ATMANTAN Wellness Resort - Mulshi, Pune
Had stayed here for my birthday. Well, I didn't even know where was I heading as my partner had plans for this. I was just told that I will have a good time and that there was booze. Well, booze and me are synonymous. I jumped at the idea of having booze on my birthday. On the day we were supposed to go I packed up and we went via road. Took us four hours to reach from Mumbai to this place.
First look at the entrance its written Atmantan and I am like OKAY what is this place? We make our way to the reception where Ms. Elizabeth who helped my partner with the booking welcomed us and explained to us about our stay. It was at this point in time that I realized that it is a wellness resort. But how can I get booze at a wellness resort? Then it dawned on me that my partner lied about the booze. She kept saying I want us to do a different experience this time and hence ATMANTAN.
Well to be quite frank I did brood over it for an hour or so but then later I let go of it and decided to make the best of it. Our room was in Asoka Grove and it was picked up specifically by wifey to ensure I get the view of Mountains because she knows I love mountains.
I loved the view and I did click some pictures which I have posted along with my review. It is a breathtaking site to sit in the balcony and bask in the fresh air. We visited the onsite restaurant serving the lunch. The menu is carefully designed keeping in mind the health of the individual. The menu mentions the name of the dish along with the calories and the protein content of the dish. The meals are in small portions but it is quite filling. First look at the meal I was like will it even suffice but as Mr. Ameya had mentioned it to us that though it looks small it does meet our bodily requirement.
We could not click pictures of the dishes served as it is against their policy. They encourage more of people disconnecting from the electronic life and connecting more with each other via face to face communication. If you ask me, it is really a great initiative because we have become so busy with our lives and today's competitive world to be ahead, we spend a lot of time connecting with people via electronic media and less time connecting with people on a soul level esp people in our personal lives.
Once back in the room, I got another surprise to see that the room was decorated with flowers and towel artwork. Also, the tub in the bathroom was filled with water and had some flower decoration.Though I wanted to take a bath I was too tired after the travel. So we slept as we had booked a massage for the evening at 5 pm and Ms. Karma the executive at the Spa Wellness Center was more than happy to assist us with the booking. So we reached the Spa Wellness around 4:45 pm and were escorted to our sections of the therapy rooms (men's and women's therapy areas are different). After changing I waited for my therapist Mr. Rajesh who on meeting me greeted and escorted me to the therapy room which is in the basement area. The ambiance of the room was perfect for the massage therapy with the music perfect to relax you completely.
I laid down and he started working on my body and within some time I actually drifted off to sleep. Such was the effect of the Invigorating Massage on my body. After the massage, I was escorted to the Steam section and after a nice warm steam, I hit the shower. Completely relaxed and rejuvenated I headed upstairs to the Spa Wellness Center and waited for my partner. In the meanwhile, I decided to indulge myself in some digestive and restorative herbal tea (The retreat offers you tea but not the regular tea).
Later we headed off to the restaurant section to have food as it was already 7:30 and dinner was served only between 6:30 and 7:30. We entered and I was pleasantly surprised to see the table decorated with flowers and candles. In fact, I totally forgot to mention, from the time I entered this retreat the staff and management kept wishing me Happy birthday and that really made me feel very special. This is obviously a very good gesture from their end. So while entering the restaurant another staff Mr. Prathap, who had decorated our room came up to me and wished me Happy Birthday and asked me if I liked the decoration. I said I really liked it.
Sat at the table and was attended to by Mr. Vineet who made sure we were comfortable and were well attended with our requirement. Since I knew I couldn't take pictures I had left my phone as well my camera in the room itself. On request, Mr. Vineet helped us with a few clicks of the pictures our table and the decoration. Food comes we have it all the while communicating with each other. Had it been any other day then we both would have been eating food and busy on our mobiles. The Disconnect to Connect is really a very nice initiative.
Then comes the surprise part wherein Mr. Vineet gets me a small cake covered in chocolate with candle and birthday wishes. I make a wish blowout the candle and cut the cake. Again, the cake is a fruit cake which was made from the health perspective.
Later, we made our way to the room. It had become chilly by this time of the night. I headed for a nice hot bath in the tub. It was so relaxing that I lost track of time and I spent nearly 45 mins in the tub. Post that we slept as we had booked for an early morning yoga session.
I woke up around 6:15 am to capture some good shots of the breaking dawn. Later we rushed to the Spa Wellness Center and were shown our way to the Yoga Studio. We did some chanting of AUM followed by Mrityunjaya Mantra and then some Asanas. Quite refreshing session it was.
Later we headed to the onsite restaurant for our breakfast. The morning breakfast was a buffet and you had quite a variety to choose from. The view from the restaurant has it overlooking the approach road to this retreat. It was indeed breathtaking view.
Finally, we made it back to our room and then started packing up our stuff to leave for Mumbai.
This stay for me was quite fulfilling and quite different from the ones I have had before. An amazing experience and I am actually looking forward to another trip here for at least 3 days. Most of the people here had taken a minimum 3-day package which goes up to 28 days of wellness package. But for us, it was only a day's stay here as that all we could manage to squeeze from our busy schedules.