It’s so foggy over Mangalore airport that my flight is in danger of being sent back to Bangalore to wait for the skies to clear. That’s the last thing I want after an early morning flight from Chennai; mercifully, the weather gods hear my plea, and I’m soon on terra firma and on my four-hour-long journey by road to Club Mahindra’s Virajpet resort. We only break for a cup of delicious layered coffee at K. T. Hotel in Kalladka, an institution of sorts in the area.
Situated a fair distance away from Virajpet town, the sprawling property has wide open spaces and well-maintained gardens with a plethora of flowers. Yashodha, a cheerful young girl in sari draped the Coorgi way, welcomes me — she smears a touch of sandalwood paste on my forehead and places a coffee-bean garland around my neck. (Later in the day, she patiently teaches me how to drape the elegant style.)
I realise right away that this is one of those places you want to just relax — sip hot tea on the balcony overlooking the swimming pool and the forests beyond and read a book, and that’s exactly what I do. Rooms are spaced far enough that it’s easy to forget there are other people in the neighbourhood. But there’s also a well-stocked recreational centre for the socially inclined — board games, table tennis, AV room for movies, and an entire room dedicated to gaming consoles, apart from play areas for kids. Preparations are on to expand these facilities with workshops, tattoo artists, and art and craft classes. Every block of rooms is named after a type of butterfly — I’m in Clipper, and it’s one of the larger rooms with a separate sitting room, bedroom, dining table and kitchenette. I visit one of the studio rooms and find it to have the same facilities, albeit in a smaller space. Both rooms have couches that can be pulled out to from an extra bed.
The restaurant, Aromas, is multi-cuisine and serves a widespread buffet along with live counters for dosas, parathas, rotis, pastas and kebabs. Every evening, the brightly-coloured space hosts a food theatre. On day one, guests come together to create a giant pizza. The next day, diners pour juices into a huge vat to make a mocktail that’s served with dinner. It’s fun and gets everyone in the restaurant involved. One particularly boisterous gentleman is more excited than both his kids — he sings and dances along with the cartoon characters that accompany the activity.
Sanil, the in-house entertainer, welcomes the guests with song as they check in. During dinner, he moves from table to table with his guitar, mostly strumming Kishore Kumar numbers. I ask for a Tamil song for a change and he belts out Why this Kolaveri and much to my surprise, a lot of guests join in!
Sightseeing is optional, and not advisable if you don’t like travelling long distances over terribly bumpy roads. However, the travel desk is happy to organise a short trip to Kabbe Hills, Chelavara Falls and Nalknad Palace and a spa trip to Mahindra’s Madikeri resort (another beautiful property nestled within the forest itself).
Although I’ve come prepared for rain and chilly weather, the temperature is balmy throughout my three-day trip. On the last night, as I go to bed after a special tasting of Kodagu cuisine, the rains lash out, making it a pleasant end to my stay.
The writer was at the resort on invitation.
(Photos: Susanna Myrtle Lazarus)
