Discover Budget Travel - Pilgrim, Weekend & more
Winner of ESparks'2011 Excellence Award
Call us at - +91-120-6487859, 6406388
+91-9958891364, 9717279848
+91-9958891364, 9717279848
India Travel and India Holiday Destinations
IHR press releases rocking through News Media
Ferreting out fake reviews
December 2011 (Published on Vayager's world)
Ferreting out fake reviews
December 2011 (Published on Vayager's world)
How this techie achieved his entrepreneurial dream
November 17, 2011 (Published on www.rediff.com)
Atechie at heart and a gold medal in computer engineering from NIT Surat, it was but natural that Ankit Rastogi would fly places in his career as a software engineer. While his career panned out as per the script – Infosys, US-based start-ups like Tavant and Solidcore – Ankit was soon bored with the humdrum that comes with working for others.
So, after eight years of working in the Internet and information technology domain Ankit padded up with Swapnil Shrivastav, an IITian with 10-years of experience in consumer Internet, to create a consumer-centric review portal for hotels in tier II cities.
After putting in seed money of $ one million, IHR (short for IndianHotelReview) today has grown from two people to forty, growing at a whopping 200 per cent per annum and is all set for venture capital funding, investors willing.
In an e-mail interview with Rediff.com, Ankit discussed his inspiration, his career graph, the reasons why he quit a number of well-settled jobs, and of course, his start-up dos and don'ts, lessons learnt and success mantras.
Tell us about your career graph
I had a campus selection in 2002 for a class-I scientist officer at DRDO, Pune, which I didn't opt for owing to the stagnation fear in government organisation and the slow pace career growth. Instead, I joined Infosys, Pune as software engineer trainee in June 2003 through walk-in placement where I was deputed in the usual maintenance, bug-fixing project for a US insurance major on java technologies.
But I soon realised that I have joined a huge pool of IT professionals and growth up the ladder will be very slow however fast I perform. Additionally the large organisational structure and exhaustive process measures ensured that daily work became routine rather than exciting for a youngster.
Working in a large organisation provides adequate exposure to large process systems and methodical approaches but my advice to a youngster will be to prefer smaller organisations in the early part of their career to experience the variety and ownership it provides in terms of learning.
I quit Infosys in February 2004 and joined Tavant Technologies which used to be the hub of techies from IIT doing quality enterprise development work with head offices in Silicon Valley and started by Sarvesh Mahesh (ex Junglee.com) group.
Tavant was a much smaller company with a team size of around 300 stud performers providing me the best platform to analyse and hone my technical skills and business requirement understanding. I was posted for close to a year in Los Angeles, California which gave me exposure to global market and client side interactions. After close to 18 months I left Tavant as senior software engineer and joined Solidcore Technology as tech lead in September 2005. I wanted to work with a much smaller product company to be able to understand management culture from top.
Being a smaller (80 people company) and VC funded organisation from the valley, Solidcore as a tech product-company was an ideal ground for me to take the plunge into IndiaHotelReview in August 2006.
Why did you quit Solidcore, Tavant and Infosys?
My main aim from day one was to start something of my own and I kept going up the pyramid by joining a reducing strength company from 30,000 employees to 300 to 80 to starting on my own. At Infosys, due to its sheer size, growth was very slow even for the most talented and work quality didn't do justice as bulk of it is low skill maintenance job.
I quit Tavant after two years into IT services because I aimed for a product company start-up. I left Solidcore because I got the opportunity to fulfil my entrepreneurial dream.
More..
November 17, 2011 (Published on www.rediff.com)
Atechie at heart and a gold medal in computer engineering from NIT Surat, it was but natural that Ankit Rastogi would fly places in his career as a software engineer. While his career panned out as per the script – Infosys, US-based start-ups like Tavant and Solidcore – Ankit was soon bored with the humdrum that comes with working for others.
So, after eight years of working in the Internet and information technology domain Ankit padded up with Swapnil Shrivastav, an IITian with 10-years of experience in consumer Internet, to create a consumer-centric review portal for hotels in tier II cities.After putting in seed money of $ one million, IHR (short for IndianHotelReview) today has grown from two people to forty, growing at a whopping 200 per cent per annum and is all set for venture capital funding, investors willing.
In an e-mail interview with Rediff.com, Ankit discussed his inspiration, his career graph, the reasons why he quit a number of well-settled jobs, and of course, his start-up dos and don'ts, lessons learnt and success mantras.
Tell us about your career graph
I had a campus selection in 2002 for a class-I scientist officer at DRDO, Pune, which I didn't opt for owing to the stagnation fear in government organisation and the slow pace career growth. Instead, I joined Infosys, Pune as software engineer trainee in June 2003 through walk-in placement where I was deputed in the usual maintenance, bug-fixing project for a US insurance major on java technologies.
But I soon realised that I have joined a huge pool of IT professionals and growth up the ladder will be very slow however fast I perform. Additionally the large organisational structure and exhaustive process measures ensured that daily work became routine rather than exciting for a youngster.
Working in a large organisation provides adequate exposure to large process systems and methodical approaches but my advice to a youngster will be to prefer smaller organisations in the early part of their career to experience the variety and ownership it provides in terms of learning.
I quit Infosys in February 2004 and joined Tavant Technologies which used to be the hub of techies from IIT doing quality enterprise development work with head offices in Silicon Valley and started by Sarvesh Mahesh (ex Junglee.com) group.
Tavant was a much smaller company with a team size of around 300 stud performers providing me the best platform to analyse and hone my technical skills and business requirement understanding. I was posted for close to a year in Los Angeles, California which gave me exposure to global market and client side interactions. After close to 18 months I left Tavant as senior software engineer and joined Solidcore Technology as tech lead in September 2005. I wanted to work with a much smaller product company to be able to understand management culture from top.
Being a smaller (80 people company) and VC funded organisation from the valley, Solidcore as a tech product-company was an ideal ground for me to take the plunge into IndiaHotelReview in August 2006.
Why did you quit Solidcore, Tavant and Infosys?
My main aim from day one was to start something of my own and I kept going up the pyramid by joining a reducing strength company from 30,000 employees to 300 to 80 to starting on my own. At Infosys, due to its sheer size, growth was very slow even for the most talented and work quality didn't do justice as bulk of it is low skill maintenance job.
