Ravine Hotel, Panchgani
Ravine Hotel
Sydney Point, Wai-Panchgani Road, Panchgani 412805
Mob: 0 96072 22244 / 96732 22244
Text: Farzana Contractor
The location of Ravine couldn’t get any better. Perched on the edge of the mountain, just after the Toll Naka, as you enter Panchgani. You can’t miss it. The large vertical signage on the turn ensures that. Besides, it sits charmingly at the base of the iconic Sydney Point
And the view, ah the view! Awesome. Of hills in the distance, wonderful sunsets, a landscape dotted with clusters of old-world villages and a winding river, Krishna, and the Dhoom Dam which actually makes a good picnic spot, if you could go there for a drive, with a food hamper from Ravine, via Wai nestling below.
The 3-star certified property grew organically over the years. From modest rooms to luxury rooms, even luxury tents – Prince, Queen, Empress, a spa, Serenity, a fab restaurant, Melting Pot, aptly serving a cross section of cuisines, both Indian and international. The best has to be their tennis courts. On the mountain top! You couldn’t find more picturesque tennis courts anywhere in India! So much fun to play in such a setting.
It’s also a wedding destination, with a banquet hall and a large dedicated lawn overlooking the view. Would be memorable to exchange vows and rings at such a location.
The Ravine is a family-run hotel. Professionally, of course, but with a lot of personal touches. It has been the brain child of Bismillah Sunesra, the matriarch who doesn’t just have a green thumb, she has green fingers, and all of them are always in soil. She loves plants and trees and that is apparent wherever you turn to look. She continues to be totally hands-on but has great support from her son Javed and his son Hisham, who incidentally loves baking and serves up the most amazing cookies, at Ravine for sure, but also through his outlet in Bombay, branded under Cookie Cartel.
Ravine holds a special place in my heart, because before Ravine even got built, we, as children in the '60s, used to romp all over the same hillside, playing Hide and Seek and Catching the Crook and singing and reenacting songs like Do-Re-Mi. To us kids, it was paradise, our 'Sound of Music'!