Garden Valley — Hotel in Uttarakhand

My experience as an in-house guest (for 2 days) in mid-nov 2020. Located at a distance of 4.5 kms from Bhowali. Accessible by road and closest airport is Pantnagar. Now about the property, it has 2 or more double bedrooms and a cottage (occupies 3 adults). Has a beautiful garden where we could see flowers blooming when we were visiting and trees laden with fruits. The property is spread across a huge area and is in levels. The top level has a cozy sitting area with bonfire arrangement. Below it is the dining area, bedrooms & cottages and then below it is the garden area + a table arrangement for dining possibly when its a sunny morning. From this garden area you can walk down to the rivulet which has fresh clean running water. The rooms are equipped with geysers, satellite tv, cupboards, electric kettles, electric blankets. None of the areas are accessible for the specially abled, as is the case with most home stays of this nature. The rooms are well-furnished and our stay was very comfortable. It was 5-12 deg C I think when we were visiting. The meals were the highlight of our stay (because we were there just to relax). Outstanding meals dished out for the guests with freshly baked breads and pizzas. The variety was amazing as was the taste. The staff is very well trained and always ready to help with resources within their means. Please book slots for meals beforehand as it is difficult to come by and you should make a detour, for their meals ,to this place even if you are not staying here. Free parking on the property available. We pretty much left our doors unlocked during our stay but possibly because we were the only guests on the property. The only niggling thing? the KEEP OF GRASS notices in the garden. The lush green garden was a magnet for me to play with my kid daughter or read a book in the sun coming in through the day but the notice was a bit of a disappointment. Not sure though if it was applicable for in-house guests or just folks visiting the place for lunch/dinner? Ohhh!! and no network for Airtel users, which was great for me. But there is wi-fi however you have to be close to the dining area to have a decent enough wi-fi network Finally, would I like to visit this place...

#GardenValleyResort #ContinentalFood #GoodFood #Nainital #CarrotCake #MushroomPie #ReviewsByAditti

An hour long drive from Nainital seemed promising as we were after all going for this much awaited “excursion”.. A group of us 12, on the 4th of August, 2018 had booked ourselves for a “home dining” experience in this place called “ Garden Valley Resort”, close to Nainital.

So I was taken aback by two things essentially ...

A) the charm of this lush green place, washed clean of any dust and pollution by the incessant rains, was incredible. So much prettiness in the middle of nowhere! Gosh !!

B)The food. Going by the reviews that we were banking on, was freshly prepared and supremely delicious indeed. I won’t be overstating if I say that this has probably been “one of the finest continental food experiences” for me so far.

I have yet to have butter mushroom pie!

The lunch menu included a braised onion soup with cheese topped croutons ( Hero No. 1) a salad/ farmer’s bread with a spinach dip pizza pasta an impressive veg mushroom pie grilled chicken in pepper sauce delicately cooked fish in lemon butter sauce and a lovely warm carrot cake to wind up the meal

I have yet to have a better mushroom pie though!!! Not a drain on your packet at 1000/- per head (approx)

Service boy quietly went about his business with practiced precision. We understand that the host couple, along with a help, cook the entire meal on their own. And they are doing a great job as far as dishing out great food is concerned.

What’s not to like then? I’ll tell you.

Would have loved to “kiss the hands” that fed us such delectable stuff, just that the duo didn’t step out to say a hello. ...that’s what’s not to like !

A friendly and present owner...was missed!

After all, we were “dining in...

In a nut shell, one of the most wonderful continental meal I've ever ever had. In addition to being a homestay, Garden Valley also offers a 7 course lunch. You call a few days in advance and the lady of the house who is also a trained chef whips up this gorgeous, glorious meal. I am no chef, not do I know the names of the dishes or what color they must be and what texture so mayhaps I'm too easy to please. But I can tell you, my tongue and tummy (the 2 most important parts of a human) were thoroughly and gleefully happy. This time (for reasons of old age) we actually broke the meal into 3 parts. We ate the soup and freshly baked bread outside in the sun, seated at these lovely tables that are set outside the dining room. We followed that up with the pizza; also outside. A friend of ours is gluten intolerant and for no extra charge a couple of extra dishes were added to the meal. We then headed into the dining room for the next 3 courses. Pasta (gluten free option provided) roast chicken, and a baked fish. Before desert was served we decided to take a walk down to the river side. Do watch out for the stinging nettle and of you so get stung look around for some wild spinach, it is normally growing nearby. Pluck a few leaves and rub them over the stung region. (I got stung several times, I'm told the sting doesn't last too long, but I decided spinach juice was the healthier way to go) We walked up an hour later and were served cake. We then asked for coffee and tea and with stomachs ripping at the seams left. The walk up and down need to be taken at a very leisurely pace so pace yourself. This is a must go to every year when I...