I quit Tavant after two years into IT services because I aimed for a product company start-up. I left Solidcore because I got the opportunity to fulfil my entrepreneurial dream.
More..
IHR captures tier II - III cities for hotels, tour packages
ETW STAFF - New Delhi
October 2011 (Published on Express Travel World)
Noida-based Indiahotelreview.com (IHR) has been growing at 200 per cent year-on-year basis. It registered so for January 2011. Ankit Rastogi, co-founder and business head for the portal informed, "We are still maintaining that same growth curve for quarter ending on September 2011. Presently, our portal has an offering of 11,000 hotels comprising of around 2,000 hotels from Tier I, II, III cities. The demand is high for budget options as travellers are looking for Rs 1,500 or less per night options. This is where our strength lies."
According to him, around 70-80 per cent people in India are extensively looking at lesser known destinations and places to live in, which are secluded that can also be called as next popular destinations in the making. IHR, therefore, revamped itself and has undergone an extensive exercise to present itself with a new approach. Speaking with Express TravelWorld, he said, "We have become the authorised tour operator for various state governments like Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. In fact, we are in talks with a few other states too. Through this, we are looking at offering best locations for customers."ݼbr />
The company is emphasising on tour packages apart from hotels rooms. Since people in Tier II cities are still not confident enough with online bookings, IHR has set up a call centre with destination specialist to answer queries from customers. "We want to highlight that for small destinations, IHR offers the best booking proposition. For example, people might be able to find rooms and packages for Tirupati, but they won't be able to offer any solution for Srikalahasti which is some 60 kms away from this famous religious town. Similarly, Ambaji in Banaskantha district of Gujarat – some 80 kms from Mount Abu is also a nice destination which can be booked through IHR, which makes us unique."
To promote hinterland tourism options, IHR has a dedicated channel on YouTube, where it has already uploaded around 50 videos and expects to reach 1000 videos in another year. "Our focus is editorial for the hotel part, community approach through social networking and transaction content. These help us a lot in addition to reviews on our website by the community following us regularly and sharing information on their travel," he remarked. The company is now looking at the future by expanding its approach through external funding.
"We have received some interests but we are keeping options open till we get the best offer to align our company with who is looking for an online option presenting two key strength areas of hotels and destination tour packages across the country,"ݠRastogi summed.
ETW STAFF - New Delhi
October 2011 (Published on Express Travel World)
Noida-based Indiahotelreview.com (IHR) has been growing at 200 per cent year-on-year basis. It registered so for January 2011. Ankit Rastogi, co-founder and business head for the portal informed, "We are still maintaining that same growth curve for quarter ending on September 2011. Presently, our portal has an offering of 11,000 hotels comprising of around 2,000 hotels from Tier I, II, III cities. The demand is high for budget options as travellers are looking for Rs 1,500 or less per night options. This is where our strength lies."
According to him, around 70-80 per cent people in India are extensively looking at lesser known destinations and places to live in, which are secluded that can also be called as next popular destinations in the making. IHR, therefore, revamped itself and has undergone an extensive exercise to present itself with a new approach. Speaking with Express TravelWorld, he said, "We have become the authorised tour operator for various state governments like Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. In fact, we are in talks with a few other states too. Through this, we are looking at offering best locations for customers."ݼbr />The company is emphasising on tour packages apart from hotels rooms. Since people in Tier II cities are still not confident enough with online bookings, IHR has set up a call centre with destination specialist to answer queries from customers. "We want to highlight that for small destinations, IHR offers the best booking proposition. For example, people might be able to find rooms and packages for Tirupati, but they won't be able to offer any solution for Srikalahasti which is some 60 kms away from this famous religious town. Similarly, Ambaji in Banaskantha district of Gujarat – some 80 kms from Mount Abu is also a nice destination which can be booked through IHR, which makes us unique."
To promote hinterland tourism options, IHR has a dedicated channel on YouTube, where it has already uploaded around 50 videos and expects to reach 1000 videos in another year. "Our focus is editorial for the hotel part, community approach through social networking and transaction content. These help us a lot in addition to reviews on our website by the community following us regularly and sharing information on their travel," he remarked. The company is now looking at the future by expanding its approach through external funding.
"We have received some interests but we are keeping options open till we get the best offer to align our company with who is looking for an online option presenting two key strength areas of hotels and destination tour packages across the country,"ݠRastogi summed.
Campus Recruitment by India Hotel Review
OCTOBER 18, 2011 (Published on Hindustan & Dainik Jagran)
OCTOBER 18, 2011 (Published on Hindustan & Dainik Jagran)
Campus Recruitment by India Hotel Review
OCTOBER 14, 2011 (Published on Hindustan & Dainik Jagran)
OCTOBER 14, 2011 (Published on Hindustan & Dainik Jagran)
On campus placement for the Tourism and HM students, 2011 17th October, 2011
Thu, 2011-10-13 (Published on uou.ac.in) An on the campus placement for Tourism and Hotel Management students was organized by the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Hotel Management at the universityӳ conference hall on 17th October, 2011.
With a mission to enhance the Tourism and Hotel industry and to utilize the manpower of Uttarakhand for the same, Uttarakhand Open University invited dynamic and steadily thriving organization, Indian hotel review (IHR) to provide hands on training and subsequent placement to the selected students of Open University. The following members were present:
Prof. Girija Pande (Chairman), Director, School of Social Sciences & Directorate of counseling and placement, UOU
Mr. Ankit Rastogi, Co-Founder -IHR
Mr.Ankit Kaushal , Manager, Tour and Travel Operations
Dr. Amit gangotia, Coordinator, Tourism studies
Dr. Deepak Paliwal, Asst. Director, directorate Counseling and Placement, UOU
Dr. Ghanshyam Joshi, Academic Consultant (Political Science), UOU
Dr. Subhash Ramola, Academic Consultant (Tourism studies), UOU
Dr. Neerja Singh, Academic Consultant (Social work), UOU
Ms. Neha Chauhan, Academic Consultant (Tourism studies), UOU
The students from various study centers, namely, Amrapali Institute of Hotel Management (Haldwani), Imperial Insitute (Haldwani), Royal College (Nainital), Indian Institue of Management and Technology (Haldwani), attended the programme. As per the schedule, the studentӳ registration started at 9:00 AM. The number of students who turned up for the interview was 116.
