It is vacation planning time!

Summer is here and so is vacation time! My son has a few days before he gets busy again. As we busily discuss vacation plans, we’re shortlisting destinations. My folks are teasing me about how I’d visit Hyderabad no matter what the weather. If you are wondering why, it is because at this time of year, the heat can be really crazy. My favorite city has hot and dry summers that never bothered me for as long as I lived there.

Still I am more sensible now and usually plan trips to Hyderabad at the end of the year when it is officially winter. Even so, the days are scorching and we take the full force of the heat as we’re out for most of the day.

When we visited a couple of years back in October, we were busy looking at hotels near Hyderabad airport where we could retire into the air conditioned comfort after a long, warm and enjoyable day. However, a classmate of mine recommended Yatri Nivas, which, besides being one of the preferred business hotels in Hyderabad is amazingly affordable and centrally located. We were a little skeptical as we had never even visited it before but decided to give it a try any way – there’s always a first time, isn’t there!

So we arrived one bright chilly morning for the weekend and headed straight to the hotel. As I know my way around the place it was a matter of minutes before the cab dropped us off at the hotel entrance. Everything looked pretty quiet and we realized it was probably because it was just 7 am. We headed to the reception area and were pleasantly surprised to see it buzzing with activity.

The room we had booked wasn’t ready yet and they showed us another, which was quite comfortable – and better still, an upgrade. We weren’t protesting.

Since it was the first time my son and I were making a trip alone, we felt like a couple of kids and bounced on the beds for a while before freshening up and going down for a sumptuous breakfast.

Then, we got around to planning the next two days and started making phone calls. We fixed ourselves up for a sightseeing trip the next day, decided which friends to meet when for the remaining two days – and set off on a leisurely stroll around the area. We had the most wonderful trip. We rate Yatri Nivas as one of the best hotels in Hyderabad and definitely recommend it.

I find it so amusing today to think that when I started off my sales career back in the ’80s, staying in one of the best hotels in Hyderabad was a dream come true. We had just moved to the city and I was starting out on a fresh assignment at work and needed a place to stay until I found an apartment.

Ah well. Always happy memories of my beloved Hyderabad. I hope to visit this year, provided my folks don’t vote me down with another place. Travel is always tempting and if it is a place I haven’t seen yet, then it is a really hard decision to make. Let’s see how it all pans out. I am certainly looking forward!