As I drove up the winding road to the reception at Atmantan Luxury Wellness Resort, I looked forward to my second visit here.At first, I was going to write about this trip as a solo traveller but at the last minute, my friend from Mumbai decided to join in along with her mother. My first trip here about forty-five days prior had been with my parents and brother. Needless to say, I had enjoyed my family trip immensely and thus decided to book a second getaway. Being only 90 minutes away from my home in Pune, Atmantan was the ideal place to take a break.

First Impressions

At first glance, the place is lush green with beautifully manicured lawns and gardens  and an aura of peace and calmness. The blue Mulshi lake, vast and still, stretches away to the north. The greenery and resulting fresh air are delightfuand freshen up the traveller immediately on arrival. Nestled in the Sahyadri mountains, this resort is a little slice of paradise. With absolutely no cell phone service, and wifi available only at the reception and in the rooms, you won’t see people on their mobile phones in this place whose motto is ‘disconnect to connect.’ It is a warm place, where everyone greets you with a ‘namaste.’

Check-In

My check-in at around 11am was quick and painless. I was asked to first wash my hands in the bathroom on arrival. The aroma of the soap itself, lavender and patchouli, had me eagerly anticipating the spa treatments that the place is known for. After confirming that I did not have any Covid symptoms and checking my temperature, oxygen saturation and pulse rate, I was ushered to the Welcome Desk where I was handed important instructions for my stay and an activities schedule along with a map of the resort.

Covid precautions

My room was not yet ready due to Atmantan’s policy of cleaning a room post a guest’s departure and then leaving the room untouched and sealed for 24 hours – so as to make it safe for the next guest. In fact, there was a seal on my door when I went to my room for the first time. All guests are mandatorily required to test themselves for Covid by doing an RT-PCR test up to 48 hours prior to arriving at the resort. The staff stay on campus and are tested monthly to add to the overall precautions followed by the resort.

Room

The Arjuna balcony room I stayed in, was spacious and well-appointed. I was in room 134 which is one of the closest rooms to the Wellness Centre, so it was a convenient location. If you get one of the garden rooms, you have to go up and down an extra flight of stairs. Atmantan, being hilly enough as it is, it may be wise to spend for the balcony rooms to avoid the extra effort. Back in my room, the purple décor added an element of fun. The bathroom had marble flooring and a sunken bathtub (with mineral salts for soaking!) along with a shower area. Various types of exotic green tea sat next to the mini-kettle along with two glass bottles of drinking water in the room. I asked for more water bottles and they were promptly delivered to my room. Every day, the housekeeping made sure that I received four bottles of drinking water.

Meals

The meals at Atmantan are vegetarian and a choice of Indian and Western options is offered beautifully plated. The meals are served à la carte with breakfast being a 3-course and lunch and dinner being 4-course affairs. Soup, salad, main course, dessert. Don’t let this fool you though, the portion sizes are small. If you are not on a restricted diet, you can ask for seconds or even thirds. A good tip is to ask for eggs at breakfast as they are not present on the menu.

No tea or coffee is served at the restaurant although they do serve unlimited amounts of the traditional – ‘kaada’ – a hot drink full of herbs and spices which is great for the throat. The meals are served gourmet style and very well presented. I found the meals to be all delicious and appetizing.

Day 1

The first thing to do when arriving at the resort is to take yourself to the Wellness Centre where you’ll undergo a body composition analysis and a medical consultation. I found the meeting with the doctor to be a tad superficial. Ideally, after talking to the doctor about my ‘problems’, they are to recommend customized therapies to suit my needs. Since my basic objective was relaxation, there was nothing per se for the doctor to recommend to me although she did prescribe me supplements to buy from the on-site shop. This is not the case with everyone though and many people who come for weight loss or detox are given specific diets and therapies to follow.

The next step was to book the treatments! Atmantan provides an exhaustive list of therapies from a wide range of western, eastern and Ayurvedic massages, to acupuncture, acupressure and physiotherapy, to colon hydrotherapy and enemas, to body scrubs and wraps, to private personal training and stretching. The choices are truly vast and so it makes sense to spend some time perusing the list before meeting with the doctor to relay your preferences and discussing treatment options.

Availability of treatments at a time of your choice can be a tricky affair. It is advisable to go over the activities list to see what you would like to attend and schedule your treatment so that it doesn’t conflict with the daily activities like meditation, yoga, circuits training, dance, cooking classes, health talks and so on. Every day is packed with a range of activities to do. So overall, first go over the daily activities schedule and then book your massages/treatments accordingly in conjunction with your doctor’s advice. You can get the Experience Atmantan package, like I did, where you pay for accommodation, all meals and all daily activities. The treatments you pay for as you go. This option provides some flexibility with the nature of treatments you can undertake and choice of timings. Or you can take the all-inclusive Atmantan Retreat package which includes a smaller selection of pre-determined treatments.

