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Take a Break from the Blistering Heat with a Pick from Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Hill Station Hotels & Lodgings 2015

An accompanying travel trends survey reveals 67 percent of the planned trips by Indian travellers will be taken domestically in 2015

May 29, 2015   15:10 IST 
New Delhi, Delhi, India

With a large part of India in the grip of rising heat wave, an escape to the hills is on top of every family’s vacation itinerary. TripAdvisor® the world’s largest travel site today revealed the list of Travellers’ Choice Hill Station Hotels and Lodgings 2015 for those looking to flee the scorching summer.

According to Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, “A getaway to the hills is the perfect answer to escape the shooting mercury levels in most parts of the country. Also, with the onset of school and college breaks it’s the best time to plan a vacation. The Travellers Choice list of top hill station hotels and lodgings is a great mix of properties ranging from luxury hotels to quaint boutique lodges that offer unique experiences and suit the budget of all kinds of travellers.”

WINNING HILL STATION HOTELS

Himachal Pradesh takes the top spot third year in a row with most winning properties, however the number is down from 7 winning hotels in 2014 to just 4 this year.

1. Orange County Resorts Kabini, Karnataka

REVIEW: Outstanding hotel on Kabini lake. Everything was perfect. Beautiful property, great cabins, meals were fine. Boat tours of Kabini lake were available, as well as safaris in the national park, both of which were outstanding, allowing good viewing of wild life. Reviewer from Washington DC

2. Wildflower Hall  Shimla in the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh

REVIEW: It was our 1st stay at wildflower and it was great. As the name suggests the property is really in thick wild jungle and it feels really close to nature. Staff was excellent. Pool and open jacuzzi was great fun. Would defiantly be back soon!! Reviewer from Chandigarh

3. The Regent Hill Side Resort, Tamil Nadu

REVIEW: "Heaven on Earth" where you find happiness with great food, a very good human by name Mr Vishu Kaliyappa who owns the place and priceless collection of antiques. No one can go just once is what I can say. People who have been there once will know the worth of it. Planning for another trip very soon. Reviewer from Bangalore

 

4. The Oberoi Cecil  Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

REVIEW: Oberoi Cecil is matchless! It’s a beautiful heritage property having a great significance in the history of India. The antiquity of the building, its furniture and decor speaks a great story of the golden yore. I stayed here for 4 days during the first week of April. Rooms in the upper floors facing the valley are better. The only negative experience I had here is that the innova car (we requested for the hotel's own car) that dropped us at Chandigarh was stinking very badly. Reviewer from Trivandrum

 

5. JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, Uttarakhand

REVIEW: We had our annual corporate offsite here. We were a group of ~200 people. It was one of the most memorable trip. JW Marriott in Mussoorie is a new property with an amazing view. The room service is exceptional. Food if good too. Pool and gym are top rated. The room (mine was a hill side view) had an breath-taking view of the hills. Not to forget the gaming parlour for the kids. Would definitely stay here if I travel to Mussoorie. Reviewer from New Delhi

 

WINNING B&Bs / HILL STATION LODGINGS

Uttrakhand retains the top spot with 5 winning properties in the list of top 15 hill station B&Bs and lodgings.

1. Royal Mist, Kerala

REVIEW: Anil and Jeeva were the best Hosts on our trip to India. They went out of their way to make us feel at home. The Food they cooked was also really delicious, we enjoyed the walk on our first night. The rooms are clean and comfortable, which was enough for us and the location of their homestay is very scenic. They have a sweet pug named Ricky we enjoyed playing with. We would stay with them any time again and can highly recomend it to any indipendent traveller visiting Munnar. Reviewer from Berlin, Germany

 

2. Thotadhahalli Home Stay, Karnataka

REVIEW: Thotadahalli is the perfect place for city folk to unwind, relax, chill and enjoy nature! We had chosen the Thotadahalli homestay after a lot of search and the experience was amazing. The beautiful cottage, quietness and solitude of the place, the warmth and hospitality from Prakash and Pallavi ensured that we had a fabulous vacation. Prakash is extra-helpful and loves to over-feed his guests so beware of putting on a few extra kilos gorging on the delicious food and just lazing around! Prakash and Pallavi are extremely generous, hospitable hosts who are super-concerned about the guests' comfort. They are proud of their property and shared a lot of knowledge with us. The estate is pretty close to most of the tourist attractions. Excellent home cooked meals of local delicacies are provided in generous portions. Wander around, enjoy the sights of Chikamangalur if you want- or just sit with a book in the verandah and relax! All in all, a good getaway to take a break for a couple of days and do nothing! USP: Gracious hosts, 3 friendly dogs (Leo, Muffin, Brandy), Bonsai garden and Exquisitely designed stay. Reviewer from Bangalore

 

3. Soulitude by the Riverside, Uttarakhand

REVIEW: I visited this exotic hidden jewel in Kumaon region,from 15 to 18 May 2015,,beautiful location Mr Manish the owner hav made it lovingly n personally like his other property at gaggar. lovely location beautifully made rooms with authentic decor,our room Mukta had a hanging jhula type lovely bed,balcony with view of flowing river and majestic hills,very friendly staff and finger licking home made style food is remarkable,we hav told them about my birthday they arranged with flowers,balloons and cake wow,me,my husband,my daughter n son had a fabulous time together. Reviewer from New Delhi

 

4. Upadhyay Cottages, Himachal Pradesh

REVIEW: Our family enjoyed a good quality time. Here the view of himalayan ranges from the cottage is awesome. it is surrounded with orchad wallnut & other fruit tree. one of my best experience in my last 10 years of travelling. services & hospitality are just awesome.missing manali & the cottage. Reviewer from Paradeep, India

 

5. Seventh Heaven Inn Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

REVIEW: Seventh Heaven Inn is a lovely guesthouse with great hospitality. I would definitely recommend this, as it is clean, the rooms are large with clean showers and toilet. The food is lovely, you can eat at the guesthouse any time without being disappointed. Both Kalam and Charlotte are great, they have been so helpful and continuously there if you have questions and always genuinely interested in your experiences in Rishikesh. In the evenings and early morning the wind can be quite strong in Rishikesh, however you don't notice this at all when you are inside. Both me and my brother loved it! Reviewer from Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Other Travel Trends

  • According to a recent TripAdvisor study, more than half (53%) Indians will increase their travel budget in 2015. Of those planning to increase their travel spend, 52 percent indicate that they plan to do so because they feel vacations are something they or their family deserve and 46 percent say it is because they are going somewhere on their ‘wish list’ this year.

  • The study also reveals the estimated portion of each nationality’s travel budget that will be spent in their country of residence. For Indian travellers, the average estimated travel budget for 2015 is INR 255,100. Considering that 67 percent of their planned trips will be taken domestically in 2015, this could amount to an estimated INR 170,917 average spend per traveller in India this year.

 

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 225 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4.9 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, December 2014

**Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q1 2015


 
 
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