In March 2020, I was vacationing in the hills of Uttarakhand and happened to visit the Garden Valley Resort for a meal. This is my unbiased review of the food, service and the place. The meal was paid for by us and in no way is this a sponsored post.
I was vacationing in Cloud 9, Khabrar or the Swiss Village as its been re-named in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand with my cousins. One of their favorite spots to go for fresh food is the Garden Valley Resort which is actually all the way down to Bhowali. It took us about 70 minutes or so to get there.
Garden Valley Resort is nestled in a dip in the mountains, affording it some gorgeous views of mountain slopes with huge trees and the azure blue skies. The place is lush green with a thoughtfully landscaped exterior where I could spot some really exotic (read never-seen-before) flora and fauna. Upon inquiry, I was told that the owner is quite fond of gardening and has taken great pains to source the plants seen here.
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We were greeted by our server for the day who led us to a very eclectically done up room on the first level of the resort. We had a 360 view of the entire valley and could hear the rushing of river below even as Langoors leaped off trees in a playful welcome. The outdoor seating was very warm and colorful but the beating sun made us retreat further down to where the rooms and dining area is.
The entire resort is lush with greenery and well landscaped with plenty of cozy corners to snooze, read a book or simply lie about.
Famished we begged to be served and thus began our food odyssey into a delectable seven course fare that had us loosening our belts 🙂
We began with a pumpkin soup which all of us in a food coma from the first slurp – not kidding! It was just a stunning preparation and whetted our appetite for more. No pic of the soup as we were too busy digging into it but the rest of the food was duly appreciated in several clicks too.
After the meal, all of us confessed to a food coma and splayed out onto the outer terrace for sometime. Some of us ventured down to the water in an effort to minimize the calorie intake. The running water makes for a lovely spot to indulge in some day dreaming and of course photo ops too.
If you are holidaying in this region, then I recommend making a booking at this heavenly place for the even more heavenly gastronomic experience. They only take two meal bookings per day, so its advisable to plan well ahead. There is no restriction on the amount of time you can spend in the place, though they do insist on you keeping the meal time as they have another client to serve too.
There is an option of renting out rooms for stay in this gorgeous resort too and I think I will try that out the next time I am here. The garden of this resort is really green and well landscaped and makes for the perfect place to repose at any time of the day.
Contact Details
Address: Ranikhet road, Village Niglhaat, Nainital, Uttarakhand
Phone: +91-22-6150 6363
Email: gardenvalley@nivalink.co.in
Website: groups@nivalink.co.in
My rating
Food: 4/5 stars
Ambience: 3.5/5 stars
Service: 4/5 stars
Value for money: 4/5 stars
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A trained Interior designer who loves to travel, photograph and write, I have done some boutique stays in limited budgets and some in extravagant ones too. My forte is in using locally sourced/ made products which would provide support to the local community. I am also an advocate of using sustainable practices in housekeeping, laundry,etc which lessens the use of harmful chemicals. The water used for such chores is clean enough to be fed into the garden directly.
You could get in touch with me for:
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- Interior design services for your property
- Training and implementing of green practices at your property
- Doing an honest Travel reviews for a unique stay anywhere in the world. If you liked this review and would like for me to visit your property, please drop in a mail at shalzmojo@gmail.com
⇐Check out this gorgeous boutique stay in the tree house at the Vythiri Resort in Wayanad Kerala⇒
Looks such a serene place with good food. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for dropping by Damyanti
That’s quite a fabulous spread, Shalini! Must say, it’s healthy too!! The place does look like inviting from what you’ve described. Reading this made me long for a holiday in the hills again, especially given the fact that now, we have no clue when we can travelling again. Enjoyed reading this Shalini. I need to check out your other travel posts too, some time. 🙂
Oh how lovely to hear the praise Esha. This was indeed a delightful spread and made all the more appealing by the company and the place. I hope we all get to relive our traveling days soonest. Look forward to seeing you on my other travel posts 🙂
Wow, that was an absolute treat for the eyes, Shalini. What a delightful detailed account, with beautiful pictures! I love reading your review posts. Your play with words make a marvelous read. 🙂
Thanks so much Vinitha – this feels so good to hear. I loved doing up this post and reliving my memories from this holiday. Since this was just before the lock down happened, you can imagine how much from the heart this has been written 🙂
Please please take me there with you. Look at all the food. Mushroom pie looks so good. I love the feel of the place.
Oh yes definitely Raji – I would love your company. BTW the menu is discussed and then prepared, so you can give some suggestions too here. I love that idea so much – a customised meal in this serene setting was sex on toast kind of thing!!!
This looks like such a beautiful place! Making a note for it, for whenever we can travel next!
That sounds like a plan Shinjini
This goes on my ‘someday’ list. What a setting and the food looks so appetizing!
Thats great to hear Corinne – cheers to that ‘someday’ happening soonest!
The food looks good! Oh food comas!
Ha ha indeed Shanon!! Loads of them for all of us!
Pumpkin soup? I’m in! Looks like a delicious meal! That carrot cake looks so good too! Great food and great views- what more could you ask for?
I know -right? This place was just perfect in respect to the food, service and the ambience. I cant wait to get back to it!
That place looks as heaven to sit down and have a meal. The food looks and sounds great.
All that food looks incredible!
Looks like THE place to visit on a weekend to unwind and relax. Gives a feel like home away from home!
Wow, that grilled fish and baked bread looks delicious!! I wish I wasn’t gluten free lol! This looks like an incredible place to eat, and I added it to my bucket list. 🙂