Undoubtedly the pleasure of a vacation is in the comfort and joy it brings.

And with that in mind, the Lord�s Central Hotel has carved quite a reputation for itself. A delightful m�lange of beauty and hospitality, this hotel has found a mention with Lillian Carter and Salman Rushdie.

A stone�s throw from the main bazaar, it makes a striking picture with red walls, bright rooms and beautiful lawns. Walk around the premises, and you discover rare flora and fauna around it, with a swimming pool that gives a view of the lush green valley and the hills beyond. It has to be the most arresting picture one can ever hope to get. But then, this is what Lord�s Central is built on � cheerful, open-hearted hospitality and the open arms of Mother Nature as the backdrop.

More than anything there is a history to the place that is as alive and magnificent as the family who runs it. Any resident of Matheran will tell you that the name �Lord� is synonymous with the hill station. For, it was Hormusjee Lord who built the first Lord Hotel in 1885, just behind the place where Girivihar Hotel stands today. This hotel, the third of the Lord�s establishments was built in 1930 by Shiavax Lord, the third and youngest son of Hormusjee Nowrojee Lord. Jamshed, Shiavax�s second son, popularly known as Jimmy was given charge of Lord�s Central Hotel.

And, today, it is Zenobia, Jimmy�s dear sweet wife and her son Shiavax (named after his grandfather) who run the hotel. Two dogs, called Rusty the Rascal and Simba the Lion make up the brigade.

Now and then, they are joined by the jolly Homi Lord, a retired officer of the merchant navy who is Jimmy Lord�s younger brother. �Come here and look at this picture, it�s taken in Switzerland,� calls Homi from his office. I go to his computer. That is indeed some photograph, I agree. The clouds are spilling over almost like the white foamy waterfall, full and forceful against a beautiful clear sky. Intrigued, I ask �Is it the Swiss Alps?� �Now,� he says egged on by my bewilderment, �Take a look at this, it will tell you where.� It does, for in the bottom left hand side I now see a pool that is part of the Lord�s Bungalow and it hits home. This is taken right here, in the Lord�s own backyard. It�s a picture taken when the monsoon had just hit the hills and I tell him it certainly makes a striking picture, but then all of the Lord�s property is like that.

�Did you know, in the 1960�s, one could stay here for eight rupees a day, with food? And that too, the stay had to be for a minimum of 45 days,� smiles Zenobia Lord.

Now, Lord�s has 23 rooms, some overlooking the valley, and all of these are booked during the holiday season. There is a special concession for school groups and senior citizens. �The children from the German School come here every year and right from the road itself, they shout �are we having the Crystal Basket tonight?� That, I learn is Zenobia�s specialty dessert. Made of caramelised sugar, the basket is left to cool, before a mixture of fruit and cream are added.

Dining itself is a wonderful experience at Lord�s Central. As is the practice since 1952, guests are served with a five course meal: soup, followed by two meat dishes, a vegetarian one, thin chappatis, rice, crusty bread and lastly, a pudding.

But the mainstay of the hotel and perhaps the best part of it, is the large and old-fashioned dining room, high-ceilinged, with a capacity for seating 40 people. You could easily be mistaken for being in an old antique shop here. On one side, a huge 100 year-old Survey Map fills the wall, while the other side is adorned by sculptures of Bach and Beethoven. �We had Mozart and Hendel too, but the monkeys got to them,� laughs Homi.

A grand old piano at one end of the room is the place where the festivities and merrymaking was centered during the olden days. �We used to gather around it and sing,� remembers Zenobia. �That was the sort of thing that girls did back then,� she adds. Her brother-in-law Homi has his own memory to share. �I remember when the piano once needed repairs, a few men were called in to pull it out of its corner, but it just wouldn�t budge. Then someone pried the lid open and to everyone�s surprise there was a whole lot of vintage liquor hidden inside. That was what was making it so heavy. Apparently it was brought in from an old mansion on the hill and someone had tucked away that booty in there and forgotten it,� he chortles. Cut back to the present day, the piano is devoid of any liquor and the action during festive times has shifted to the pool and garden area where barbeques and games are held several times a week.

The garden and its surroundings are a nature lover�s paradise � you will see the most beautiful plants here. For example, there is the Indian Laburnum, which has been predicting the onset of the monsoon in Matheran for years, sprouting leaves just before the season arrives. There are also clusters of the leafy syngoniums, a native plant of South Africa, purple Verbennas, Black-eyed Suzys, the Dog Rose and the Madhumalti.

Homi points out to the Wild Fig Tree, in which he has had many a hide-and-seek game during his boyhood days. It is also a food tree of the Indian Flying Bat and if you are a guest at Lords at night, you must come to the garden and quietly watch it fly in. The valley side and valley facing rooms are here, dearer than the rest, but worth it for the beautiful view one gets from them.

Lillian Carter, mother of ex -President Jimmy Carter once stayed at Lords, when she visited Matheran. In a letter to her family dated October 9, 1967 she mentions, among other things �I am the only �rich American� here, I have been getting deluxe service and I�m just going to relax and enjoy it. I have two buckets of hot water every morning. I sit on a stool in a sink which has a drain, and use one bucket to soap myself, then pour the other over me to rinse � it�s the best and cleanest bath I�ve ever had.�

Not much has changed since then at Lord�s. Except it has been refurbished and got that much better.

Like the winged-horse Pegasus, a lovely white mansion sprawls over a heavily foliaged area of Matheran. Just take the road leading to the Charlotte Lake and you�ll get here. Part of the Neemrana Group of Hotels, the Verandah in The Forest, is where Bombay�s movers and shakers which include filmstars and businessmen come to spend a few quiet and peaceful days.

