XoMotel Ranikhet was a random choice as we wanted to be away from the crowds yet not too far out from the quaint hill town. Wanted a relaxed holiday with a mountain view. We spent 7 days from 1st May to 7th May 2023. The unseasonal rains tried to play spoilsport but we were determined to make the best of it, so out came our raincoats & umbrellas. The night temperatures dropped to 7 degrees Celsius and maximum hovered around 14 degrees. The facility has 7 suites facing the mighty Himalayas and 4 Executive Rooms on the first floor in the reception block! The rooms are functionally furnished and we had to request for room heaters and extra blankets to counter the cold. The bedroom in the suite has a skylight that provides enough daylight. Since there were a lot of cancellations due to rains, we were the only 4 guests in the resort. The restaurant serves only vegetarian fare but the enthusiasm of the kitchen staff more than made up for the buffet breakfast spread that was offered after the rains stopped on the third day. The Nanda Devi peak and other snow clad peaks made a magnificent appearance early morning to our delight. The resort faces a terraced garden with many varieties of flowers and pine, almond and fig trees and a flight of 64 steps that takes one down to the Chiliyanaula Main Road. The dirt track that climbs up to the motel is about 150 meters but a tough grind for liw clearance vehicles. The Chiliyanaula hamlet has a population of 2000-3000 inhabitants and the main road connects to the NH-87 below after 700 meters. There are a few tea shops, a few provision stores, mobile repair shops and a taxi stand where you can get a taxi to Ranikhet Main Market 4 kms away. The Haidakhan Baba temple is located on the Highway and is a tourist attraction. It has a shop that sold jackets & sweaters for the unpredictable weather. There is a Kumaon Restaurant that makes non vegetarian food on order as also jalebis. G D Birla Memorial Senior Secondary School is 1.5 kms from the resort. We enjoyed a bonfire on two evenings including a full moon night. The staff happily served us our snacks and dinner around the bonfire. We took a day trip to Ranikhet to visit the Kumaon Regiment Museum, Jhula Devi Temple, Chaubatia Orchards ( offers a winding track to the apple orchards and an unrestricted view of the Himalayas , the Ranijheel, the golf course and onwards to Sun & Snow Motel for a late lunch completed our day trip. Another day we took a trek through the pine forest and revisited the Haidakhan Temple to have an unobstructed view of the snow clad Himalayan ranges.
Excellent
21 Reviews