Travelogue: City Of All Faiths!

Getting up early morning (or perhaps late night) to catch a morning train is quite exciting, more so when it flags off travel on a long weekend. That is exactly how we felt as we completed last minute packing. The cab had come on time at 4.45 a.m. and we were off to the New Delhi railway station to board the Shatabdi Express to Ajmer. The journey took about 7 hours with halts at Delhi Cantonment, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur and Kishangarh. We boarded an auto rickshaw from the station after briefly bargaining with the driver. There are many who will swarm around you as soon as you step out of the station and can demand anything between Rs. 150/- to Rs. 200/-. It’s better to check the approximate fare with your hotel before arriving.

Our hotel, The Royal Melange was located bang in the heart of the city. We were provided with a super deluxe room. The room was very spacious and spotless clean. There was an almirah with a locker soon after entering the room. A little passage gave way to the main area, giving the room an L-shape. The double bed flanked by side tables on both sides, a sofa & center table adorned the main area of the room. With a 32” Sony LED on the opposite wall, it was a perfect setting for a 3 night stay. A large mirror beside the TV and a wooden chair in front of it made up the dressing area. The large windows on both walls had beautifully designed curtains. In spite of the furniture, there was sufficient space to lavishly pace up and down the room. The overall décor of the room was very inviting. The toilet also appeared new with modern lights fitted and sanitary stuff from Grohe.

After entering the room

Comfortable & Cozy!

The Dressing Area

Sofa & Center Table

The in-house restaurant served only vegetarian food (not even egg) but it had all types of cuisine on its menu. We tried various dishes from hakka noodles to sizzlers, from paneer pushteni to pineapple raita. The food was quite tasty, though at times appeared to be quite oily. Since the hotel had room service, most of our meals were ordered in the room. The food was brought to the room within reasonable time. However, there were some glaring misses (such as tissue paper, sugar sachets with coffee, clearing of plates etc.) and sometimes calls remained unattended even after reminders. The room tariff had breakfast complimentary. The buffet spread had regular items on all days with limited variety, but I must mention that the food was well prepared and the staff took good care while we were in the restaurant.