It was when I opened the door to our room that I felt ecstatic. A huge
glass window was revealed when we opened the heavy draperies. And it felt like
there’s no barrier between the great view of the Himalayas and our cozy room.
Frankly, I didn’t wanna leave the comforts of Hotel Orchid Pokhara. But when we’re
offered to check out Hotel Grand Holiday, we couldn’t refuse.
We packed our bags and were assisted by the staff to transfer to this
hotel which is approximately a good 10-minute walk from our previous refuge.
Checking in was easy and we were greeted and assisted by the staff to our room
for the night.
We had the Standard Triple Room which has the basic amenities; three
single beds, a T.V. set, a fan cooler (which we didn’t use for the chilly
weather kept us under the thick duvets forever), and an en suite toilet and
bathroom with 24-hour hot and cold shower; nothing fancy actually, just the
basic stuff (check here for discounted room rates).
We went out on the corridor to check out the view from there and then thought of climbing up the rooftop area. We were surprised with the perfect view of the Himalayas and the Phewa Lake from that viewpoint (check for discounted tours in Pokhara here). It was so picturesque and if not for the freezing weather I could probably stayed there longer and just enjoyed the view.
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| The rooftop with the best view of the Himalayas and the Phewa Lake |
Me and my buddy were so thrilled that we immediately got ready for that rendezvous
and met with the owner at the restaurant.
We chitchatted for a while and then he offered us the menu for dinner.
We scanned the list and gazed at each other for we really wanted everything on
it. I then asked the gracious host if he could probably just choose the best
dish that’s typical for Nepalis. He obliged and got us a Traditional Khana Set and some
Plain Lassi (which we already tried
at Kathmandu).
After a few minutes, the food arrived and it was as grand as I imagined
it to be. The Khana Set was nice; the curried vegetables, the soup, the meat
and the yogurt dip were all complementing each other. It was so overwhelming
and filling that when we’re offered more servings our eyes bulged as we’re
really full.
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| Plain Lassi |
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| Traditional Khana Set |
We bid our goodbyes and went back to our room and snoozed like we’ve
trekked the Base Camp of Mount Everest. It was such a comfortable slumber.
Waking up the next day, I was excited to go up the rooftop and see if the
snow-capped Himalayas would show itself up again (like it did in Hotel Orchid).
Though it didn’t, we just spent that chilly morning just watching the birds and
the lake and the mountain ranges. We asked for a pot of Nepali Milk Coffee and
enjoyed it on the rooftop.
A breakfast meal was included in our stay so we asked for the simplest
Nepali meal of some toast, curried potatoes and some omelette with, again,
Nepali Milk Coffee.
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| Restaurant |
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| Our hearty breakfast with my favorite Nepali Milk Coffee |
We were about to leave the hotel when the front desk officer asked us to
sign a greeting to be posted on a wall. We were scanning the greetings when we
saw two Filipino guests who stayed there two weeks ahead of us with their huge
banner of appreciation and greeting posted on the wall. We were ecstatic and
filled the paper with so much love and doodles and greetings and shoutouts to
everyone.
Hotel Grand Holiday
Pokhara (book online for discounted room rates)
Peaceful Street, Lakeside Gaurighat,
Pokhara, Nepal
Contact Numbers: (+977) 61.462.967
Email Address: info@hotelgrandholiday.com
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