The World is my Playground

# Destination Weddings : Best Place in Gujarat # Go Golf : Annual series of Golfing initiatives spread across age groups.. The above headline in Urdu is suggestive of a farm loaded with blossoms and flowers.. so is the place where I spent my weekend. A must go for any traveller or an Amdavadi.. “Gulmohar Greens” is the place I reached on Saturday, 26 th May 2018... here the name Gulmohar is taken for a tree which is in full bloom during peak summer season, loaded with hues of red, orange & yellow flowers. So is this place.. always green, colourful and fully live with activities from all across genres. A perfect mix which is difficult to achieve.. hence a must try for a resort style living and a home away from home! Peak Summer, when the temperatures have soared to their highest of degrees, 47 degree Celsius,     to be precise, this is one place which gives you respite. Spread on sprawling 75 acres land, primarily known for a Golf course, has loa...

Touching the new millennium 2000, the skyline of Ahmedabad had been known for very few star category hotels, and Sabarmati peripheral region used to be one key zone to build these Landmark locations.. and attract operators. Then came in Hotel Fortune Landmark in the year 1998 at Usmanpura, with a view of Sabarmati from their rooftop and close vicinity to the airport; soon followed by other revolutionary change, with Vibrant Gujarat seasons, Medical tourism and upsurge in tourism industry there came in a rising room demand which led to landing in  various other players and investors pouring in the market.  Hospitality being a highly demanding industry,  volatile markets and aggressive competition; this is one Landmark which has been standing tall, carrying the same brand tag since two decades. Chef Suresh Khanna amidst his vivid  creations On 23rd May 2018, Hotel Fortune Landmark celebrated their twenty years of operations. A journey worth a mention...

Four decades and more to go.. Eureka moment after seeing a hospital scenario and landing to hospitality is the story of Gopi, a name known for Gujarati thali in Ahmedabad. While chit chatting with Dilip Thakkar, one of the team members, I was keen to know as to how the story of this famous restaurant really began. The foundation stone of a very humble place was laid down by Late Damodarbhai Thakkar  on 14 th February, 1979 which at a very later stage, after western influence took over, they learnt that 14 th February, happens to be Valentine’s Day. Near Vadilal Hospital, they commenced operations under a rented shed in order to serve home style food to the relatives of patients who used to travel from nearby towns. Hence the thought process or the intention behind was very noble... if that is the seed then growth does occur completely on a different tangent. In no time Gopi transformed to a structured dining hall, became a landmark place, a hot favourite for ...

Spa’s and therapies are looked upon as a great idea for relaxation and rejuvenation. The culture is picking up well with booming spa industry.. what are the reasons, one gets to know only when you visit one. So Dravya , at Hotel Crowne Plaza, is one place, I headed on to experience and explore more... Personally I always recommend a renowned spa, as they not only focus on best of services with trained staff, but hygiene, infrastructure and various other aspects equally play an important role to rejuvenate you. Lavish space, with a private sit out area where I was first offered an Apple infused Cranberry juice... highly soothing and relaxing when you land into the place when the summer heat at its peak!! I opted for a BALI massage which focuses on Lymphatic drainage, a very important aspect, extremely essential for overall well being, as lymph nodes, a part of our circulatory system, store the white blood cells which are responsible for our immunity and play a very ...

Well as the interiors suggest, this place is completely meant for teenagers and the youngistann who can get themselves sink into calories without counting and also dig well into cheese .... Weird, be it the combinations or the tastes, there are fried Oreos and ' paratha ' pizzas. For the food tasting session, I started my culinary journey with a Brownie Shake, crumbled brownie churned with milk and served in a long beaker kinda glasses.. I had fun clicking some pictures with the freakish graphics and toons. The shake too is good to go with, quite filling and highly recommended. The next came in queue was Dal Makhani with Paratha, part of their new menu delights. This Dal Makhani has a very typical punju touch to it, not too heavy and tastes exactly like a home made version. Good to go, as it is a mini platter, served with 'paratha'. Personally, I would give it four star out of five to it..  Another extension of parathas are the paratha ...

Hospitality sector is growing exponentially, directly in proportion with tourism, increasing business avenues and population respectively. With development and growth comes the responsibility of giving back to environment.. As the hotel chains not only immensely use energy and natural resources for their daily operations, be it food, air, water or infrastructure; they are largely dependent on nature; for tourist destinations. However, the by product of growth and development are adding on to carbon footprint... plastic waste, food waste, increased water consumption, excessive power consumption are the few challenges being discussed quite often at various forums. GreeOtels , a multi-stakeholder forum to catalyze, mobilize and mainstream action on sustainable practices in hospitality; organised Gujarat Summit at Pride Plaza hotel on 11 th May 2018. Well attended by the chiefs of major brands who are major stakeholders of the hospitality industry in Gujarat shared their key in...

The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel, now has been known for being one of the places for their innovative approach towards serving gastronomical delights; while we explore them on world map. They have been organizing food festivals from all corners of the Globe. This time they have picked up regional Indian specialties, not from one but four states in a go.. Chef Chandan North Eastern and central belt, rich in alluvial soil, has lot of locally made food varieties which forms staple diet of the local population. Hence, such varieties from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are being served this on-going week at The Fern- An Ecotel Hotel.   veg kebab platter The food festival is going on at Garden Cafe, wherein there are live counters for appetisers and a lavish buffet spread.   The fest is on from 4 th to 13 th May 2018. So head on to take a gastronomic tour of Varanasi, Indore, Patna, Lucknow at a go.. dhushkas, poha jalebi and dal ...

Creation of food is an amalgamation of art, combinations of taste, food materials infused in together.. but needs lot of knowledge, experimentation and research too, as various food categories cannot be combined together or some even if combined don’t taste great or react well, but this challenge has been taken up well by Pabria’s, a transformed version of Tullika ice-creams which has been put back on feet with a more robust plan, strategy and innovative approach. Pabrai’s – Fresh and Naturelle is again a Kolkata based 30 year old family brand which has franchisee presence in Ahmedabad, at Vastrapur Lake. 90% of the ice-creams at Pabrai’s – Fresh and Naturelle retain absolutely original flavours of fruits, nuts, flowers, spices or any other essential extracts. They use the best of ingredients which impart original taste to the favourite dessert of Amdavadi’s; be it a basic vanilla ice cream or a lemon grass both have natural pods and leaves present. The USP of Pabrai’s is ...