For my Day 1 experience, I had a 50-minute Deep Tissue massage which I highly recommended. If you have the time, go for the 90-minute treatment and pamper yourself. The treatment rooms are lovely, the changing rooms well-equipped. The changing room attendant Ranjhana was most helpful and attentive as I made my way to the steam room which was nice and hot and very well maintained. I enjoyed the steam room thoroughly. The infra-red sauna, not so much, as it didn’t heat up as much as I expected it to. Perhaps the temperature was set too low.

On Day 1, I attended three classes too – stretching, beginner’s yoga and meditation. The meditation sessions are especially noteworthy as every day, there is a different type of meditation. On Day 1, we followed the Pratyahara meditation which included learning to withdraw attention from outside objects by directing the input of the senses. On another day, there was chanting meditation and on yet another day Yoganidra meditation to assist in obtaining good sleep.

Day 2

Day 2 began with the Chi Nei Tsang treatment which is an advanced Taoist technique for detoxifying and rejuvenating the internal organs through the release of negative chi. Basically, the masseuse works with his hands and elbows on the stomach area and around the navel center, where negative emotions, stresses, and illnesses accumulate. Although it sounds painful, it is not so. This is the second time I received this treatment and I highly recommend it. I also had the Vedic Spice massage which was a medium pressure massage with a kneading technique unlike one I had experienced before. The massage was good but not something I would do a second time.

It rained all morning on Day 2 and the resort was prompt in sending a buggy car to pick me up from my room to get to the Wellness Centre. I was also provided with umbrellas. The usual view of the lake from the dining area was obscured by fog and its outlines could be faintly made out. The Badami Shorba (soup) and the mushroom risotto were the culinary highlights of the day. The day ended with dinner under the stars while catching up with my friend.

It is worthwhile to mention that my friend came to the resort with her foot in an air cast as she had fallen off a swing and hurt herself. Despite the hilly nature of the place, my friend took the buggy and elevators everywhere even attending some classes and was able to enjoy herself.

Day 3

Today there was glorious sunshine and I eagerly looked forward to getting my Lymphatic Drainage Massage. It is a light pressure massage but highly recommended. This is coming from someone who believes the greater the massage pressure the better. Breakfast was a leisurely affair and I spent a couple of hours enjoying the delightful views and chatting with my friend. Little known secret – if you head up to Té Jus seating area between 11am and 12 noon, they will serve you coffee alongwith vegetable sandwiches and wraps! The place is open from 3pm to 6pm also. After two days without caffeine, I must say I truly enjoyed my cappuccino.

That afternoon I had 3 bowls of spaghetti with red sauce and also the Choornaswedana Ayurvedic massage. It is a ‘potli’ massage consisting of poultices filled with Ayurvedic herbs and powders which are heated and applied to the body in a pat and fluent motion. I would have liked to go for a swim today but both their indoor and outdoor salt water pools were closed due to Covid precautions. There is a salon as well for facials, manicures & pedicures and hair treatments but that was closed too. A note on the waiting staff – they were prompt and catered to all the guests’ wishes. Duk was a superstar and made me feel very relaxed and looked after during all my mealtimes.

Day 4

My friend left today so I spent the day by myself. First, I had the Udwarthanam Ayurvedic massage in the morning. It consists of a scrub made out of Ayurvedic powder and oil and the massage includes a thorough exfoliation of the skin as well. I would recommend this treatment. In the afternoon I went for a walk around the property. There are many beautiful locations to visit and enjoy the views from within the resort. For example, you can walk to the gorgeous Divine Buddha, a 10 ft high statue laid out in front of a lily pond. Or find the secret path to the Amphitheatre where outdoor sessions such as Fitness Bootcamps are held and which gives you an uninterrupted view of the lake and the environs.

However, massages that I would recommend from my previous visit include the Signature massage, Hot Stone Therapy and Foot Reflexology. Everyone was really friendly at the resort. I met many solo female travelers, and ended up having dinner with an Interior Designer running her own successful business and breakfast with a young stock trader from Goldman Sachs. We stayed in touch. Guests were not required to wear masks at the resort if they had no Covid symptoms. So there was a sense of freedom like that which existed pre-2020 in the world. Atmantan was a wonderful bubble to be in, a great chance to rejuvenate and unwind. I believe I will visit again during this pandemic.