The programme commenced with the formal address by the chairman of the meeting, Prof. Girija Pande, who then invited the co-founder of the company to give a brief about their company and also to deliberate on the potentials for youths in tourism and hotel industry. After the address, the placement procedure started which comprised a Group discussion followed by a Personal interview. The group discussion was conducted in the batches of 10-12 students. Shortlisted candidates were then called for an Interview post lunch.
11 students from various study centers were selected by the company, who were quite happy with the performance of the UOU students. Initially, they have been recruited as Trainee for a period of three months on a stipend of Rs. 6000/- per month plus incentives. After the completion of training period they will be confirmed and will be given an increment based upon their performances.
Thu, 2011-10-13 (Published on uou.ac.in) An on the campus placement for Tourism and Hotel Management students was organized by the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Hotel Management at the universityӳ conference hall on 17th October, 2011.
With a mission to enhance the Tourism and Hotel industry and to utilize the manpower of Uttarakhand for the same, Uttarakhand Open University invited dynamic and steadily thriving organization, Indian hotel review (IHR) to provide hands on training and subsequent placement to the selected students of Open University. The following members were present:
Prof. Girija Pande (Chairman), Director, School of Social Sciences & Directorate of counseling and placement, UOU
Mr. Ankit Rastogi, Co-Founder -IHR
Mr.Ankit Kaushal , Manager, Tour and Travel Operations
Dr. Amit gangotia, Coordinator, Tourism studies
Dr. Deepak Paliwal, Asst. Director, directorate Counseling and Placement, UOU
Dr. Ghanshyam Joshi, Academic Consultant (Political Science), UOU
Dr. Subhash Ramola, Academic Consultant (Tourism studies), UOU
Dr. Neerja Singh, Academic Consultant (Social work), UOU
Ms. Neha Chauhan, Academic Consultant (Tourism studies), UOU
The students from various study centers, namely, Amrapali Institute of Hotel Management (Haldwani), Imperial Insitute (Haldwani), Royal College (Nainital), Indian Institue of Management and Technology (Haldwani), attended the programme. As per the schedule, the studentӳ registration started at 9:00 AM. The number of students who turned up for the interview was 116.
The programme commenced with the formal address by the chairman of the meeting, Prof. Girija Pande, who then invited the co-founder of the company to give a brief about their company and also to deliberate on the potentials for youths in tourism and hotel industry. After the address, the placement procedure started which comprised a Group discussion followed by a Personal interview. The group discussion was conducted in the batches of 10-12 students. Shortlisted candidates were then called for an Interview post lunch.
11 students from various study centers were selected by the company, who were quite happy with the performance of the UOU students. Initially, they have been recruited as Trainee for a period of three months on a stipend of Rs. 6000/- per month plus incentives. After the completion of training period they will be confirmed and will be given an increment based upon their performances.
My eTourism Business: India Hotel Review
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011 (Published on E-Tourismishere.com) We begin a new series of posts showcasing different eTourism businesses from around the globe. The goal is to learn about success stories and recommended business strategies from first hand experience. Enjoy!
Going back to the days when Internet subscribers in India were hardly one tenth of today's numbers, I had started India Hotel Review (IHR) in early 2007 as hotels listing, review and destination information site for the lesser known India. IHR started its social media efforts from mid of last year and sharing video content since February this year. Our preliminary research showed that there was a dearth of real India travel related channels / videos on YouTube, content was deeply fragmented and unorganized.
As a result IHR launched its video channel on YouTube to bridge this gap. Further ideology behind the channel was to aggregate our own copyright videos as well as to identify other credible yet unique videos from various government tourism departments, state tourists boards, destination management companies and local root level organizations and to showcase them on our channel. With this unique selling proposition we uploaded the first few videos from India's hinterlands.
Today we have more than 42 videos with channel views crossing 1100 views and total views nearing 10,000 mark within 4 months of launch. Considering most of the videos are from India's deep backyard and may be difficult to relate for our Indian / International audience, strong care is taken to add a proper title, description and tags for each video. This adds a lot of value for the channel viewers enabling them to correlate better and enjoy the Incredible India brand.
I would like to stress here that a lot of Internet users mistakenly take YouTube as a mere video hosting site while YouTube's beauty lies in the ease it connects like minded enthusiasts on a specific video subject discovery and further easiness of embedding / popularizing the video. As a result your channel views grow by leaps and bounds. One classic example was a video of a well known temple of Neelkanth in Northern India. IHR's video on Neelkanth showcasing the greenery of Rishikesh from the hill top of Neelkanth in the rainy season of Monsoon became an instant hit.
YouTube came out as an effective parallel medium for destination awareness and brand promotion. The growing appeal of videos makes it an indispensable resource to market your offerings.
Written by Ankit Rastogi, Co-Founder and Business Head at IHR
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011 (Published on E-Tourismishere.com) We begin a new series of posts showcasing different eTourism businesses from around the globe. The goal is to learn about success stories and recommended business strategies from first hand experience. Enjoy!
Going back to the days when Internet subscribers in India were hardly one tenth of today's numbers, I had started India Hotel Review (IHR) in early 2007 as hotels listing, review and destination information site for the lesser known India. IHR started its social media efforts from mid of last year and sharing video content since February this year. Our preliminary research showed that there was a dearth of real India travel related channels / videos on YouTube, content was deeply fragmented and unorganized.
As a result IHR launched its video channel on YouTube to bridge this gap. Further ideology behind the channel was to aggregate our own copyright videos as well as to identify other credible yet unique videos from various government tourism departments, state tourists boards, destination management companies and local root level organizations and to showcase them on our channel. With this unique selling proposition we uploaded the first few videos from India's hinterlands.
Today we have more than 42 videos with channel views crossing 1100 views and total views nearing 10,000 mark within 4 months of launch. Considering most of the videos are from India's deep backyard and may be difficult to relate for our Indian / International audience, strong care is taken to add a proper title, description and tags for each video. This adds a lot of value for the channel viewers enabling them to correlate better and enjoy the Incredible India brand.
