Add A Healing Touch to Post Pandemic Resort Experience

Post-Covid Hospitality & Travel

Be it a tiger safari, sightseeing, or cultural experience the visitors expect a lot. Yes, a lot of warmth and care, and in post-covid-19 travel, a lot of hygiene and SOPs are in place. Whether it is a budget lodge or a high-end resort the new normal is to prevent coronavirus infection.    

This calls for intense hygiene most of the premium hospitality businesses would feel offended by this statement. But believe me, this is hygiene with a difference it includes paraphernalia like masks and gloves. The thermal scanner is here to stay. As the new normal lays stress on hygiene, personal care cannot be neglected. Frequent bathing and regular hand washing with soap or sanitizer have become not a practice but an imperative. How can you as a resort staff keep the property clean & disinfected, and not self-cleanse often?

The lodges have been burdened with a lot of extras as regards chemicals, clothing, cleaning, and washing paraphernalia. The new normal may be a fun spoiler a bit if you experience the social distancing it imposes, and thus prevents get-togethers and partying...the feeling of being safe is itself exhilarating with the chances of infection peeking in from unknown quarters completely negated. 

Courtyard House Kanha

Those willing to wager travel in this period would be brave souls willing to leave the sanctity of their homes and experience the World like they did before. This is sort of a community initiative or lending a helping hand these are the clients who should be treated with hand in gloves literary speaking. They would expect greater warmth and care while the SOPs post-pandemic would be an assurance. They are here to revive the hotel industry.

Hence true travel professionals and accommodation providers would pay heed to this. In the post, covid hospitality paradigm disposal and scant use have become the norm. Although this goes against the principles of economic use, prevention of infection from one guest to another is a practice that carries weight now. Greater.

Disposing of desk and bathroom accessories that cannot be cleaned or recycled has to be done without hesitation. This applies to all the paraphernalia that guests before departure may have come into contact.

The contact spaces with the reach of wandering guests, hosts, and staff need frequent sanitation using disinfectant. The luxury suite, or rooms, bathrooms, balconies, sit-outs, and passages all need to be disinfected frequently. Even the library books and reading tables need a dose of disinfectant. There are lots of chemicals that are going to be used. This use of chemicals is not a good or Eco-friendly new normal, but as long as the contingency prevails that practice remains.

Travelers not in groups will have to be kept at a distance at the coffee table and dining. Even during safari or excursion sharing cannot be possible. The guest distancing norms are set as post pandemic SOPs but the imperative lies with the guests themselves.

Organizing the best stay experience which is sound and safe is the way forward now. Offering the best thrills and frills during the heritage or nature experience is imperative for successful operations. Deliver the best to the guests not only for a perfect holiday but for their social media content and memories that will last a lifetime.
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Uday is a naturalist, and a writer, and loves to blog on travel and wildlife.
He provides SEO Services and Website Content in English.
He Teaches Internet Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer
Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323

Pachmarhi A Pristine Holiday Retreat

Pachmarhi Resort 

As the taxi negotiates agonizing twists and turns of the rugged climb I look at the changing landscape - astounding verdant greenery. We are negotiating the Matkuli Hill Range and driving up towards the Pachmarhi Township. Nestled in the Satpura Range Pachmarhi is part of the Satpura Biosphere Reserve which encompasses Satpura National Park and Bori Wildlife Sanctuary.    

Hilly Landscape

The sharp turns and twists, and the deep glens we leave behind make me dizzy, and my innards shaky. You are conscious of a fatal slip but the driver is at ease and that is comforting. 

Pachmarhi Hillside

We stop at Denwa Darshna the mountain river which intersects the biosphere reserve.  From the dizzy precipice, the river looks like a snake wriggling through steep walls of ancient mountains. The boulder-strewn pathway gives way to fine sand-filled beaches, and the waters sparkle brightly in the sunlight. This is our first introduction to this pristine paradise. 

Unspoiled and in a perfect state of preservation, Pachmarhi was saved from the axe by its notification as a wildlife sanctuary, and being a Cantt it was saved from rapid urbanization. Unlike other holiday resorts in India, the destination is untouched, unspoiled, and charming albeit tourist pressure and township reconstruction have a telling effect in a small area, but nevertheless, it still is one of the finest retreats in India. 

Shrub

Daru Haldi Exotic Shrub a painkiller of note

The most stunning and captivating waterfall I find here is the Silver Falls. Not yet motorable, one has to trek through dense forests to reach the fall. The misty cascade created by the seven hundred feet drop to the enigmatic valley below gives rise to a silver curtain and hence the name. On the way, we come across a paleolithic cave with paintings dating back to 20000 years. The next stop is at the Fairy Pool, crystal clear and absolutely still, the pool is fed by an enchanting spring that emerges from the forest clads mountains.  Other interesting places to follow are Handi Cove, Bee Falls, Irene Pool, and Reechgarh Caves. There are more...     

Pool

Reechgarh

On one visit you realize that terrain was in a constant state of upheaval for ages with forest-clad mountains dotting all over the surroundings. Incidentally, the highest point in Madhya Pradesh is Dhoopgarh about nine km from the township. The hill rises steeply to a height of 1350 MSL. At the top of this mountain sits a quaint resthouse deserted but in a state of preservation. This was the favorite haunt of the British Sahibs during the Raj, and they used to indulge in hunting and revelries best imagined in the summer capital. The destination in the contemporary era is still the summer capital of the MP Government.  

Highest Point Dhoopgarh

Rest House At Dhoopgarh

As you climb up to Dhoopgarh, the vegetation changes giving rise to a distinct ecosystem that supports myriads of life forms, especially migratory birds. Another towering mountain is Chuaragarh with four thousand steps to negotiate if you dare to climb. Atop this mountain sits the temple of Lord Shiva which is a point of pilgrimage for devout Hindus.

View From Dhoopgarh

Milestone at Dhoopgarh

Some of the valleys are deep beyond expectation and are often visited by botanists to explore the goldmines containing rare plants and shrubs. The place contains floral species of immense medicinal value besides being ornamental.     

Pandav Caves

In a small area surrounding the township i.e. the wildlife sanctuary and Satpura Tiger Reserve, there are a number of natural occurrences like waterfalls, pools, glens, mountains, and natural caves. Overriding these iconic spots are cave formations containing Shiva idols, Bade and Chote Mahadev, Jata Shankar, and the Pandava Gufa.

Though overcrowded the township has some of the finest old bungalows stamped with exquisite British Architecture, these are in a perfect state of preservation and inhabited. Some have been turned into hotels like the Golf View Hotel in the periphery. Signs of tourism fatigue are obvious but thankfully limited only to the township.   

Golf View Hotel

The periphery being part of the biosphere is rich in wildlife and leopard sloth bears, sambar, and bison are often encountered by trekkers. An occasional tiger from the reserve finds its way here as well. Due to the varying altitude and immense floral wealth, Pachmarhi is soon to become a birding hotspot. One small trek we came across contained more than twenty five species and a fresh pawprint of a tiger.  

Tiger Paw Print Pachmarhi

There are many resorts in Pachmarhi Township, and some luxurious properties owned by MPTDC in the outskirts for accommodation. Street food joints are in plenty along with small shopping centers.

The hills station lies near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. It is five hour drive from Jabalpur Airport and is also accessible from Bhopal Airport. It lies at a drive of two hours from Satpura Tiger Reserve entrance at Madai.

By Rail: Stoppage at Piparia Station ( 3 hrs from Jabalpur) and one hour drive uphill to the township.