Citrus Resorts, Mahabaleshwar

Citrus Resorts was a surprise, rather a pleasant one! The online photos were not very impressive, but we still booked the room as that was the only good hotel in the heart of the city. But from the time we reached at the gate of the resort, I could feel my views changing fast about the resort. It was like a scene from a Bollywood romantic movie. The entire stone pathway was covered with drops of water. The huge trees all around were covered with velvety moss which added extra shade to the greenery. We reached the reception area which was small but cozy. The manager was extremely polite and at the mention of my name gave me a form which had all the printed details of my booking, room, dates, offerings and what they were not offering too. I really appreciated the transparency. The bell boy carried our luggage to the room. On the way to our deluxe room, my kids screamed to see the play area with slide, swings and kid gym. They started planning when they will play there. I was thanking then hotel for this area as keeping small kids occupied is not an easy task. Then on the way we saw open and yet covered area in front of the rooms, where wooden tables and chairs were inviting us. I thought of how wonderful it would be to come in a large group of friends here and play cards or sing around and eat meals at these tables. Then the room entrance which again was a cute little space with two chairs and a table enclosed from two sides. When we opened the room, I was thrilled and uncrossed my fingers as this was first time we planned holidays with kids after a long time and without any recommendations about the resort. My spouse was really pleased and kids just started running around the huge room. The bell boy placed our luggage and showed us the bathroom which was again a lovely surprise. Though we knew there will not be any Jacuzzi or bath tub, the compactness of the bathroom was quite thoughtfully designed. Everything we needed was neatly placed there. The bell boy then showed us a tiny fridge and a bar and told us that everything there was chargeable. There was a wall mirror and a lovely table with drawers to work like dressing table with an electric kettle and a few coffee sachets, tea bags, sugar free and sugar. Lovely! We realized we had forgotten our room slippers. So he immediately called housekeeping and gave us each a pair of hotel cotton slippers. The breakfast next morning was a delight. There were South-Indian, continental, English and Desi breakfast at the buffet. Milk and Cornflakes were also around in a smart dispenser. We asked for crispy dosa and it arrived. The boiled eggs on the bed of salt along with the automatic rolling bread toaster were an amusement for the kids. There were wheel chairs and baby high chairs around which showed us how much care goes in their planning. When we were leaving the rooms it was pouring. Obviously no one brings umbrella but we were handed large white umbrellas which we could even carry around the entire day. The housekeeping was always on their toes and never said no. I wanted to do a bit of workout but missed the gym there. But other than that there was a table tennis area, carom board to play and of-course a swimming pool. The only thing that was bothering was the cell phone signal which was nil initially but would show its presence with occasional message beeps. But I was glad there was no signal as that kept us away from internet too. In short I have already planned the next visit here and have told my family and friends to look nowhere when you want the real hassle free, awesome rooms with service, just book the rooms at Citrus Resorts.

Only the disappointing thing was that Food was not good... and had problems for lunch and dinner.