I would like to stress here that a lot of Internet users mistakenly take YouTube as a mere video hosting site while YouTube's beauty lies in the ease it connects like minded enthusiasts on a specific video subject discovery and further easiness of embedding / popularizing the video. As a result your channel views grow by leaps and bounds. One classic example was a video of a well known temple of Neelkanth in Northern India. IHR's video on Neelkanth showcasing the greenery of Rishikesh from the hill top of Neelkanth in the rainy season of Monsoon became an instant hit.
YouTube came out as an effective parallel medium for destination awareness and brand promotion. The growing appeal of videos makes it an indispensable resource to market your offerings.
Written by Ankit Rastogi, Co-Founder and Business Head at IHR
Consolidation is imminent
September 2011 (Published on Voyagers World)
September 2011 (Published on Voyagers World)
Honeymoon in Kashmir?
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
Friday, September 30, 2011 (Published on Delhi Mid Day)
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
Friday, September 30, 2011 (Published on Delhi Mid Day)
IHR launches travel video channel on YouTube
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 (Published on HospitalityBizIndia.com) India Hotel Review (IHR) has launched a travel video channel on YouTube showcasing 'Real India', with focus on Tier-II and Tier-III cities. According to the company release, a lot of these videos will be helpful for supporting the existing partnerships with Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Jammu Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation. IHR's YouTube channel will act as the proactive online video encyclopedia. With a pipeline of 500 Indian Travel Videos to be uploaded, it covers Jammu festival to Spanish Cottages of Aamby Valley in Sahara Lake City, Lonavala to the backwaters of Terelkhol river in Aronda on MH - Goa border.
Ankit Ratogi, Co-Founder and Business Head, IHR said, "Online information seekers have an urge to watch original and quality videos. Owing to this critical aspect of sharing the video content, we repeatedly perform sanity checks of the information featuring travel destinations.
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 (Published on HospitalityBizIndia.com) India Hotel Review (IHR) has launched a travel video channel on YouTube showcasing 'Real India', with focus on Tier-II and Tier-III cities. According to the company release, a lot of these videos will be helpful for supporting the existing partnerships with Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Jammu Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation. IHR's YouTube channel will act as the proactive online video encyclopedia. With a pipeline of 500 Indian Travel Videos to be uploaded, it covers Jammu festival to Spanish Cottages of Aamby Valley in Sahara Lake City, Lonavala to the backwaters of Terelkhol river in Aronda on MH - Goa border.
Ankit Ratogi, Co-Founder and Business Head, IHR said, "Online information seekers have an urge to watch original and quality videos. Owing to this critical aspect of sharing the video content, we repeatedly perform sanity checks of the information featuring travel destinations.
IHR launches exclusive Video channel on YouTube dedicated to India Tour & Travels
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
June 25, 2011 (Published on India PRwire) India Hotel Review has launched its own exclusive travel video channel on YouTube.com. With the aim of showcasing real India, this video channel consists of hottest travel videos. Ranging from different beach destinations to the festivals celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir region, the online visitors can watch the bountiful of tour and travel videos of India. This IHR's Travel channel is an online encyclopedia which paves way its efforts to provide visual content information of the lesser known destinations, traditional, budget and famous destinations.
India Hotel Review continuing the trend of innovation and uniqueness has launched exclusive travel video channel on YouTube showcasing real India. By highlighting 'The Real India', strong focus has been given to the lesser known destinations. There are many Tier II and Tier III destinations in India which are still lying untapped from the eyes of aspiring travel enthusiasts. Feeling the need of providing an enhance exposure to the hinterlands; IHR took an initiative which falls in close inline with the pulse of growing enthusiasts of Incredible India brand. Beaches, towns, villages, heritage walks, backwaters, churches, sanctums, venerated edifices, beautiful hills and the collection of videos comprising the other obscure as well as famous destinations in the country forms the most distinguished part of this tour and travel video channel.
Taking the series of strong nuptial connections; one step ahead, Ankit Ratogi, Co-founder and Business head commenting on the authenticity of videos said that "online information seekers always have a great urge to watch the original and quality videos. Owing to this very critical aspect of sharing the video content, we at India Hotel Review repeatedly perform sanity checks of the information featuring travel destinations. After confirming the authentication of these videos from the proper sources, the visual contents are handpicked and uploaded on the India Hotel Review's YouTube Travel Channel." IHR thinks that lot of these videos will also prove to be of immense help for supporting the existing partnerships with KSTDC, APTDC, MTDC and JKTDC. India Hotel Review has already been associated with these agencies for some time and promoting them through social media marketing will further solidify its foothold for budget hotels and destinations in these state regions.
It is important to note that IHR's YouTube channel will act as the proactive online video encyclopedia which will throw open different dimensions of India on just single click of mouse. Ranging from wide array of short and long video travel destinations clips to other pictorial presentations, the backpackers are assured to get comprehensive information about the lesser known places. By watching these online tour videos, the interested audience can get the firm idea of the geographical features of the region. With this they can easily develop a strong acumen for the particular destination videos and can later decide whether to visit it or not.
Videos on this channel covering multi dimensional aspects ranging from famous Jammu festival to the spirit of Andhra Pradesh, to plush Spanish Cottages of Aamby Valley in Sahara Lake City, Lonavala to the backwaters of Terelkhol river in Aronda on MH - Goa border, to the herd of wild elephants at Rajaji National Park, Hardiwar , and have already become favorites for the travel video lovers. Mr Rastogi further added that "today technology platforms have gone through a drastic evolution and YouTube is the best social media network which connects to aspiring backpackers with a quick ease. Our efforts are on the budding stage and this social media network would wend off its gates with growing mobile telephony, 3G and Broadband penetration among Indians". With a pipeline of 500 Indian Travel Videos to be uploaded he is firmly of the belief that the videos showcased on travel channel will help to bridge the content gap which in broader perspective will make the online search easier and brand India much more affable.
Watch video here: http://www.youtube.com/indiahotelreview
Notes to Editor
Hotels in India India's fastest growing Online Travel Company is a trailblazer in dishing out widest range of innovative packages to satiate the wanderlust of travelers. Cheap, sustainable, whacky IHR's spectrum of more than 1000 packages is backed by 10000 plus hotels spread across 1100 destinations pan India.
