Celebrate Womanhood at Novotel Imagica, Khopoli.
Living in metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Pune we’re all used to a quick, fast paced life. We don’t realize when the day begins and when it ends. Our daily chores, work, family, office take up most of our time and us women, we sometimes forget to dedicate time for ourselves.
This Woman’s day take a day off , pamper yourself at Novotel Imagica, Khopoli. I went there last week to experience it all and its been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I actually felt relaxed and calm once I was back to routine life. Those two days filled with comfort, good food and exciting activities made me feel like I was a princess. It helped me discover my inner self.
Surrounded by lush green hills, well located on the Mumbai – Pune expressway, just 2 hours away from the hustle and bustle of both cities, Novotel Imagica in Khopoli is the perfect family destination. Forget your worries and daily troubles as drive into their spectacular drive way. Give your eyes a treat looking at the grand property with the use of marble, stately furnishings, and other bespoke design elements which form the signature style for the hotel.
As you enter you’re greeted with warm smiles of the courteous staff and of course a refreshing welcome drink called the Mint Cooler. Take a sip and expect a warm hug from cute Tubby who is the Imagica Mascot. Seeing Puss in the boots, Tubby , Mogambo and other characters in the spectacular lobby will make the child in you smile with joy.
Head upto your room and be ready to be amazed by its sheer simplicity and elegance. Be assured you’re going to be more than comfortable with the soft queen sized beds , large and marbled bath room and of course a breath taking view of the Sayhadris or the Swimming pool. You can actually sink into the bed and never feel like getting out of it. That’s how comfortable it is!
Settling in, we had a surprise box come our way. We were exceptionally happy and delighted to receive a makeup kit and lipstick. Guess what it was made of? Chocolate! Yes! Believe it or not the whole box with its different rouge shades and the lipstick was made of Edible and delicious dark chocolate and Marzipan. So innovative and beautiful!
We made our way for Lunch to Novotel’s trademark restaurant called ‘ The Square’. The Square at the Novotel Imagica Khopoli is the hotel’s signature all day dining restaurant, with a scrumptious buffet of Indian and international favorites as well as exciting à- la-carte options including North Indian, South Indian and local specialties with live counters.
The signature dishes of the à la carte menu include options created to give a tribute to the Konkan Belt,featuring ingredients like Kokum, Coconut, Garam Masala, Fresh Coriander and more.
The large buffet spread is fit for a queen. The Salad counter had a wide array of Salads like the tangy Papdi Chana Chaat, Potato with garlic Mayo Salad and of course the option of making your own salad with fresh greens and a large choice of salad dressings.
Pamper your taste buds with some delicious Khowsuey. One of the best Khowsuey’s I’ve had till date, it was so authentic and right up to the mark. The Soup had the perfect consistency and when served with accompaniments like fried onions it made for a great start to a wonderful meal.
For the main course you have a wide choice of cuisines like North Indian, Italian, Mahrashtrian, Mexican and Chinese. All of it is so good you’d be spoilt for choice. In North Indian I tried their Baby Corn Masala, Palak Paneer, Stuffed Baingan and Garlic Naan.
Each and everything was so lip smackingly delicious I have no words to describe it. The Stuffed Baingan was so authentic it reminded me of the ones my mum makes at home and which I love. Well cooked baby Brinjal stuffed with coconut, coriander and garam masala makes for a delicious accompaniment to the freshly made butter Garlic Naan.
The Italian fare being quite wide in itself can compete with any restaurant in Italy. The Mushroom and cheese penne pasta that the kind chef at the live counter made for me was s gooey and scrumptious it glided over my tastebuds like silk.
The best part of any meal is Dessert and the Desserts at the square can give you a sugar high for hours! They had two warm desserts being Gajar ka Halwa and Chocolate avalanche pudding and quite a bit of cool ones like the Lemon Pastry, Passion fruit and Mango Pastry, Angoori Rasmalai and Motichoor Ladoos along with their heavenly Strawberry shortbread.
Fresh strawberries and flavored whipped cream stuffed between to crisp and fresh shewsberry biscuits made for a beautiful dessert.
With full tummies and a happy smile on our faces we headed back to the comfort of our room for a quick nap before heading down for some High Tea.
Quite satiated from our heavy and delicious lunch we still had the beautiful High tea spread because it was so well thought of and arranged specially for us.
Tubby’s Bistro, is a bistro-style pastry shop, inspired by the character Tubby from the theme park and follows the same color pattern through the packaging and the menu. The outlet is designed with mosaic art on the walls looking chirpy with its red and blue colour scheme.
Wedding and birthday cakes, macaroons, candy bars, lollipops, sweet treats are the signature things on the menu. Being a quiet boulangerie, the menu also has salads, coffee, teas, breads, ice creams, variety of ice tea and ice coffee, milkshakes, sandwiches, muffins, cupcakes and more.
