After exploring Dubai using Axis Magnus and Axis Reserve the points started to pour in and with a galore of transfer partners and a couple of Vistara vouchers at my perusal, I started to plan my next escape to a luxury resort. Since November is my wedding anniversary month and after spending a lot on my last trip I wanted to leverage a trip maximum on my credit cards. After exploring a lot I finally finalized on ITC Welcomhotel Savoy, Mussorie.
Since that time I was based in Vadodara I had to make a lot of planning to board a Vistara flight. Hence I started doing my permutations and finally landed on a BOM-DED flight since it suited my timings and travelling to Mumbai from Vadodara via train was much easier than going to Delhi. I had 2 PEY and 2 Business vouchers with me which I had earned by making spends on my Axis Vistara Co-branded cards. It was the first week of November and I got the seats comfortably. Further, I booked the Premium Mountain View Room which is their middle category of room among the three available categories for 22,400 ITC Green Points. The sad part is that the room was available for just one night instead of the two nights which we were planning.
So finally when we deboarded the train at Mumbai and a swanky BMW 7-Series was waiting for me at the Mumbai Central Railway Station which I had booked complimentary using my Axis Reserve. From there we straightaway headed to Mumbai Airport via the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Since this was my first time visiting Mumbai it was a good visual treat to my eyes since I had seen all these iconic structures only in movies.
After reaching the airport I was taken via gate no 1 which is reserved for business class passengers since I had booked a Meet & Assist program via Axis Reserve though I was travelling Premium Economy. After that, I was taken to the business class Vistara counter in a buggy and even the final security check was done via a separate business class queue. Further, this didn’t stop here and the concierge guy took us to the Business Class section of the lounge without standing in the queue or even swiping my card for access! So I would give full marks to the team for such a hassle-free experience.
Being a lounge lizard I spent a good time in the Adani Lounge Mumbai Domestic Airport Review which was recently reviewed by @centurionguy. The food options in the lounge are way too much to even explore. Although I was travelling in a Full Service Carrier I really don’t like to take risks with the flight food since at times the options are not as per my liking or the food is bad so I generally avoid it. Now coming to the flight which took off late but luckily landed at DED in time.
Jolly Grant Airport, commonly known as Dehradun Airport, was under expansion then. I had booked a private taxi for Mussoorie since Axis denied an airport transfer to Savoy Hotel as it was outside city limits. The shitty thing about the DED airport was the lack of a mobile network as I had a hard time contacting the driver. I had booked a cab from Mr. Sanjay Sindhwal who operates his own Taxi in Dehradun by the name of Airport Taxi Sindhwal and is a very reliable guy. He can be contacted at +919012619122. I found his rates very genuine among all the enquiries I had made using Google Maps listing. I paid him ₹2200 all-inclusive for the one-side drop.
Savoy is located on the Mall Road itself bang on the Library Chowk which is the main point of the Mussoorie. I requested an upgrade but was denied since the hotel was fully sold-out due to a marriage ceremony. Wish I had mailed them earlier for an upgrade. While being escorted to our room we were briefed about the various activities and amenities available in the resort. This gothic historic luxury hotel was built by the English and was a school earlier. Later in 1902 it was renovated and converted into a luxury resort with 75 rooms. The legacy of this place has been left untouched even after upgrading it with the latest amenities. The balcony in the room was offering great views of the hills.
Here are some snaps of the same.
The famous Writer’s Bar where many eminent writers have sat down and authored literary masterpieces.
In the evening after the famous change of guards ceremony there was a musical hi-tea with a bonfire which was arranged complimentary for the guests. After that, we watched the documentary on the hotel and its glorious past in the conference room which we were thinking to give a pass earlier. Thankfully we didn’t do so else we would have never felt that connection with the hotel which we are in now. And I would say that watching that documentary was the most memorable experience we had on the whole trip. After this, we proceeded to the Grand Dining Hall for our dinner. Everything that we ordered was too good and was served by much grace by Ms Bhavna.
