A weekend getaway to Beyond @ Sula vineyards
You know how there are certain things in life that make you wonder how fast time flies. I just didn't realize how quickly a year of my marriage passed by. But then when I think about it again it feels like I've been staying with my husband since forever. Weird!
So to celebrate our first wedding anniversary we wanted to take a short trip. A weekend trip actually not very far from Mumbai as we were both a little short on our leaves. I've always wanted to go to Sula Vineyards as I love wines. And Sula is the only full fledged vineyard we have in India that also has an accompanying resort stay facility. So what better ocassion to go there than our wedding anniversary.
Travel
It just a 4 hour drive away from Mumbai a few kms away from Nashik. The earlier one leaves the better to avoid the 11 am traffic on the highways. The resort had provided with the map so finding the place was not difficult. We hired an Indigo with a driver through MakemyTrip for INR 4400 for 2 days return trip.
Pool at Beyond
Accomodation
"Beyond" is Sula's in house resort. It is just 3 kms away from the Vineyard. This 29 room resort is contemporary and luxurious. Has a pool, spa, gym and a cafe/restaurant. They also have a 3 bedroom villa with a private pool for people travelling in groups. Since, it was a special occasion we booked their best room i.e. the Luxury Suite (INR 10500 per night;weekend charges). The price includes breakfast and a complimentary vinery tour and wine tasting session. Our room did live upto it's name, there was a separate living room with a huge sitout that faced the lake and the swimming pool. The interiors were minimal, modern and elegant. The bathroom had a nice tub with some amazing toiletries from Nature's Co.
View from our room
Things to do
Since, we were there only for the weekend almost just a day, we couldn't really do much except for plunge in the pool, and the complimentary wine tasting session that the resort offered. We were also planning for a spa visit to relax our sore muscles from the hard week's work. But they were fully booked for that day. We also used their gym the next day morning. Thus, there were enough things for us to be occupied for the day.The wine tasting session was brief and something that is meant for novices. If you know your dessert from the red wine than this session is not meant for you.
Winery tour
Since it is a stand alone resort all the activities are restricted to vineyards or the resort. The resort provides for cycles for people who want to go to the winery on cycle or just ride around for a little bit. One can also enjoy the cool weather n the evening by going for a walk to the lake nearby.
Food & Drink
The breakfast spread was good. It wasn't a large spread but had most of the regular items like live omlette counter, parathas, some south indian fare, tea, coffee, juices, fruits etc. For the rest of the meals, they have three options Cafe Rose which is within the resort and Little Italy and Soma (North Indian fare) that are at the vineyards. We had one meal each at all the 3 restaurants and liked the food at Cafe Rose the best. The meals were not more than Rs 500 per person.
Wine shopping
Since the wines are produced in house they are very reasonably priced. We even shopped for 4 bottles and the total price we paid was only INR 1600.
My overall experience
A lot of people only do day trips to the vineyards as the stay is on the costlier side which is also a good option when one is just looking forward to checking out the vineyards, enjoy some wine the nature and save up on the cost.As I mentioned earlier, this is not a place for a full fledged vacation, not even a place meant for a lot of activities. Choose this place only if you are looking out for a nice relaxed weekend getaway. We felt we could've easily stayed for a day more to make our trip more relaxed as we had to travel for 4-5 hours on each of the days. The resort is a good option when you are in the mood to celebrate something special or just splurge some money and pamper yourself.
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