Staying at Cloud9 Hills Resort Lonavala

We stayed at Cloud9 resort for 3 nights (arrived on a Sunday morning and departed early on Wednesday morning). We got a discount as we had booked for 6 people for the 3 nights, so do ask about special discounts when booking. The tariff was extremely reasonable & included breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

Accommodation at Cloud9 Hills Resort 

We booked a garden-facing cottage with an interconnecting door between the 2 rooms (103 & 104). 

Each room has a spacious double bed, two chairs, a table and a sofa-cum-bed. On one side of the double bed there is a small table with a tray of 2 mugs, a tray with 2 glasses and a jug of water, an electric kettle and sachets of tea/coffee & sweeteners. On the other side is the intercom-telephone. Both side tables have drawers. 

Double Bed

Sofa pulled out into bed on floor

Electric Kettle, Water Jug on side Table

Facing the bed are 2 large curtained windows between which is the LED TV. There is also small dressing table with a wall mirror and a large soft cube-shaped seat in front of it. 

Dressing Table, Windows, TV

The side curtained window near the sofa as well as the main door face the front to give beautiful views of the distant mountain range. 


 

View from the Doorway

View from the Window

Concealed ceiling lights and pretty pink wall lamps give a soft glow at nightfall. The fan had pretty gold trimmings. You have to put your key in the slot in the switchboard when you enter so it switches on the lights, fan, etc.

Room Lighting

 

The bathroom has a wash basin with mirror & overhead light, the WC with water faucet & tissue roll and a bathtub with hand-holds. The bathtub is screened off by a curtain. In the bathtub was placed a low flat plastic stool with a cheerful green bucket for filling the water for bathing. Hot & cold water taps and a shower were the fittings near the bath tub. An exhaust fan is a useful addition. 

Wash Basin

WC, Bath Tub, Exhaust fan in window

Curtained-off bath tub

Just outside the bathroom is a wooden closet cupboard with a drawer and open space beneath it. The closet had 4 hangers. The wood, as helpfully mentioned on the inside of the door, is pine wood.

Cupboard outside bathroom

The resort does not provide toothpaste in the bathroom so remember to bring your own! It is also advisable to bring your own bathing soap as the tiny medimix soap bars provided are not sufficient really to have a proper bath. Small satchets of Vatika shampoo are also provided, but we did not need them. 

The problem with the bath tub is that the senior citizens in our group could not climb up into them. It would be good if the resort management provided a high stool for elderly guests in the bathroom. Also, the water pressure is low. Hence, we have to wait a good 10-15 minutes for the water to become hot enough to our liking. So if you are in a hurry & have little patience, you will have to be satisfied with barely lukewarm water.

3 towels for bathing and one hand towel were provided. However, one of

Towel Rack

the towels had some brown spot on it. It would be good if the room staff on their own brought fresh towels for the next day rather than waiting for us to have to call for fresh ones.

There is an intercomm phone to call up the reception for any assistance or to call up the restaurant for room service. However, there is no card listing the numbers to call. 

The bed sheets, blankets and pillow covers were clean. One of my pillows, though, was a bit shabby. Also, it would be a good idea to have provision for more firm pillows too. Not everybody is used to extra soft pillows and a sprained neck is not what we want, especially when on vacation!

The plastic chairs were surprisingly of very good quality and not some tacky affair. My aunt especially was thrilled with the chairs as they were of the right height for her (post-TKR op., low seating is tough on her). 

Room Tips

• No need really to pay the higher tariff for the hill top view cottages. You can get a view of the hills from any of the cottages facing the garden too.
• If you take a hill top view cottage, be prepared for a good 10 minute walk to the restaurant. Of course, you can always order room service for an extra charge.
• If you take a hill top view cottage, keep a constant eye on kids from wandering around on their own too close to the railings.
• If there are elderly people in your group, take the cottages directly in front of the gate so that less climbing is needed. Do not take rooms in the cottage on the hill top for elderly people, as it involves climbing up a flight of steep steps (there is a railing though) and is way distant from the restaurant.

Suggestions to the Resort Management

• Put a railing for the steps leading up to the cottage door.
• Fix lights outside the cottage. While all other cottages had small white lights outside the door, ours (103 & 104) did not, making the area dark.
• After guests leave and before the next guests arrive, keep all the room windows open and the door too to let in fresh air. Room 103 when opened had a stuffy, stale smell. 

The rooms were comfortable and bright, with great views of the distant hill tops and the moon rise.