The Serai, Kabini, Nagarhole.

The Serai at Kabini runs like a well oiled machine. The hotel has got everything right from the word Go. Awesome location with superb river view from all the rooms. No villages surround the property. Earlier the hotel was known as Kapila. Kapila is the name of the river and Kabini is another river. They both merge into river Kaveri. Nagarhole forest and these rivers are entwined.
The property was then called The Cicada which is only sound you hear in the nights. The group which runs the Cafe Coffee Day chain in India has taken over. I understand the group has some political backing. But the professionalism in the property is admirable.

I do not feel like using the word 'Resort' for The Serai. Resorts in my mind and in India are these noisy hotels with even noisier restaurants. All 'wannabe' crowd wants to flock to these resorts and make much noise. The Serai has a calm and serene energy about it. They have made / renovated the hotel along with nature. So unlike the orange huge garish structure of the Orange County, which one can see on the other side of the river. The lighting in the whole property is dim, keeping in mind its location in the forest reserve. The general manager of The Serai, I overheard, is from Mumbai. The rooms were cozy and the best part was no television in any of the rooms. There are interesting oars put up on the room walls keeping in mind Nagarhole. Even the cane furniture had forest green upholstery. The house keeping team did a great job with the room which was completely turned upside down by the kids. The rain shower has a glass roof where the sunlight poured in. All windows could open easily which is so rare in hotels these days.

The lobby is a unique bungalow which you come in after a long drive into the property. It has a viewing terrace or a deck. There is a bonfire lit for the guests at around eight pm. Nothing loud about it. No crazy DJ playing foot thumping numbers. Instead every evening, the banquet hall showed wildlife documentary films and a new one every day of your stay. The conference halls are in a small bungalow and the spa in a different bungalow far away from the rooms. The spa is close to the river. We were taken for a free corachel ride and it a was so much fun. The corachel is a small round boat built with bamboo. We sat and the guide cum naturalist took us for a spin.The boat spins as it is round and it spins real fast. Its like being a 'top' in the middle of water. The naturalist Shiva took me on a nature trail in spite of me being the only guest for it. He spotted a red rat snake which is considered lucky by the villagers. We walked the path of the cattle to the water. He explained trees and plants and so much about the Nagarhole forest.

The restaurant had food and fresh always. The staff warm and courteous every moment and to every one. When we came back from the land or water safari at 6.30 pm, there was hot tea/coffee and hot snacks awaiting.Masala Maggi and french fries for the children, vegetable pakoras for the adults and plain yellow khichdi, in case you had a small baby along and needed to be fed before an early night. The attention to detail was something all hotels can learn from. They even provide hot tea and coffee from 5 am for guests going on the morning safari. All this in spite of tea/coffee makers in each room.

The Spa was clear in their communication and their price list. If a treatment was for 60 minutes, it meant 60 minutes of the actual massage or scrub. The changing of clothes, steam, shower etc was not included in it. Clear instructions that if a guest comes later than his/her appointment time, it will be lesser treatment time for him/her.I liked the fact that they respect the other guests who come on time.

Every process at the hotel worked so smooth that the guest never experiences a hitch or a discomfort. The library was full of books on nature,wildlife and history. I asked for some fiction and books written by women centric authors were provided. Just a happy staff results in a happy Guest experience. Completely non intrusive service.
Kudos to Team Serai!




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