By HBI Staff | Mumbai
June 25, 2011 (Published on India PRwire) India Hotel Review has launched its own exclusive travel video channel on YouTube.com. With the aim of showcasing real India, this video channel consists of hottest travel videos. Ranging from different beach destinations to the festivals celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir region, the online visitors can watch the bountiful of tour and travel videos of India. This IHR's Travel channel is an online encyclopedia which paves way its efforts to provide visual content information of the lesser known destinations, traditional, budget and famous destinations.
India Hotel Review continuing the trend of innovation and uniqueness has launched exclusive travel video channel on YouTube showcasing real India. By highlighting 'The Real India', strong focus has been given to the lesser known destinations. There are many Tier II and Tier III destinations in India which are still lying untapped from the eyes of aspiring travel enthusiasts. Feeling the need of providing an enhance exposure to the hinterlands; IHR took an initiative which falls in close inline with the pulse of growing enthusiasts of Incredible India brand. Beaches, towns, villages, heritage walks, backwaters, churches, sanctums, venerated edifices, beautiful hills and the collection of videos comprising the other obscure as well as famous destinations in the country forms the most distinguished part of this tour and travel video channel.
Taking the series of strong nuptial connections; one step ahead, Ankit Ratogi, Co-founder and Business head commenting on the authenticity of videos said that "online information seekers always have a great urge to watch the original and quality videos. Owing to this very critical aspect of sharing the video content, we at India Hotel Review repeatedly perform sanity checks of the information featuring travel destinations. After confirming the authentication of these videos from the proper sources, the visual contents are handpicked and uploaded on the India Hotel Review's YouTube Travel Channel." IHR thinks that lot of these videos will also prove to be of immense help for supporting the existing partnerships with KSTDC, APTDC, MTDC and JKTDC. India Hotel Review has already been associated with these agencies for some time and promoting them through social media marketing will further solidify its foothold for budget hotels and destinations in these state regions.
It is important to note that IHR's YouTube channel will act as the proactive online video encyclopedia which will throw open different dimensions of India on just single click of mouse. Ranging from wide array of short and long video travel destinations clips to other pictorial presentations, the backpackers are assured to get comprehensive information about the lesser known places. By watching these online tour videos, the interested audience can get the firm idea of the geographical features of the region. With this they can easily develop a strong acumen for the particular destination videos and can later decide whether to visit it or not.
Videos on this channel covering multi dimensional aspects ranging from famous Jammu festival to the spirit of Andhra Pradesh, to plush Spanish Cottages of Aamby Valley in Sahara Lake City, Lonavala to the backwaters of Terelkhol river in Aronda on MH - Goa border, to the herd of wild elephants at Rajaji National Park, Hardiwar , and have already become favorites for the travel video lovers. Mr Rastogi further added that "today technology platforms have gone through a drastic evolution and YouTube is the best social media network which connects to aspiring backpackers with a quick ease. Our efforts are on the budding stage and this social media network would wend off its gates with growing mobile telephony, 3G and Broadband penetration among Indians". With a pipeline of 500 Indian Travel Videos to be uploaded he is firmly of the belief that the videos showcased on travel channel will help to bridge the content gap which in broader perspective will make the online search easier and brand India much more affable.
Watch video here: http://www.youtube.com/indiahotelreview
Notes to Editor
Hotels in India India's fastest growing Online Travel Company is a trailblazer in dishing out widest range of innovative packages to satiate the wanderlust of travelers. Cheap, sustainable, whacky IHR's spectrum of more than 1000 packages is backed by 10000 plus hotels spread across 1100 destinations pan India.
APTDC appoints IHR as its authorized tour, hotel & ticketing operator
23 Feb 2011 (Published on pr-inside.com) Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation appoints India Hotel Review (IHR) as its authorized Tour, Hotels and Ticketing Operator. India Hotel Review is fastest Growing online travel agency that provides the hotels and tour packages in India
APTDC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) keeping in consideration the potential of Andhra Pradesh has appointed IHR - India Hotel Review as its authorized tour operator. IHR will get the privilege of promoting and selling all the key hotels and tours operated under the aegis of APTDC as its approved agency. India Hotel Review in collaboration with APTDC will be able to offer travel inventory & products comprising of cultural and religious tours, heritage walks, pristine beaches, exclusive cave stays, boat rides, cruises, sound and light shows at historical forts and houseboats on backwaters of east coast. All of these have been the front thrillers, surprisingly still lying completely untapped in the beautiful southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Announcing the strategic
partnership Ankit Rastogi said that "this initiative will open plentitude of dimensions for IHR. Andhra Pradesh is definitely the geographical wonder dotted with 970 km stretch of serene coastline. With the presence of perennial chains of rivers, backwaters, and beaches it musters immense scope for the travelers to spend their holidays in the destinations completely new to every taste of domestic and international travelers. In fact, there are also good numbers of tourist magnets in Andhra Pradesh like Horsely Hills (hill station), Araku Valley (hill station), Surya Lanka (beaches), Belum (caves) , Konaseema (backwaters) and Kurnool (river and lakes) which are obscure and waiting for the first footsteps of explorers. Elaborating further on the need of tie-up, Mr Rastogi told, "IHR has already been pioneer in promoting lesser known destinations of Andhra like Mantralayam, Srisailam, Vizag, Puttaparthy, Srikalahasti and Araku since its inception, but adhering to deeper penetration in the geographical lines of the region, partnership with APTDC will genuinely benefit us in understanding and marketing Andhra Pradesh more briskly."ݼbr />
It is critical to note that IHR is the first OTC/ OTA in country that too with presence in North India, getting approval for APTDC for such a tie up. India Hotel Review has already been associated with KSTDC for some time in south India, joining hands with APTDC further solidifies IHR's foothold for budget hotels and destinations in the region.
As a result of this partnership, India Hotel Review will offer the back packers with the option to choose their trip from different array of themes which include nature, pilgrimage, adventure, and heritage in Andhra Pardesh respectively. Talking about the pilgrimage various religious destinations like Gnana Saraswati Mandir in Basar, Rammappa temple, Bhadrachalam temple, Kanaka Durga temple in Andhra Pradesh are assured to be included in the spate of tour packages offered by IHR. By availing the tour packages based on different themes, the travelers will be able to brace the true essence of India which is in line with IHR's core philosophy of "discover budget destinations"ݠas an online travel company dedicated to smaller places and hotels.
