The Lalit, Chandigarh #REDHUxTheLalit

It’s lovely how the universe works. Just weeks ago, I was the keynote speaker at the SoDelhi Confluence at The Lalit, New Delhi and soon after, The Lalit, Chandigarh wrote to Akanksha and me for a collaboration! Both Akanksha and I have been keeping a crazy travel schedule over the last two months – mostly separately – so when The Lalit, Chandigarh offered a “weekend getaway” from Delhi, we both jumped at the chance. ( I realize the irony of wanting to take a break from all the traveling by traveling to yet another location, but that’s life and I am not complaining! )

The hotel hosted us for 3 nights and 4 days and while we did experience all the restaurants within the hotel, we didn’t leave the room much, caught up on sleep and got in a LOT of relaxation. The deep tissue massage I was given by Terisa at Rejuve The Spa was a work of beauty. I haven’t had a great deep tissue massage since this. I even setup my Go Pro for a 60 second condensed version of the 90 minute massage session and posted it on my Instagram. The ladies worked REALLY hard on both Akanksha and me. This was definitely the highlight for me. To find an excellent deep tissue massage in a city like Chandigarh ( that has less than a handful of five star hotels ), is quite a feat.

The other highlight was the chocolate ice cream that the hotel serves as part of the in-room dining. I have at least half a dozen zits on my face to prove how much of it I ate! ( I’m on a no-dairy no-chocolate diet because those two things cause acne on my skin but I couldn’t help eating the chocolate ice-cream – it was nice. ) Especially when you’re in bed, watching one movie after another on the telly in the comfy room, there’s nothing like ice-cream to give you company when your sister doesn’t want to hear another word from your mouth because you’re basically mouthing ALL the dialogs from the frigging film! The movie in this case was Guardians of The Galaxy and I know pretty much all the dialogs, including song lyrics and I would assume it would be pretty annoying hearing someone repeat the dialogs throughout the film. I can hardly wait for James Gunn to finish GoTG 2!

Anyway, back to the hotel. I highly recommend eating Indian fare at Baluchi – especially the daal. If you’re a small-portion eater like I am, I would highly recommend that you go easy on the portions though – it is very heavy and rich and before you comprehend just how delicious it is, you’ve eaten too much and then you have to skip dinner like I had to. The restaurant also has something called the “Naanery”, which sounds ridiculous I know ( Indian bread = Naan. Get it? ) but it is a very interesting thing they do where they pair a variety of Indian breads / rotis with wines made in India. I love experiencing these unique concepts that brands try for their customers. Also try the “Paan Kulfi”. Damn I fell in love with it – not just the flavours but also the texture. It is made at one kitchen to keep the recipe and taste consistent and then transported to all The Lalit property locations.

If you’re at the hotel over the weekend, call them up beforehand to check what’s up at Kitty Su, which is their club / disco / lounge and it is ROCKING. I thought only Delhi’s Kitty Su had crazy parties but now I know Chandigarh isn’t far behind! The hotel usually has something big planned each Saturday. I’ve heard selfies in the mirrors in the ladies loo are quite the rage *wink wink*

I also highly recommend the spa. It’s mind-boggling how large it is and the number of services they offer. I wouldn’t have guessed but after seeing it with my own eyes, I was quite impressed. The spa has been maintained very well and the equipment looks and feels brand new. It can get busy on the weekends, so book in advance.

Service staff is wonderful, as are the people in management. Sunday brunches are popular – the street food section and the dim sum section were my favourites as well as the sugar-free brownies. I polished off a whole plate of Mongolian Chicken Rice – it was basic and delicious.

Whiskey is more popular in Chandigarh than Beer, so if you’re a Whiskey drinker, you’re in luck at this hotel. OKO especially, ( their Pan-Asian cuisine restaurant ) has a massive Whiskey menu. For beer lovers like me, the hotel only has three beers. Thankfully, I survived on Corona. *bats eyelashes in fake complaint*

The hotel accommodated us in a “forest view” room on the 3rd floor. The hotel has five floors total.

We flew Air India both ways – they provide nibbles on the 35-45 minute flight but it’s one slice of bread that’s been cut into two rectangular sandwiches with one slice of cheese and some daubs of butter. There’s a tiny packet of ketchup that’ll help you swallow the “sandwich” and there’s a juice tetrapack and “imli goli”, which is a shadow of the “imli goli” of yesteryear. Things change and how.

Enjoy the photos from this gig below!

I caught a beautiful sunrise one morning after it had rained pretty much all night and soon enough it was time to bid goodbye! Akanksha and I had a lot of fun and relaxation – just the two of us, not having to get out of the room, no agenda, it was a nice weekend. And just a 35 minute flight from Delhi. Convenient. ( Akanksha also photographed edition 84 of #CoverUp for me at the property that I’ve already blogged earlier this week. Always an advantage to have a sibling along on a weekend getaway, who is also a blogger and a darn good photographer! )

Until next time!

Thank you Imit, Manali, Vinod ( at 24×7 who got me black cold coffee even though I caught him off guard with my request – I could have his name wrong though – his last name’s Bhargava ), Krishna and Terisa at Rejuve The Spa, Mr. Rana at OKO, Jasmine at Kitty Su ( that choker was dabomb girl! Say hi to your Mom and tell her she rocks! ), Anil at Baluchi who served us lunch in the sweetest way possible – what lovely lovely demeanor – and that smile! and Maheshwari at the front desk. Govind who received us at the Delhi airport both times, thank you. My chauffeur who received me at the Delhi Airport, Mr. Rathi, was an excellent human being to chat with and he turned out to be from my parental village too! Small world.

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