It was on our wishlist for a long time to visit one of The Postcard Hotels and experience the "NEW" thing that the founder of The Postcard Hotels, Mr. Kapil Chopra did mention in one of our Twitter Spaces. Postcard Hotels is a chain of 5 Star boutique hotels founded by Mr Kapil Chopra who used to serve as the President of The Oberoi Group till 2018. A hotel chain coming from a person who has decades of experience in the hospitality industry and leading The Oberoi Group, to be honest, our expectations of ours were pretty high.
This trip was very much special to us as I, @TechnoFino and @bhavyegoel were going to see each other's faces out of the camera for the very first time. Even the planning of the trip was sudden. We literally decided to go on this trip in a week's time. We decided it over a call which was not even intended to be a call to plan the trip. Firstly there was huge confusion regarding which property we should go to The Postcard Dewa, Thimphu, Bhutan or The Postcard Hotel Gir, Wildlife Sanctuary and then Bhavye literally tossed a coin to decide. So Gir it was! So, we redeemed our stay with EazyDiner voucher of 1 Night complimentary with the booking of 2 Nights. So we only ended up paying 1 Night's revenue cost which included artisanal breakfast as well.
I and Sumanta then boarded an early morning direct flight to Ahmedabad Airport from Kolkata and by 8:30 AM we were already heading directly to The Postcard Hotel Gir, Wildlife Sanctuary by Bhavye's car.
Oh wait, did I forget to mention how the Property Manager Mr. Kartik Joshi played a very important role to make sure we're having a great experience and bringing back home nothing but good memories? So he called me up 4 days prior to our arrival and discussed our food preferences and our mode of transportation to make arrangements accordingly. He was constantly in touch with us over WhatsApp en route also. Though it took us 8 hours to reach there due to a slight problem with the car (which was resolved later en route) but the beautiful roads were certainly not tiring and guess what, our excitement didn't let us get tired. Thanks to @bhavyegoel for driving all of us there.
When we reached the property, Mr. Kartik and his team came to receive us and escorted us to the lounge area which was loaded with beautiful artwork of local artisans. We were then offered a welcome drink which was a local speciality made with Lemon and Jaggery, and it was so refreshing. After this we completed our check-in formalities in the lounge area.
The Executive Chef Mr. Pradipta Panda was there to have a conversation with us. He took note of all of our food choices again. Later Mr. Kartik discussed our plans with us for the next two days in detail. We fixed our programme of going for an early morning safari and late night Somnath Mandir Darshan during aarti for the next day with him.
This property is having 15 rooms all placed in a random manner quite nearby to each other amidst 16 acres of world famous Kesar Mangoes orchard. The exterior walls of the room have been made using local rocks and all the rooms carry different colour schemes as told to us by Mr. Kartik. When we reached our rooms, our luggage had already reached there. The attention to detail in both rooms was top-notch. The hue of the room decides the decoration of it, and yes it was not our first observation, but Mr Kartik pointed this out and then we noticed. We had booked two of the Premier rooms and they were simply amazing inside out. Don't go by my words, see for yourself!
Let's see a small clip of the beautiful room tour.
View attachment VID_20220918_132732_433.mp4
After taking a pre-shower in the open shower area, we straight jumped into the pool! Since this property is within Gir the possibility of wild animals entering the property is there, though it has a boundary, so guests are not allowed to roam in the property after 10 PM without hotel staff. So while we were in the pool there was always someone from the hotel team around to look after our needs while enjoying the pool, be it a towel, a glass of mocktail or even water. The access to the pool is 24x7, even if you decide to jump into the pool at 4 am, you just need to let them know that you're willing to go, someone will be there at your service, and you can enjoy your pool time.
The pool experience was great but we felt that there is room for improvement in the covered shower cum changing room which lacked toiletries and a rack to keep clothes on. The same was conveyed by @bhavyegoel to Kartik and he received it quite positively.
After spending so much energy at the pool it was time to get loaded. The menu at the hotel changes every day and all three meals are provided à la carte. For the next two days of our stay, we got to have different delicious dishes.
The indoor dining area was dimly lit and gave an old-world charm. We were served so well by Mr Manas Kundu who hailed from West Bengal and Mr Manik who was a local that we had to mention them here.
The Iconic Gujarati Thali was good enough for two people but we had already ordered two by then.