There are 11 rooms to choose from: Sassoon, Petit, Peerbhoy, Chenoy, Elphinstone, Shankershet, Kotwal, Jehangir, Jeejeebhoy, Panday and Kapadia. In each of the rooms you�ll find lovely old wood furniture � a four poster bed, an almirah and beautiful tiles; taking you back to the times of yore!

�Simone Tata�s favourite is the Petit Room, and Aamir Khan, Lara Dutta and Kelly Dorjee always choose the Elphinstone Room� informs manager Surendra Singh, with the air of one who has let out a guarded secret. I�m trying hard to stifle a smile. It�s so evident to see that the primary reason why this verdant hideout is such a success. It is as luxuriuos as it is warm and homely. And its got a classic touch to it!

In fact, I discover there are no TVs and no telephones in any of the rooms, just one in the manager�s office. That�s a step further to get as far away as possible from the daily grind.

The Verandah is in the able hands of Francis Wacziarg (who mainly lives in Delhi) and Aman Nath. These are ecologically sensitive hoteliers with the right taste for hospitality, who saw potential in the Barr House, the forgotten property of the Dubashes, a well-known Parsi family of Bombay. With much devotion and hard work, they restored the Barr House to its former glory, retaining beautiful vestiges of the past. For instance, in the huge dining room you will see priceless antiques, chaises and diwans and rows of photographs � all owned by the Dubash family. The room is named after Malet, who is supposed to have discovered Matheran and who built the first bungalow there. Between meal times, it�s peaceful and quiet and if you strain your ears, somewhere in the distance you may here the faint clink of the cooks� spoons, as they prepare for the next repast.

The chefs prepare kheema pao here. What�s more, The Verandah also bakes its own biscuits � which are flower-shaped and with just right amount of sweetness. If you are staying there for a while, do give the cook a days� notice to prepare a chocolate cake. He can whip up the most delicious delights � in the creamy and sponge varieties, something all Verandah loyalists have patronised time and again.

Malet leads into the hall which has I think, the tallest, longest, highest, ceiling that goes on forever. The manager laughs at my awe. �The Verandah in the Forest has a domestic ceiling that is as high as 40 feet,� he says with pride. I do a quick calculation. That is 12 metres or three floors high! A few cupboards are advertise the Neemrana brand of teas, cosmetics and toiletries, which I learn are popular with foreign guests who visit here. There�s a shower wash with Madurai Jasmine and Mogra, as well as one with Mashobra wild honey and vanilla and a hair cream with coconut and Indian hibiscus. One can also buy lovely fruit jams and preserves that come from their orchards in Uttaranchal. In the far end, a CD player looks like a fish out of water, but is borne out of demand, I learn.

The piece-de-resistance at the Verandah, the place which sees the Verandah�s guests assemble at the start and end of each day, is its hexagonal verandah � roomy, airy and spaciously set. There are planter chairs to lounge about in, wicker rocking chairs and chaise longues. You can easily get the feeling of being at an old English club, where burra sahibs were served by liveried staff.

I settle into a reclining arm chair, the expanse of green before me and am promptly served a cool glass of lemonade. If the Verandah was built in 1852, could it have been more rustic or more beautiful, I thought. My mind is trying to comprehend where the magnificent and warm Dubash family getaway ended and where the hotel began. I can�t really tell, and that is the wonder of it all.

Come evening and you�ll find most of the young crowd making their way to one place. It�s Khan�s. Bang in the middle of the bazaar, Khan�s is one of the oldest hotels of Matheran, having started in 1861. It resembles a fortress, with a high red brick wall and a steep staircase that leads up to the main restaurant. So if you�re in the bazaar, there�s no way you can miss it.

The hotspot that sees a buzz of tourists is the recently-launched Hookahs-N-Tikkas split-level restaurant done up in marble and mirrors and with a pretty fountain too! That�s a far cry from what Khans started out as, informs Ibrahim Karim Khan, fourth generation owner of the hotel. His sons, Ashraf, an MBA from Hyderabad and Imran, a Hotel Management graduate from Dadar Catering College run the show. All the rooms are quite comfortable and you can expect excellent food, though you find that the prices are on the higher side.

The hookahs and tikkas are what most youngsters go for, to add some fun to their holiday. The hot, succulent kebabs served here making a great accompaniment.

Fancy is not the word that describes Divadkar�s. Rather it is comfortable and homely. From laundered clothes flapping outside the road-facing rooms, to the noisy bustle from the happy vacationers that dot its garden and caf�, this is simplicity served on a platter. So if you�re not one to give much of a thought to luxury and opulence, this is the place for you.

And for food, Divadkar�s is tops! Kande Bhajiya and other Maharashtrian delights are what you will get here, in a sit down canteen-like restaurant. Have your meals either indoors where tables seat up to 15 people each, or in the privacy of the small but open verandah that each of the cottage-style rooms have.

Another accomodation in the heart of Matheran is Gujarat Bhavan Hotel. While it�s reasonable and offers vegetarian food, there�s also a jacuzzi and baby pool here.

If you�re on shoestring budget, there�s nothing to worry. The choices are aplenty for you. Here are some alternatives. Hotel Panorama, Janata Hotel, Hotel Vanashree, Laxmi Hotel, Hotel Prasanna and Nerurkar�s Wood Side Hotel.

Other high-end places to stay are: The Byke, Brightlands Hotel, Rugby Hotel, Hotel Anand Ritz, Kumar Plaza, Usha Ascot and Richie Rich.

For information on the hill station call:
Matheran MTDC: 02148- 230277.

Other numbers

Lord�s Central
Matheran: 02148 - 230228.
Mumbai office: 26106978.

Verandah In The Forest: 02148-230296

Khan�s: 02148 - 230240, 230244

Divadkar�s Hotel: 02148 - 230223
Mumbai office: 24094862.