operations on the laptop were identical to normal pre fixed screens. I liked this concept. I passed my time nicely in air.
[caption id="attachment_11016" align="alignnone" width="669"] Laptop for entertainment[/caption]
So, we asked for a laptop and I watched a Hindi movie.

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Nidhi KM

My most memorable trip to Maldives

I was excited to get an opportunity to visit Maldives through Outbound Konnections. We were to experience the property The Residence  and also Srilankan Airlines.
[caption id="attachment_10986" align="alignnone" width="669"] Srilankan Airport[/caption]
We got upgraded to business class on the Delhi Srilanka flight. It was a convenient flight UL0198.  Service was prompt and courteous. After spending some four hours at Srilanka during transit, getting foot massage and relaxing at Serendib lounge on the airport, connecting on social media, having delicious food etc, we boarded business class till Male on Srilanakan Airlines.
[caption id="attachment_10984" align="alignnone" width="669"] Serendib Lounge[/caption]
This was a fantastic flight and the memorable one. It needs a separate post to describe the hospitality offered by the crew and the ambiance of the flight.
[caption id="attachment_10987" align="alignnone" width="669"] Business Class of Srilankan Airlines from Srilanka to Male[/caption]
After landing to Male we had to wait for our third flight to Kooddoo island. From Kooddoo Island, there is a fifteen minutes speed boat. Speed boat took us to the resort. The boat was by The Residence Hotel. Hospitality by The Residence began from there. We were served with welcome drink along with fresh hand towels.

There are many ways to reach Maldives through Srilankan airlines. Flights can be taken from Delhi/Bangalore / Chennai/Coimbatore/Thiruvanthapuram/Cochin/Madurai/ Gaya/Mumbai/Kolkata to Maldives (Gan island or Male). Then one can take a speedboat to the island. If the distance is far then the domestic flight is required. In our case, we could have directly gone to Gan Island but due to some technical issues, we couldn't take that route.

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[caption id="attachment_10993" align="alignnone" width="669"] View of Ocean from Swimming Pool[/caption]


Nidhi KM

Immerse yourself in luxury and sophistication @ Corinthia Hotel, Whitehall Place, London

London, my near future 'go to' destination! Although I have transited via London many times but haven't got a chance to experience the destination! I am in the process of planning my future trip to London. When I heard about Corinthia hotel, I was thrilled because of its magnificence and sophistication! I instantly decided to stay there on my trip.

[caption id="attachment_10972" align="alignnone" width="669"] Corinthia Hotel[/caption]

London being famous for its cultural vibrancy and history, the trip becomes all the more successful of one stays at a hotel like Corinthia. This hotel was a former British Government building now offering grandeur, heritage with modern sophistication. The hotel had seven penthouses, two world class restaurants and not to forget the one and only ESPA Life at Corinthia Spa.

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