Finally, when we landed back in our room as expected the staff had left for us a very delicious anniversary cake and had also decorated our whole room.
In the morning we went for a walk with Ms. Nikita on the Camel’s Back Road which is the first choice for quiet strolls even for locals. She was a great storyteller and kept us hooked with local stories of the British Raj during the whole walk. After soaking in some sun we finally went for breakfast. The buffet spread was enormous, healthy and delicious.
Heaven for those that appreciate good architecture and many bollywood movies have been shot here!
After breakfast, we explored some unexplored corners of the resort like the Royal Ballroom where the rich and famous Briton, Maharajas, and Nawabs of Indian provinces cherished memorable gala celebrations. The resort also boasts in-hotel post office which is 100 years old and is the only hotel in india to have its own post office. Unfortunately being a Saturday it had closed by the time we reached there.
Finally, it was time to check out and I cleared the dining bill and the taxes using my ITC green points. For the next day, I booked a reasonably comfy hotel Honeymoon Inn which had a good Doon Valley view using my HDFC points via Smart Buy Portal since we had planned to explore the Mall Road that day. We visited the famous Kalsang for dinner and it was such a big disappointment that I preferred to leave my meal in between due to such poor quality food. I was wondering why there was such a long queue there!
Now after having our breakfast we finally booked another cab from the Library Chowk back to Dehradun from where I had booked another airport transfer using Reserve. Since it was November end already and I didn’t have any plan to use my unused airport transfer benefits till December I thought of exhausting them on this trip itself. Since Dehradun is a tier-2 city Axis offered a Swift Dzire this time. Finally, after reaching the airport we checked into the Bird Lounge and luckily got the seats. I have reviewed this lounge here.
Though the trip was coming to an end all was not over since the great Vistara Business Class experience was about to start.
So, finally, the trip ended with another Meet & Assist on arrivals which went flawlessly. And a luxury airport transfer and this time a Jaguar was right there at the airport.
The total cost of this trip came out to be less than Rs. 12,000 and the rest was done using credit card points and perks. So when are you planning your trip to the Savoy?
Since that time I was based in Vadodara I had to make a lot of planning to board a Vistara flight. Hence I started doing my permutations and finally landed on a BOM-DED flight since it suited my timings and travelling to Mumbai from Vadodara via train was much easier than going to Delhi. I had 2 PEY and 2 Business vouchers with me which I had earned by making spends on my Axis Vistara Co-branded cards. It was the first week of November and I got the seats comfortably. Further, I booked the Premium Mountain View Room which is their middle category of room among the three available categories for 22,400 ITC Green Points. The sad part is that the room was available for just one night instead of the two nights which we were planning.
So finally when we deboarded the train at Mumbai and a swanky BMW 7-Series was waiting for me at the Mumbai Central Railway Station which I had booked complimentary using my Axis Reserve. From there we straightaway headed to Mumbai Airport via the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Since this was my first time visiting Mumbai it was a good visual treat to my eyes since I had seen all these iconic structures only in movies.
After reaching the airport I was taken via gate no 1 which is reserved for business class passengers since I had booked a Meet & Assist program via Axis Reserve though I was travelling Premium Economy. After that, I was taken to the business class Vistara counter in a buggy and even the final security check was done via a separate business class queue. Further, this didn’t stop here and the concierge guy took us to the Business Class section of the lounge without standing in the queue or even swiping my card for access! So I would give full marks to the team for such a hassle-free experience.
Being a lounge lizard I spent a good time in the Adani Lounge Mumbai Domestic Airport Review which was recently reviewed by @centurionguy. The food options in the lounge are way too much to even explore. Although I was travelling in a Full Service Carrier I really don’t like to take risks with the flight food since at times the options are not as per my liking or the food is bad so I generally avoid it. Now coming to the flight which took off late but luckily landed at DED in time.