The dimly-lit dining room which looked great at night wasn't much appealing during the day as compared outside. So we preferred to eat outdoors in the daytime to enjoy the solitude it provided.
And some desserts for your eyes!
Oh wait, did I forget to show you the Kesar Mango smoothie? Here you go. It was delicious. They preserve their own orchard-grown mango pulp to use all around the year which is a standard practice in Gujarat. And since Sumanta avoids milk so Mr Manas got it veganized for him. They have specifically mentioned that they can make Vegan preparations of the menu items if asked to. For two days'. of meals, excluding breakfast costed us about ₹ 17k for all three of us.
I guess your mouth must be watering already!! The food was really ravishingly tasty and a treat for the soul. But we shared feedback about certain items which lacked perfection like the Orange Juice which was served during breakfast was frothy and thus lacked taste. The next day they gave us fresh hand squeezed Orange juice which was a delight. I think they lacked a cold press machine there but made up for it. Since @bhavyegoel is from the north he didn't like the texture of Paneer Paranthas as they were mixing some amount of Maida with Parantha. Even this feedback was taken very hearteningly and the chef then and there got it replaced with a maida-free one which was lip-smacking.
In the morning as discussed our jeep had arrived to take us on the Safari. Everything was so smooth that we never had to reconfirm anything from Mr Karthik. Though the main safari opens in October, we went for another shorter one which is routed through an interpretation zone called Devaliya Park. It is basically a gated green area and the probability of spotting a lion is almost certain there.
Meet Devraj the king of Devaliya Gir Interpretation Zone.
The park boasts of Jackals, Spotted Dear, Leopards and Asiatic Lions. The Forest Safari costs ₹ 8k separately
After the 2 hours of forest safari, we came back and had our breakfast. While having it suddenly we realized that there is an Indo-Pak match tonight. And after that, we further realized that there is no TV in the room. We were so busy enjoying the property that we had forgotten one of the most basic needs of mankind is a TV. Since these hotels tend to make you focus on your holiday and many come here for tech-detoxing, thus by default, televisions are not provided in the room. But we had our Yes Man to the rescue and that is Mr Karthik.
So we suddenly changed our plan and took our car and started rushing to the Somnath Temple as aarti was scheduled to start at 12 PM and we had just 40 mins to our disposal and cover 40 KM. To our surprise, Mr Kartik just messaged us with a number and called us to let us know that he has arranged a VIP darshan for us and saved us from the long queue there. When it comes to hospitality these small things make the biggest impact.
Some snaps of Somnath.
While coming back we had local food at a roadside farm setting which was very healthy and tasty.
In the evening we toured the property and tried to explore some portion of it. They have a small vegetable garden at the back side of the hotel. I think they are still developing it and would be great if they can implement a farm-to-fork type of concept by utilizing the area they have which can be very fascinating for city folks like me.
After a quick dip in the pool finally, it was time for the Indo-Pak match with a lip-smacking in-room dinner.
And not to miss some sweet gestures. They provided a cloth bag to bring all the lovely Forest Essential toiletries home.
Finally, every good thing has to come to an end, and the same happened with our trip. The end of the trip made us remind of the words uttered by Hrithik Roshan in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, "Yaar chutti khatam ho rahin hain". The trip was full of thrill, excitement and a lot of unexpected but beautiful things. We took home nothing but our hearts full of beautiful memories which we will cherish throughout our lives. With this, we bid adieu to Gir and the Postcard staff who were all present at the gate to bid us goodbye!
As the journey ends, now the question comes: For whom The Postcard Hotel is meant?
Postcard Hotels have a completely different approach towards your holidays than other conventional 5-star hotel chains. In layman's language, if you prefer a holiday, in the literal sense, a laid-back holiday, where there's no rush and you want to spend all the time close to nature and want to have the most curated experience. With added hospitality of a top-end luxury hotel, The Postcard Hotel is just for you.
And just like other top 5-star properties, it's not meant for budget travellers at all.
I am also adding feedback from Sumanta in his own words "I have never experienced hospitality similar to Postcard Hotels anywhere, it was simply amazing! They actually implement our country's tagline, "Atithi Devo Bhava". I would definitely visit Postcard Hotels again to spend my holidays. This trip was a special one for me. Visiting all the 12 Jyotirlinga is my lifetime dream, and I got an opportunity to visit one of them at Somnath🙏🏻. Thanks to Subhankar and Bhavye for planning this trip, and a special thanks to Mr Kartik, the property manager, for arranging the VIP darshan."
