Reviewed 17 January 2015
DeepakMusings
New Delhi, India
This one has to be one of our most memorable holidays. We’d planned this along with our cousins during the summer break. After a comfortable 5.5 hour train journey from Delhi to Kathgodam and a short drive later, we reached the milestone from where this holiday evolved into a truly unique experience – a quaint old-world bridge, beyond which one has to trek for about 30 minutes along the Kalsa river to reach the 7-room resort and, just as importantly, its large open greens with crisp, fresh air. The entire resort is in harmony with its surrounding terrain – with liberal use of natural rocks all over the resort. The only sounds we heard during the entire weekend were that of the gushing river alongside and the chirping of birds … in fact, we also spotted some unique birds, one with a particularly long tail. Curling up with a book by the waterfall and listening to the water flowing past had its own charm. The kids were delighted to have so much open space to run around and play – my 5 year old spent hours at the organic farms. If only we could have such fresh food on a regular basis … The rooms themselves were very spacious and well-ventilated, though the real charm of this place is outdoors.
The owners, Manish and Ratna, seemed genuinely pleased to have us as guests and it showed in the joy they took in showing us around and sharing the local tales. A trip to Riverside is not complete without a trek to Paritaal – a truly awesome, natural rock formation.
The high levels of service and authenticity are often borne out by the little things – like the bearers with cold towels and bottled water who greeted us (in May) at the bridge from where we started our trek to the resort, and the usage of copper utensils in the rooms due to the intrinsic natural properties of the metal.
We absolutely loved our experience at Riverside, and will certainly be back for more ‘me time’ !
Stayed May 2014, travelled with family