On the concluding note, business founder and co-founder of IHR, Ankit Rastogi envisaging his future plans, said that in the coming days we will surely be looking for more such tie-ups with other states.
23 Feb 2011 (Published on pr-inside.com) Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation appoints India Hotel Review (IHR) as its authorized Tour, Hotels and Ticketing Operator. India Hotel Review is fastest Growing online travel agency that provides the hotels and tour packages in India
APTDC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) keeping in consideration the potential of Andhra Pradesh has appointed IHR - India Hotel Review as its authorized tour operator. IHR will get the privilege of promoting and selling all the key hotels and tours operated under the aegis of APTDC as its approved agency. India Hotel Review in collaboration with APTDC will be able to offer travel inventory & products comprising of cultural and religious tours, heritage walks, pristine beaches, exclusive cave stays, boat rides, cruises, sound and light shows at historical forts and houseboats on backwaters of east coast. All of these have been the front thrillers, surprisingly still lying completely untapped in the beautiful southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Announcing the strategic
partnership Ankit Rastogi said that "this initiative will open plentitude of dimensions for IHR. Andhra Pradesh is definitely the geographical wonder dotted with 970 km stretch of serene coastline. With the presence of perennial chains of rivers, backwaters, and beaches it musters immense scope for the travelers to spend their holidays in the destinations completely new to every taste of domestic and international travelers. In fact, there are also good numbers of tourist magnets in Andhra Pradesh like Horsely Hills (hill station), Araku Valley (hill station), Surya Lanka (beaches), Belum (caves) , Konaseema (backwaters) and Kurnool (river and lakes) which are obscure and waiting for the first footsteps of explorers. Elaborating further on the need of tie-up, Mr Rastogi told, "IHR has already been pioneer in promoting lesser known destinations of Andhra like Mantralayam, Srisailam, Vizag, Puttaparthy, Srikalahasti and Araku since its inception, but adhering to deeper penetration in the geographical lines of the region, partnership with APTDC will genuinely benefit us in understanding and marketing Andhra Pradesh more briskly."ݼbr />
It is critical to note that IHR is the first OTC/ OTA in country that too with presence in North India, getting approval for APTDC for such a tie up. India Hotel Review has already been associated with KSTDC for some time in south India, joining hands with APTDC further solidifies IHR's foothold for budget hotels and destinations in the region.
As a result of this partnership, India Hotel Review will offer the back packers with the option to choose their trip from different array of themes which include nature, pilgrimage, adventure, and heritage in Andhra Pardesh respectively. Talking about the pilgrimage various religious destinations like Gnana Saraswati Mandir in Basar, Rammappa temple, Bhadrachalam temple, Kanaka Durga temple in Andhra Pradesh are assured to be included in the spate of tour packages offered by IHR. By availing the tour packages based on different themes, the travelers will be able to brace the true essence of India which is in line with IHR's core philosophy of "discover budget destinations"ݠas an online travel company dedicated to smaller places and hotels.
On the concluding note, business founder and co-founder of IHR, Ankit Rastogi envisaging his future plans, said that in the coming days we will surely be looking for more such tie-ups with other states.
IHR Launches Popular Destination Comparison - City Wars
Tuesday, 30 November 2010 (Published on eTravel Blackboard) India Hotel Review the leading online travel company for hotel and tour bookings cum community carrying the beacon of "٩nnovation and dynamism' has launched a new firt of its kind Indian travel destination comparison initiative called 'City Wars'. There will be series of wars between two most popular destinations across India on a very objective note yet very precise quenching which first answer. 2 such wars are already live under a special City Wars section on IHR blog. The 'كity Wars' is a tabular/descriptive comparison between the most popular travel destinations. On the basis of set factors, various parameters have been developed which could help the aspiring travelers to make a comparison between the two cities and later, deicide which destination is off beat and gives a tough fight to the later ones exclusively.
Going more deeper into the skin of 'كity Wars', the interesting factors on the basis of which the robust comparisons are made include attractions, approachability, food, excursion and accommodation. The comparison is genuinely very deep and various unique factors like approachability and attractions has been duly researched and garnered to bestow travelers with an indispensable nugget of information. These factors are further categorized into manifold parameters which would certainly inform the travel enthusiasts about every staunch detail of the destination, they are going to visit. Altitude, Zoo, hair pin bends, Distance from the railway station- road and airport, special hang out places, dams, observatories, best view points, road conditions, gardens, theme parks, hotels, eat and dine restaurant are the well defined parameters fabricated on a particular scale by which a common man expects to fit the basic criteria or the faculties which convinces him/her to make a visit. Due stress is given on origin while comparing the destinations. These destinations have been carrying the legacy; they have been the mainstream and traditional destinations as well about which the people would have been listening from their parents or grand parents since their child hood. These destinations have been the main source and by sticking to the basics, IHR has taken a small initiative to revel them with the details which looks different and off sound to their senses. For instance, if an individual living in Delhi is looking for a one weekend getaway option amongst the two; Mussoorie or Nainital, which one first? Eventually, City Wars Chart being the most key resource could certainly help them to reach at the much awaited verdict which was thus giving them jitters from many days. Just by scanning through the vital points of distinction, the revelers with the subtle understanding can easily deicide that between the two destinations which one matches their tastes very well. In a stance to save the time and money of the aspiring travelers, 'It is just a small initiative of India Hotel Review which will definitely act as a master key to open the hidden treasure of travel information Review. As if now this masqueraded information has been revealed on India Hotel Review's blog post, the interested back packers could take a glance on the robust comparison between Mussoorie Vs Nainital and Ooty Vs Kodaikanal 'City Wars Chart-description' by clicking on the following link: http://blog.indiahotelreview.com/main/city-wars-321-0.htm
City Wars is an intensive research based report card which consists of important points of distinction between two different destinations fabricated on a particular scale; categorized into factors and parameters solely. 'With an advent of 'City Wars' blog post series on IHR's website, the vacationers adhering to quick decision making can easily decide which destination is unique and interests them the most', said Ankit Rastogi-Co-Founder and Business Head of IHR - India Hotel Review. He further said that, 'ٔhere are many questions which pop up in the mind of the travelers and they are left in a dilemma which one to visit first? To help them, IHR has launched City Wars, by which the people can easily figure out that amongst the main stream places which destination adheres unique parameters looking quiet off beat and compels them to visit first' He further revealed that future post will be on Simla Vs Manali and Darjeeling Vs Gangtok.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010 (Published on eTravel Blackboard) India Hotel Review the leading online travel company for hotel and tour bookings cum community carrying the beacon of "٩nnovation and dynamism' has launched a new firt of its kind Indian travel destination comparison initiative called 'City Wars'. There will be series of wars between two most popular destinations across India on a very objective note yet very precise quenching which first answer. 2 such wars are already live under a special City Wars section on IHR blog. The 'كity Wars' is a tabular/descriptive comparison between the most popular travel destinations. On the basis of set factors, various parameters have been developed which could help the aspiring travelers to make a comparison between the two cities and later, deicide which destination is off beat and gives a tough fight to the later ones exclusively.