And if you ask me whether I would like to go and enjoy another experience at the Postcard Hotel? Hell yeah! Let's see when and where it's meant to be!
This trip was very much special to us as I, @TechnoFino and @bhavyegoel were going to see each other's faces out of the camera for the very first time. Even the planning of the trip was sudden. We literally decided to go on this trip in a week's time. We decided it over a call which was not even intended to be a call to plan the trip. Firstly there was huge confusion regarding which property we should go to The Postcard Dewa, Thimphu, Bhutan or The Postcard Hotel Gir, Wildlife Sanctuary and then Bhavye literally tossed a coin to decide. So Gir it was! So, we redeemed our stay with EazyDiner voucher of 1 Night complimentary with the booking of 2 Nights. So we only ended up paying 1 Night's revenue cost which included artisanal breakfast as well.
I and Sumanta then boarded an early morning direct flight to Ahmedabad Airport from Kolkata and by 8:30 AM we were already heading directly to The Postcard Hotel Gir, Wildlife Sanctuary by Bhavye's car.
Oh wait, did I forget to mention how the Property Manager Mr. Kartik Joshi played a very important role to make sure we're having a great experience and bringing back home nothing but good memories? So he called me up 4 days prior to our arrival and discussed our food preferences and our mode of transportation to make arrangements accordingly. He was constantly in touch with us over WhatsApp en route also. Though it took us 8 hours to reach there due to a slight problem with the car (which was resolved later en route) but the beautiful roads were certainly not tiring and guess what, our excitement didn't let us get tired. Thanks to @bhavyegoel for driving all of us there.
When we reached the property, Mr. Kartik and his team came to receive us and escorted us to the lounge area which was loaded with beautiful artwork of local artisans. We were then offered a welcome drink which was a local speciality made with Lemon and Jaggery, and it was so refreshing. After this we completed our check-in formalities in the lounge area.
The Executive Chef Mr. Pradipta Panda was there to have a conversation with us. He took note of all of our food choices again. Later Mr. Kartik discussed our plans with us for the next two days in detail. We fixed our programme of going for an early morning safari and late night Somnath Mandir Darshan during aarti for the next day with him.
This property is having 15 rooms all placed in a random manner quite nearby to each other amidst 16 acres of world famous Kesar Mangoes orchard. The exterior walls of the room have been made using local rocks and all the rooms carry different colour schemes as told to us by Mr. Kartik. When we reached our rooms, our luggage had already reached there. The attention to detail in both rooms was top-notch. The hue of the room decides the decoration of it, and yes it was not our first observation, but Mr Kartik pointed this out and then we noticed. We had booked two of the Premier rooms and they were simply amazing inside out. Don't go by my words, see for yourself!
View attachment VID_20220918_132732_433.mp4
After taking a pre-shower in the open shower area, we straight jumped into the pool! Since this property is within Gir the possibility of wild animals entering the property is there, though it has a boundary, so guests are not allowed to roam in the property after 10 PM without hotel staff. So while we were in the pool there was always someone from the hotel team around to look after our needs while enjoying the pool, be it a towel, a glass of mocktail or even water. The access to the pool is 24x7, even if you decide to jump into the pool at 4 am, you just need to let them know that you're willing to go, someone will be there at your service, and you can enjoy your pool time.
The pool experience was great but we felt that there is room for improvement in the covered shower cum changing room which lacked toiletries and a rack to keep clothes on. The same was conveyed by @bhavyegoel to Kartik and he received it quite positively.
After spending so much energy at the pool it was time to get loaded. The menu at the hotel changes every day and all three meals are provided à la carte. For the next two days of our stay, we got to have different delicious dishes.
The Iconic Gujarati Thali was good enough for two people but we had already ordered two by then.
The dimly-lit dining room which looked great at night wasn't much appealing during the day as compared outside. So we preferred to eat outdoors in the daytime to enjoy the solitude it provided.
And some desserts for your eyes!