Jolly Grant Airport, commonly known as Dehradun Airport, was under expansion then. I had booked a private taxi for Mussoorie since Axis denied an airport transfer to Savoy Hotel as it was outside city limits. The shitty thing about the DED airport was the lack of a mobile network as I had a hard time contacting the driver. I had booked a cab from Mr. Sanjay Sindhwal who operates his own Taxi in Dehradun by the name of Airport Taxi Sindhwal and is a very reliable guy. He can be contacted at +919012619122. I found his rates very genuine among all the enquiries I had made using Google Maps listing. I paid him ₹2200 all-inclusive for the one-side drop.
Savoy is located on the Mall Road itself bang on the Library Chowk which is the main point of the Mussoorie. I requested an upgrade but was denied since the hotel was fully sold-out due to a marriage ceremony. Wish I had mailed them earlier for an upgrade. While being escorted to our room we were briefed about the various activities and amenities available in the resort. This gothic historic luxury hotel was built by the English and was a school earlier. Later in 1902 it was renovated and converted into a luxury resort with 75 rooms. The legacy of this place has been left untouched even after upgrading it with the latest amenities. The balcony in the room was offering great views of the hills.
Here are some snaps of the same.
The famous Writer’s Bar where many eminent writers have sat down and authored literary masterpieces.
In the evening after the famous change of guards ceremony there was a musical hi-tea with a bonfire which was arranged complimentary for the guests. After that, we watched the documentary on the hotel and its glorious past in the conference room which we were thinking to give a pass earlier. Thankfully we didn’t do so else we would have never felt that connection with the hotel which we are in now. And I would say that watching that documentary was the most memorable experience we had on the whole trip. After this, we proceeded to the Grand Dining Hall for our dinner. Everything that we ordered was too good and was served by much grace by Ms Bhavna.
Finally, when we landed back in our room as expected the staff had left for us a very delicious anniversary cake and had also decorated our whole room.
In the morning we went for a walk with Ms. Nikita on the Camel’s Back Road which is the first choice for quiet strolls even for locals. She was a great storyteller and kept us hooked with local stories of the British Raj during the whole walk. After soaking in some sun we finally went for breakfast. The buffet spread was enormous, healthy and delicious.
Heaven for those that appreciate good architecture and many bollywood movies have been shot here!
After breakfast, we explored some unexplored corners of the resort like the Royal Ballroom where the rich and famous Briton, Maharajas, and Nawabs of Indian provinces cherished memorable gala celebrations. The resort also boasts in-hotel post office which is 100 years old and is the only hotel in india to have its own post office. Unfortunately being a Saturday it had closed by the time we reached there.
Finally, it was time to check out and I cleared the dining bill and the taxes using my ITC green points. For the next day, I booked a reasonably comfy hotel Honeymoon Inn which had a good Doon Valley view using my HDFC points via Smart Buy Portal since we had planned to explore the Mall Road that day. We visited the famous Kalsang for dinner and it was such a big disappointment that I preferred to leave my meal in between due to such poor quality food. I was wondering why there was such a long queue there!
Now after having our breakfast we finally booked another cab from the Library Chowk back to Dehradun from where I had booked another airport transfer using Reserve. Since it was November end already and I didn’t have any plan to use my unused airport transfer benefits till December I thought of exhausting them on this trip itself. Since Dehradun is a tier-2 city Axis offered a Swift Dzire this time. Finally, after reaching the airport we checked into the Bird Lounge and luckily got the seats. I have reviewed this lounge here.
Though the trip was coming to an end all was not over since the great Vistara Business Class experience was about to start.
So, finally, the trip ended with another Meet & Assist on arrivals which went flawlessly. And a luxury airport transfer and this time a Jaguar was right there at the airport.
The total cost of this trip came out to be less than Rs. 12,000 and the rest was done using credit card points and perks. So when are you planning your trip to the Savoy?
