Tall Trees Resort, Manali – Review

Contributor: Devyani Chauhan

For our holiday to Manali, being an impromptu one, my husband and I had hardly any time to go through the myriad list of some 30 plus places to stay in Manali reflecting on our computer screen. Choosing an apt place to stay with your family can become quite a task, never-ending, confusing and an exhausting one.

We had less than a week’s time though to finalise our holiday abode in Manali, what with our kids and things in mind first and foremost about them, about the things they can do and to be in a place most child-friendly was our top most priority. Having said that, when we stumbled upon this property called the Tall Trees Resort, there was an instant click or an intuition one could call it that this had to be it. This had to be our abode for our 5 days in Manali.

Stretched on a large expanse of land, the Tall Trees Resort, as the name suggests sat in the midst of oak and pine trees, so patent of the hilly areas, so large and looming was their presence that it could make you forget how small you and your problems could be. Yes, that’s what nature can do to you if you can succumb to it and let yourself be found by it, but only at the end of the journey.

With the Beas river flowing parallel to the property, its gushing sound and its strong flow kept me gasping each time my eyes set upon it. And there was nothing more I wanted or needed at that time than to sit in silence and absorb all those sounds that nature offered most unabashedly.

Tall Trees Resort offered an option between its luxury cabins or the more rustic option of the tents. Now when I say tents, they’re nothing like those tiny spaces of conical cloth where you can’t even stand properly, but a full-fledged space as good as a room with ample area to sprawl about with your family. What’s best is that you had also the choice to split your stay between the two and experience the best parts of living in both. What struck me most about this place, was that how tastefully it was done up. It had the most simple bare minimum decor, giving you the feel of a hotel, and yet retaining that homely touch you sometimes miss when on a holiday.

Cute little lamps and chimes adorned the trees and plants giving the place the most ethereal appearance. In my mind, I think heaven had to be as green as this place. Only then would it be heaven for me. A small make do badminton set, stood right below our cabin where the kids and I have to admit I too charged our athletic sides. Of course, we had to do that, for all that sumptuous, delicious food to be used constructively. It was a place where one could eat to their

It was a place where one could eat to their heart’s content. Not only the food but the ambience did that to you perhaps. It had the most friendly restaurant, again a place that made you comfortable instantly. With unusual jars and bottles enhancing the shelves, cosy furnishings and small yet the most tastefully chosen collection of some books and novels. For me, it seemed like this place was made with me in mind. It was just so “Me”.

We jostled our way almost every day to the campsite for which we had to manoeuvre through a small stretch of wilderness, in the midst of the sounds of swishing leaves and cooing birds hurtling at you. Not to forget the small fishing expedition that this resort offers you at the camp side to try a hand at catching the area’s most famous fresh trout. Oh well, new experiences are what one should live for and this place, in its most special way gives you those, to live and cherish forever.

A very important ingredient to a property run successfully is through the staff it comprises. With my kids’ constant hunger pangs and their usual fuss, the staff handled it all so well, never once with any kind of irritation escaping from them, but with an ever smiling friendliness. From the housekeeping ladies to the kitchen staff, the guests were made to feel no hesitation to ask for any errands.

All of the above almost sums up my stay at the Tall Trees Resort. In spite of the fact that I have never been an acute nature lover, it surely was my beginning to becoming one. Maybe another time, and hopefully soon, I will find myself wandering about again in those pastures I so fondly hold in my heart.

Photo & text: Devyani Chauhan

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