On some long weekends, all that you want to do is sleep-in till noon, unapologetically binge on a big buffet, take a siesta as long as a movie, wake up to take a dip in the pool. Then you want to nurse a drink and dive into a buffet dinner and crash onto your bed to watch the thousandth rerun of The Bang Bang Theory on the flat screen TV. All this while you toss and turn on a white, fluffy bed with just the remote and smart phone in hand. That’s when you feel like clicking a selfie and telling the world what a #BlessedLife you lead. If that sounds like your dream weekend this summer, perhaps the staycation offer at Novotel Hyderabad Airport hotel at Shamshabad comes pretty close to it.
Room service
“The hotel is located at a distance that qualifies for a long drive enough to make you forget home, but not so far that you need another day to rest after the drive. That we are 30 km from the heart of the city works to our advantage especially for those who plan for a weekend stay,” says Harshvardhan Dengwekar, the hotel’s marketing manager.
The staycation here is typically a 22-hour deal (2 pm check in and 12 noon check out, more leeway on Sundays) with a mix of activities on offer. The full-service five-star hotel in the backyard of the airport (500 metres) has 305 rooms including 11 suites. The hotel offers free Wi-Fi in the room and in all the other areas in the premises.
Food and drink
The Square restaurant, designed with Asian and European influences, serves buffet thrice a day (a la carte too) and leaves no one hungry. Even if you hit the sack at 6 am and want to eat something at 4 pm, you won’t be disappointed. The weekend dinners boast of specialties such as Ancho Chile Octopus, Harissa zucchini, chilli garlic drumsticks and cilantro lime babycorn. There are a variety of live counters (pasta, noodles, rice, dosa, Indian breads) and a mix of Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Continental food. ‘The Bar’ serves cocktails, wines, shooters, spirits and beer from 9 am to 3 am. Breakfast is complimentary for staycation guests. Guests visiting before June 30 also get to enjoy The Street Food Festival (Fridays only) which lines up the best street fare from the across the globe. The specially-crafted menu lets the guests explore typical street food from patti samosa, talla gosht, to shawarma and pita pockets.
Outdoor fun
The outdoor swimming pool facing the restaurant with the sun deck is for those who want to splash in the water or just read a book on the lounge chair. While there are no on-duty guards, there are floats for those who can’t swim in the four-foot deep pool (and a kiddie pool for toddlers). “For family and friend groups, we also organise group activities such as Aqua Zumba, Paintball, Yoga, etc. Plus we are barely five minutes away from the go-karting and game arena in the airport premises. Some guests may want to check that out too,” Dengwekar adds.
Green zone
The hotel also has two bicycles for a free ride around the sprawling six-acre landscaped area (with an art piece made of rock to boot) and it’s a good idea to pedal till the outdoor games arena with sandpit volleyball and basketball court besides a tennis lawn. One can see why corporates love to chill at Novotel Hyderabad Airport. In fact, most corporates come on a Friday, finish their meetings in the first half of the day and then stay on to enjoy the staycation, informs Dengwekar. This helps them balance work and a holiday too. “The tennis court has seen many a weekend tournaments here,” he adds.
Indoor time
For the lazy bones who love their air-conditioned environs, the hotel which is part of the AccorHotel group has an indoor game touch screen console (from TicTacToe, Angry Birds, balloon popping and race cars) to X-Box too (complimentary use for guests). The fully-equipped 24-hour fitness centre with sauna offers all the bench presses, elliptical and treadmills you want. Should you want to forget all forms of exercise that need you to work out on bench presses to burn calories, you can choose the hard bench and enjoy their range of therapies at O2 spa. (Rs 2,744+ onwards).
Oh yes, and should the staycation inspire you to extend the holiday and actually fly away to exotic locales this summer, the hotel provides a check-in through the airline kiosk in their lobby and a drop to the international airport. They seem to have pretty much covered much ground. Don’t forget to carry your passport if you want to try that last thing.
The price is Rs 5,200 plus taxes for two adults and kids up to 16 years of age. The staycation is an
ongoing offer. Details: 66503082