Going more deeper into the skin of 'كity Wars', the interesting factors on the basis of which the robust comparisons are made include attractions, approachability, food, excursion and accommodation. The comparison is genuinely very deep and various unique factors like approachability and attractions has been duly researched and garnered to bestow travelers with an indispensable nugget of information. These factors are further categorized into manifold parameters which would certainly inform the travel enthusiasts about every staunch detail of the destination, they are going to visit. Altitude, Zoo, hair pin bends, Distance from the railway station- road and airport, special hang out places, dams, observatories, best view points, road conditions, gardens, theme parks, hotels, eat and dine restaurant are the well defined parameters fabricated on a particular scale by which a common man expects to fit the basic criteria or the faculties which convinces him/her to make a visit. Due stress is given on origin while comparing the destinations. These destinations have been carrying the legacy; they have been the mainstream and traditional destinations as well about which the people would have been listening from their parents or grand parents since their child hood. These destinations have been the main source and by sticking to the basics, IHR has taken a small initiative to revel them with the details which looks different and off sound to their senses. For instance, if an individual living in Delhi is looking for a one weekend getaway option amongst the two; Mussoorie or Nainital, which one first? Eventually, City Wars Chart being the most key resource could certainly help them to reach at the much awaited verdict which was thus giving them jitters from many days. Just by scanning through the vital points of distinction, the revelers with the subtle understanding can easily deicide that between the two destinations which one matches their tastes very well. In a stance to save the time and money of the aspiring travelers, 'It is just a small initiative of India Hotel Review which will definitely act as a master key to open the hidden treasure of travel information Review. As if now this masqueraded information has been revealed on India Hotel Review's blog post, the interested back packers could take a glance on the robust comparison between Mussoorie Vs Nainital and Ooty Vs Kodaikanal 'City Wars Chart-description' by clicking on the following link: http://blog.indiahotelreview.com/main/city-wars-321-0.htm
City Wars is an intensive research based report card which consists of important points of distinction between two different destinations fabricated on a particular scale; categorized into factors and parameters solely. 'With an advent of 'City Wars' blog post series on IHR's website, the vacationers adhering to quick decision making can easily decide which destination is unique and interests them the most', said Ankit Rastogi-Co-Founder and Business Head of IHR - India Hotel Review. He further said that, 'ٔhere are many questions which pop up in the mind of the travelers and they are left in a dilemma which one to visit first? To help them, IHR has launched City Wars, by which the people can easily figure out that amongst the main stream places which destination adheres unique parameters looking quiet off beat and compels them to visit first' He further revealed that future post will be on Simla Vs Manali and Darjeeling Vs Gangtok.
Enhanced Travel Search & Unplugging Hotels by Pin code
Sep 20, 2010 (Published on PRLog (Press Release)) IHR has launched the new enhanced travel search feature on its website, just typing the name or zip/pin code and get the immense number of hotels linked to zip/pin code of that particular area.
India Hotel Review has launched the new enhanced search feature on its website. Starting today in the highlight feature of this release is that the users just by typing the name or zip/pin code of any destination could get the immense number of hotel results linked to the Zip/Pin Code of that particular area. This is an attractive and extremely usable feature for nailing down the most preferred hotel in a particular locality anywhere in India. Overall the latest Enhanced Search on IHR goes deep in Vertical Travel India related search bringing in multi facet results instantly. The foundation of this latest innovation by IHR is providing multidimensional usable content and easy access to the in depth travel resources of IHR making it another first in Online Travel space.
The online visitors visiting IndiaHotelReview.com can explore this exciting feature just by embedding the Zip/Pin code of their region or nearby city. While embedding the pin code of their area, the visitors looking for certain preferences can easily get an information complying infinite number of results. But in retrospect, if the online visitors or customers would peep into the complimentary trends, they will definitely realize that this innovation has not been put in lime light by the market analysts. Today in the 21st century, travel savvy people just don't want simple information but they wish to garner detailed accurate knowledge in least possible time. So in this aspect, enhanced travel vertical search could do wonders crossing all the peripheral lines presenting highly contextual results at swift pace. For instance, if you search by the keyword Shirdi, the enhanced search will throw results inclusive of – Hotels, tour packages, tags like pilgrimage, travel articles, travel guide content, question/answers and holiday themes all in retrospect of Shirdi as a destination. Further if one searches by pincode / zip e.g. 201301 - the newly improved search will bring out exact hotels names in this area like - radisson hotel - delhi-noida , dharamvilla guest house - delhi-noida etc.
Speaking on the launch, Ankit Rastogi, IHR co-founder & business head, asserted that, "Our aim is to make the deep travel content much more usable and accessible. Via this enhancement IHR has brought innovation in terms of disseminating unparallel content and best usability to its audience. Travel tag based search is an interesting feature of this launch through which the aspiring travelers visiting the site could grapple the information related to the desired travel themes. The rationale behind the tag based search is to make the search more extensive and broader in every prospect. Search by important tags and search through unknown words that revolve around words sharing closer proximity, could weave a plethora of travel content, supported by the range of results based on categorization"ݮ Stressing on the entire logic and on the concluding note, Ankit explains the far reaching consequences of zip code based search algorithms which can help the aspiring travelers to figure out the destinations looming in proximity to the main zip code area. Visit http://www.indiahotelreview.com for details
IndiaHotelReview.com (IHR) is India's one of the fastest growing online travel company selling more than 20,000 hotels in 10000 destinations and over 1000 holiday packages pan India online on our website. IHR was awarded best travel site award 2008 by European leading Internet Marketing Agency called Metrix labs. We are a member of Gov of India approved association of travel operators called ADTOI as well as an approved online travel agency recognized by the state of KARNATAKA and UP.