Oh wait, did I forget to show you the Kesar Mango smoothie? Here you go. It was delicious. They preserve their own orchard-grown mango pulp to use all around the year which is a standard practice in Gujarat. And since Sumanta avoids milk so Mr Manas got it veganized for him. They have specifically mentioned that they can make Vegan preparations of the menu items if asked to. For two days'. of meals, excluding breakfast costed us about ₹ 17k for all three of us.
I guess your mouth must be watering already!! The food was really ravishingly tasty and a treat for the soul. But we shared feedback about certain items which lacked perfection like the Orange Juice which was served during breakfast was frothy and thus lacked taste. The next day they gave us fresh hand squeezed Orange juice which was a delight. I think they lacked a cold press machine there but made up for it. Since @bhavyegoel is from the north he didn't like the texture of Paneer Paranthas as they were mixing some amount of Maida with Parantha. Even this feedback was taken very hearteningly and the chef then and there got it replaced with a maida-free one which was lip-smacking.
In the morning as discussed our jeep had arrived to take us on the Safari. Everything was so smooth that we never had to reconfirm anything from Mr Karthik. Though the main safari opens in October, we went for another shorter one which is routed through an interpretation zone called Devaliya Park. It is basically a gated green area and the probability of spotting a lion is almost certain there.
Meet Devraj the king of Devaliya Gir Interpretation Zone.
The park boasts of Jackals, Spotted Dear, Leopards and Asiatic Lions. The Forest Safari costs ₹ 8k separately
After the 2 hours of forest safari, we came back and had our breakfast. While having it suddenly we realized that there is an Indo-Pak match tonight. And after that, we further realized that there is no TV in the room. We were so busy enjoying the property that we had forgotten one of the most basic needs of mankind is a TV. Since these hotels tend to make you focus on your holiday and many come here for tech-detoxing, thus by default, televisions are not provided in the room. But we had our Yes Man to the rescue and that is Mr Karthik.
So we suddenly changed our plan and took our car and started rushing to the Somnath Temple as aarti was scheduled to start at 12 PM and we had just 40 mins to our disposal and cover 40 KM. To our surprise, Mr Kartik just messaged us with a number and called us to let us know that he has arranged a VIP darshan for us and saved us from the long queue there. When it comes to hospitality these small things make the biggest impact.
Some snaps of Somnath.
While coming back we had local food at a roadside farm setting which was very healthy and tasty.
In the evening we toured the property and tried to explore some portion of it. They have a small vegetable garden at the back side of the hotel. I think they are still developing it and would be great if they can implement a farm-to-fork type of concept by utilizing the area they have which can be very fascinating for city folks like me.
After a quick dip in the pool finally, it was time for the Indo-Pak match with a lip-smacking in-room dinner.
And not to miss some sweet gestures. They provided a cloth bag to bring all the lovely Forest Essential toiletries home.
Finally, every good thing has to come to an end, and the same happened with our trip. The end of the trip made us remind of the words uttered by Hrithik Roshan in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, "Yaar chutti khatam ho rahin hain". The trip was full of thrill, excitement and a lot of unexpected but beautiful things. We took home nothing but our hearts full of beautiful memories which we will cherish throughout our lives. With this, we bid adieu to Gir and the Postcard staff who were all present at the gate to bid us goodbye!
As the journey ends, now the question comes: For whom The Postcard Hotel is meant?
Postcard Hotels have a completely different approach towards your holidays than other conventional 5-star hotel chains. In layman's language, if you prefer a holiday, in the literal sense, a laid-back holiday, where there's no rush and you want to spend all the time close to nature and want to have the most curated experience. With added hospitality of a top-end luxury hotel, The Postcard Hotel is just for you.
And just like other top 5-star properties, it's not meant for budget travellers at all.
I am also adding feedback from Sumanta in his own words "I have never experienced hospitality similar to Postcard Hotels anywhere, it was simply amazing! They actually implement our country's tagline, "Atithi Devo Bhava". I would definitely visit Postcard Hotels again to spend my holidays. This trip was a special one for me. Visiting all the 12 Jyotirlinga is my lifetime dream, and I got an opportunity to visit one of them at Somnath🙏🏻. Thanks to Subhankar and Bhavye for planning this trip, and a special thanks to Mr Kartik, the property manager, for arranging the VIP darshan."
And if you ask me whether I would like to go and enjoy another experience at the Postcard Hotel? Hell yeah! Let's see when and where it's meant to be!
