Family break in Mysuru

Dhruv treats Prisha and the kids to a family holiday at a 5-star hotel in Mysuru thanks to a Red Hot Rooms offer.

I was watching the kids run circles around Prisha as she tried to prepare dinner last Tuesday. The permanent smile on her face was starting to show its cracks and she looked tired. It was high time I intervened. I put on my scariest “angry father” face and commanded the children to join me in my office, we needed to talk.

Three simple steps

Instead of a lecture, I gave them a quick lesson in “How To Book A Holiday (in Three simple steps)”.

• Step one: Log in to the Accor Plus website.
• Step two: Scroll through the enticing offers
• Step three: Click to book.

We struggled to contain our excitement at the dinner table that evening. The secret we now shared was bursting to get out. Alisha and Deepak couldn’t stop giggling, which Prisha noted was a welcome change from the constant bickering. She knew something was up, but I could tell she didn’t want to spoil the surprise, so she played along when Deepak offered to clear the table and fetch dessert. He left with one dirty plate and came back immediately with an envelope (the sponge cake had been forgotten). Before he could even hand it to his mother, Alisha was explaining that they had chosen to use red pens to decorate the envelope because they had clicked on a Red Hot Rooms offer. I caught Prisha’s eye and knew I had done the right thing.

I’ll admit I may have guided the kids’ choice when selecting the Red Hot Rooms offer for two Deluxe Rooms at Grand Mercure Mysore. I’ve stayed there already on business and vowed I’d come back one day with the wife and kids so we could visit the nearby zoo together. I love zoos, but the kids have never really shared my enthusiasm for them. I wanted to create a few happy zoo memories together on this trip.

Fun for the whole family

One thing we all love is a good swimming pool. And according to the reviews, this hotel has one of the best rooftop pools in Mysuru. The first thing we did after dropping off our bags in our rooms was to head up to the roof for a dip. Prisha and I shared our first cocktail of the weekend together, then she read her book and I joined the kids for some fun in the pool.

As we were splashing around pretending to be dolphins, I saw Prisha wander off towards the spa. I correctly assumed we wouldn’t be seeing her again for a while, so I dried the kids off, took them back to the room for some quiet time in front of the TV, and ordered some snacks from the room service menu.

Prisha came back from the spa looking relaxed and somewhat younger, if that’s possible. She was also just in time to get ready for our meal at By the Blue, the extraordinary rooftop restaurant at Grand Mercure Mysore. We like to get dressed up together, so I made sure we had reason to do so during our stay.

Alisha and Deepak were on their best behaviour, they really made us proud. And they weren’t afraid to test everything on the menu, which featured an eclectic mix of North Indian cuisine. As I was able to use my Accor Plus dining discount, I decided to book us a table for the following night also.

A day at the Zoo

I had set my alarm to 8 am, but I woke up at 6.30, before the kids even, eager to start the day. As I patiently waited for my family to stir, visions of zebras, tigers and giraffes swam through my head. Today was the day for Mysore Zoo! First stop: the buffet breakfast at La Uppu. I don’t think we’ve ever spent so much time together at the breakfast table before. The buffets were so tempting, we just kept going back for more. We filled up so much, we didn’t need a proper meal at the zoo and were able to make the most of the lunchtime hours with the animals when everyone else was lining up for food.

I don’t know about the kids, maybe they’ll write about this trip in their own blogs someday, but I was enchanted by our day at the zoo. And I think (hope) Prisha was too. She insisted she had a lovely time. What’s certain is that our family getaway in Mysuru was exactly what was needed to put a smile back on everyone’s face.