Monday, February 4, 2013

A weekend getaway to Beyond @ Sula vineyards

You know how there are certain things in life that make you wonder how fast time flies. I just didn't realize how quickly a year of my marriage passed by. But then when I think about it again it feels like I've been staying with my husband since forever. Weird!

So to celebrate our first wedding anniversary we wanted to take a short trip. A weekend trip actually not very far from Mumbai as we were both a little short on our leaves. I've always wanted to go to Sula Vineyards as I love wines. And Sula is the only full fledged vineyard we have in India that also has an accompanying resort stay facility. So what better ocassion to go there than our wedding anniversary.

Travel

It just a 4 hour drive away from Mumbai a few kms away from Nashik. The earlier one leaves the better to avoid the 11 am traffic on the highways. The resort had provided with the map so finding the place was not difficult. We hired an Indigo with a driver through MakemyTrip for INR 4400 for 2 days return trip.

Beyond Resort Entrance

Pool at Beyond

Accomodation

"Beyond" is Sula's in house resort. It is just 3 kms away from the Vineyard. This 29 room resort is contemporary and luxurious. Has a pool, spa, gym and a cafe/restaurant. They also have a 3 bedroom villa with a private pool for people travelling in groups. Since, it was a special occasion we booked their best room i.e. the Luxury Suite (INR 10500++  per night;weekend charges). The price includes breakfast and a complimentary vinery tour and wine tasting session. Our room did live upto it's name, there was a separate living room with a huge sitout that faced the lake and the swimming pool. The interiors were minimal, modern and elegant. The bathroom had a nice tub with some amazing toiletries from Nature's Co.

Luxury Suite Living Room
Bathroom
View from our room

Things to do

Since, we were there only for the weekend almost just a day, we couldn't really do much except for plunge in the pool, and the complimentary wine tasting session that the resort offered.  We were also planning for a spa visit to relax our sore muscles from the hard week's work. But they were fully booked for that day. We also used their gym the next day morning. Thus, there were enough things for us to be occupied for the day.

The wine tasting session was brief and something that is meant for novices. If you know your dessert from the red wine than this session is not meant for you.

Winery tour
Since it is a stand alone resort all the activities are restricted to vineyards or the resort. The resort provides for cycles for people who want to go to the winery on cycle or just ride around for a little bit. One can also enjoy the cool weather n the evening by going for a walk to the lake nearby.

Food & Drink

The breakfast spread was good. It wasn't a large spread but had most of the regular items like live omlette counter, parathas, some south indian fare, tea, coffee, juices, fruits etc. For the rest of the meals, they have three options Cafe Rose which is within the resort and Little Italy and Soma (North Indian fare) that are at the vineyards. We had one meal each at all the 3 restaurants and liked the food at Cafe Rose the best. The meals were not more than Rs 500 per person.

Wine shopping

Since the wines are produced in house they are very reasonably priced. We even shopped for 4 bottles and the total price we paid was only INR 1600.

My overall experience

A lot of people only do day trips to the vineyards as the stay is on the costlier side which is also a good option when one is just looking forward to checking out the vineyards, enjoy some wine the nature and save up on the cost.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not a place for a full fledged vacation, not even a place meant for a lot of activities. Choose this place only if you are looking out for a nice relaxed weekend getaway.  We felt we could've easily stayed for a day more to make our trip more relaxed as we had to travel for 4-5 hours on each of the days. The resort is a good option when you are in the mood to celebrate something special or just splurge some money and pamper yourself.

34 comments:

  1. that sounds quite an experince. my husband and i wanted to go someplace like that, but as we were new to bombay, we din't have much idea to where we could go. but next time we sure do:)

    http://girl-gulaabi.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have visited the Sula vineyards. I didn't stay but I took the tour and lunched at Little Italy :)

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  3. Happy anniversary though a bit belated :).

    I've been wanting to go to Beyond since quite some time but held back coz I felt kids would get bored. And I haven't yet gone on a holiday leaving them behind...the guild wouldn't let me enjoy...I'm a very hyper mom :/

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    Replies
    1. You'll be surprised to know Dolly that there were a lot of families with kids also there. the kids were really enjoying in the pool and the lawn.

      Delete
    2. Sorry typo...I meant guilt.
      My boys love being in the pool..hmmm, perhaps I will plan a short weekend trip here.

      Delete
  4. Seems like an amazing place to be!
    Thanks a bunch for stopping by and following!
    Now following you back on GFc (Juneli # 18)!
    Love
    Juneli from Fashionably Yours

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your pictures are so clear looks amazing great post x

    http://krystelcouture.blogspot.co.uk/

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  6. Looks amazing

    http://alittlebitunique.blogspot.co.uk/

    x

    ReplyDelete
  7. looks like a lot of fun, gorgeous pictures! :)
    hope you have a great day!
    Juliet
    www.apurplesky.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. lovely
    http://www.makeupandallthingsnice.blogspot.com ♥

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  9. You are so lucky! Looks great! I am following you on GFC, would be very happy if you did the same! Maybe you also wanna follow on facebook and bloglovin? Let me know! Kisses <3<3

    http://lovesushiandfashion.blogspot.com.es/

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  10. awesome :) definitely going to plan my trip :)

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  11. Wow!!! i dint know you had a blog!!! niceeee...

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  12. Lovely post. Sula Vineyards has been on my to visit places since long.
    Love ur blog..following u now..hope u follow back.

    Aditi
    So-Saree
    www.sosaree.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for showing up such fabulous information. I have bookmarked you and will remain in line with your new posts. I like this post, keep writing and give informative post.
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  14. Hi Rajvi,

    Firstly, thanks for the comment on my Sula blogspot.

    Secondly, I absolutely loved the variety of topics covered in your blog and how you categorize them under different tabs.

    It was good reading about Beyond, though I never planned to stay there as I prefer places that offer more activity.

    Keep blogging!
    Preeti

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. Great post! I loved the hospitality at Beyond. Which is your favourite Sula wine? I am a huge fan of their Merlot. I visited the Sula Vineyards last weekend and wrote about the tour and tasting here: http://shradhabhatia.com/2014/08/travel-diaries-sula-vineyards/

    Do have a read and drop a comment with your thoughts xo

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  17. This is look really great place to visit. Well written. Thank you for sharing.

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  18. This blog is very informative and people can understand different thing before going for a trip.
    thank you

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