We tried these cute little burgers with buns made of turmeric stuffed with a raw mango patty and jalepeno sauce. A great way to give the kids something healthy and tasty at the same time.
We also tried their fresh strawberry cupcakes, mini handbags made of marzipan and fresh orange and cinnamon juice.
The High Tea was followed by an exciting treasure hunt with clues all around the hotel property. It was a fun and exciting way to explore the beautiful property with its lush green surroundings, tall building, lovely architecture and comfortable seating.
In the evening we went to Flotz, which is the poolside bar where you can sip on tall drinks with groovy music and appetizers by the water. The Swimming pool itself is so eye catchingly beautiful with a wonderful Buddha statue in the middle surrounded by the beauty of the hills. Sitting by the pool with nice live music playing in the background, sipping some cosmos and gorging on delicious Dahi ke kebabs or just having a glass of sangria can relax your mind like magic. The fresh air, good food, soothing music and beautiful ambience made me fall in love with this place.
We then made our way to Nitro which is their Bar and Lounge for some cocktail mixing and karaoke. The highlights of the bar are the drinks and innovative beverages served with hints of dry ice, liquid nitrogen and more. The outlet will feature LED lit glasses, skull shot glasses and more to set the mood. One can sip and relax with the unusual signature beverages like Dare 2 Drop ( dark rum, vodka, beer, chaser, Tabasco), La Bouquet Imagica (cointreau, citron vodka, lime juice, brown sugar cube), Zip Zap Zoom ( white rum/ tequila, blue curacao & sweet n sour mix) etc. The menu has peppy and cheerful quotes to describe the alcohol to lift the spirits of the guests- ‘ Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation, you gaze first and then it’s time to drink.’, When life hands you lemons- break out the Tequila and Salt’ and more.
We got a chance to mix our own cocktails after a demonstration by their Food and Beverage head. I made my Gin fantasy with a dash of Gin, Ginger Schwepps, Lime, fresh strawberries and Cherry flavored Monin. It was quite a hit with the other ladies around.
The best part of the night was the Karaoke. I love singing myself so it was great to just sing along with the lyrics in the screen and dance to some peppy numbers.
For dinner the wonderful chef made us this insanely delicious dish. Layers of papad stuffed with Ker Sangri from Rajasthan, another layer with paneer makhani from Punjab and the final layer of fried okra served with some rich saffron risotto. This one dish had everything. It was such a beautiful combination of flavours and so well thought of. You can see the effort the learned chef put into this one dish. Simply amazing.
The dessert for the night was called The Aphrodisiac. Known to stimulate passion, this dessert too was one of the best I’ve ever had. Soft red velvet sponge cake topped with scoops of milk chocolate and orange ganache, candied strawberries, sweet jujubs and passion fruit cake had me drooling like a kid on Christmas.
After a good night’s sleep we had some of the best breakfast spreads laid out at the square. Over 10 types of freshly baked breads, juices, milkshakes, teas, Continental, Italian, Indian and local breakfast items, you name it and its there.
We were served with a cute little South Indian platter with a mini dosa, some mendu vadas and two cute little idlis along with gun powder and fresh coconut and coriander chutney.
I also had some freshly made sunny side up eggs, baked beans on toast, traditional Maharashtrian Pohe, some foccasia bread with pesto butter and cheddar cheese, and freshly made pancakes with maple syrup.
Midway through breakfast they had an Imagica characters parade with characters dancing around brightening up our day.
After a heavy and heartwarming breakfast we went to Adlabs Imagica. India’s first international style theme park with exciting rides, delicious food and well made sets is located right next to the resort. They have ferocious rides like the Nitro and also milder ones like the Boat bump and medium ones like the Space ranger. It was an exciting and thrilling experience at the park.
I had a wonderful experience at Novotel Imagica, Khopoli. I came home with memories ill cherish forever.
I think every woman deserves to experience what I wrote about and what better way to do it than to reserve a room now?
At Rs.8000 all inclusive for a couple the package includes welcome drinks, character performances, Karaoke with unlimited drinks for the ladies , cocktail mixing sessions , exciting treasure hunts, relaxed swim, dinner and the signature Iconic performance during breakfast.
The hotel also has books, movies and indoor games including table tennis, darts, chess, checkers, carom, pool or foosball up for grabs to build the fun and excitement. That’s not all, at an additional cost you can have a day of fun and excitement and the theme parks adjacent.
So book now for 8th March 2016. Pack your bags, heels and sunglasses for a trip to remember. For reservations, guests can email H9832-RE@accor.com, or call at 91 (2192) 301 888
Thecrazyindianfoodie highly recommends.
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