Sep 20, 2010 (Published on PRLog (Press Release)) IHR has launched the new enhanced travel search feature on its website, just typing the name or zip/pin code and get the immense number of hotels linked to zip/pin code of that particular area.
India Hotel Review has launched the new enhanced search feature on its website. Starting today in the highlight feature of this release is that the users just by typing the name or zip/pin code of any destination could get the immense number of hotel results linked to the Zip/Pin Code of that particular area. This is an attractive and extremely usable feature for nailing down the most preferred hotel in a particular locality anywhere in India. Overall the latest Enhanced Search on IHR goes deep in Vertical Travel India related search bringing in multi facet results instantly. The foundation of this latest innovation by IHR is providing multidimensional usable content and easy access to the in depth travel resources of IHR making it another first in Online Travel space.
The online visitors visiting IndiaHotelReview.com can explore this exciting feature just by embedding the Zip/Pin code of their region or nearby city. While embedding the pin code of their area, the visitors looking for certain preferences can easily get an information complying infinite number of results. But in retrospect, if the online visitors or customers would peep into the complimentary trends, they will definitely realize that this innovation has not been put in lime light by the market analysts. Today in the 21st century, travel savvy people just don't want simple information but they wish to garner detailed accurate knowledge in least possible time. So in this aspect, enhanced travel vertical search could do wonders crossing all the peripheral lines presenting highly contextual results at swift pace. For instance, if you search by the keyword Shirdi, the enhanced search will throw results inclusive of – Hotels, tour packages, tags like pilgrimage, travel articles, travel guide content, question/answers and holiday themes all in retrospect of Shirdi as a destination. Further if one searches by pincode / zip e.g. 201301 - the newly improved search will bring out exact hotels names in this area like - radisson hotel - delhi-noida , dharamvilla guest house - delhi-noida etc.
Speaking on the launch, Ankit Rastogi, IHR co-founder & business head, asserted that, "Our aim is to make the deep travel content much more usable and accessible. Via this enhancement IHR has brought innovation in terms of disseminating unparallel content and best usability to its audience. Travel tag based search is an interesting feature of this launch through which the aspiring travelers visiting the site could grapple the information related to the desired travel themes. The rationale behind the tag based search is to make the search more extensive and broader in every prospect. Search by important tags and search through unknown words that revolve around words sharing closer proximity, could weave a plethora of travel content, supported by the range of results based on categorization"ݮ Stressing on the entire logic and on the concluding note, Ankit explains the far reaching consequences of zip code based search algorithms which can help the aspiring travelers to figure out the destinations looming in proximity to the main zip code area. Visit http://www.indiahotelreview.com for details
IndiaHotelReview.com (IHR) is India's one of the fastest growing online travel company selling more than 20,000 hotels in 10000 destinations and over 1000 holiday packages pan India online on our website. IHR was awarded best travel site award 2008 by European leading Internet Marketing Agency called Metrix labs. We are a member of Gov of India approved association of travel operators called ADTOI as well as an approved online travel agency recognized by the state of KARNATAKA and UP.
Travel: A walk along the Beas
Vandana Kalra
August 24, 2009 (Published on Rediff)
What is the best place to escape the drudgery of a grueling office schedule? The answer to this I found in Dehra, a small hamlet in Himachal Pradesh. Dehra is not your ideal chock-a-block tourist destination but, instead, basks in the glory of a certain amount of idleness. It is one of the best weekend getaways I have had in recent times.
Dehra, around 450 km from Delhi, is well hidden from the glare of overzealous tourists who favour more "touristy" destinations like Dharamshala (63 km away) or Mcleodganj (73 km away).
Getting to Dehra is simple. On a Friday evening I hopped on to a Dharmashala-bound HPRTC luxury Volvo bus from ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, around 9 pm.
The bus, heavily loaded with a motley crowd of foreigners, dropped me at Dehra at 6.30 am next morning. The friendly conductor made sure I got down at the right spot. The good part about the journey is that you do not have to scout for accommodation, the bus actually drops you at the gate of the only hotel at Dehra -- the Riverview Resort.
The hotel follows a differential pricing policy. For a first-floor accommodation you have to shell out more than what you would for a room in the ground floor. I took the first floor room at the resort and soon found out why they charge more. The view from the balcony was fabulous. The lush green surrounds, the chirping of the birds -- everything about the place was so relaxing and invigorating. I suggest that everyone take a first-floor or second-floor room to get the best view of this idyllic place.
Vandana Kalra
August 24, 2009 (Published on Rediff)
What is the best place to escape the drudgery of a grueling office schedule? The answer to this I found in Dehra, a small hamlet in Himachal Pradesh. Dehra is not your ideal chock-a-block tourist destination but, instead, basks in the glory of a certain amount of idleness. It is one of the best weekend getaways I have had in recent times.
Dehra, around 450 km from Delhi, is well hidden from the glare of overzealous tourists who favour more "touristy" destinations like Dharamshala (63 km away) or Mcleodganj (73 km away).
Getting to Dehra is simple. On a Friday evening I hopped on to a Dharmashala-bound HPRTC luxury Volvo bus from ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, around 9 pm.
The bus, heavily loaded with a motley crowd of foreigners, dropped me at Dehra at 6.30 am next morning. The friendly conductor made sure I got down at the right spot. The good part about the journey is that you do not have to scout for accommodation, the bus actually drops you at the gate of the only hotel at Dehra -- the Riverview Resort.
The hotel follows a differential pricing policy. For a first-floor accommodation you have to shell out more than what you would for a room in the ground floor. I took the first floor room at the resort and soon found out why they charge more. The view from the balcony was fabulous. The lush green surrounds, the chirping of the birds -- everything about the place was so relaxing and invigorating. I suggest that everyone take a first-floor or second-floor room to get the best view of this idyllic place.