By Anil Radhakrishnan - The Hindu
MUNNAR, MAY 20. Tea County, the newly-set-up Rs. 8-crore exotic hill resort of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
(KTDC) in Munnar, will soon go full steam with the commissioning of all the 43 rooms.
The 15 x 8 ft. wide and 5 ft. deep tepidarium (warm water dip pool) being set up in the modern health club in the
resort is claimed to be the first of its kind in the hotel industry in the State.
"The work on setting up the tepidarium as part of the health club is nearing completion," the general
manager of the resort, Mr. P.C. Shyamsunder, told visiting reporters from the capital.
Already, 30 rooms in the resort, sprawled on eight acres, have been thrown open for the holidayers after the resort
was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr. E.K. Nayanar, on November 26.
"All the conditions for being conferred four-star status have been met. We expect to get the classification
soon and it will be the first resort of the KTDC to get four-star accreditation," Mr. Shyamsunder said.
The KTDC has roped in the National Adventure Foundation (NAF) to arrange adventure sports for the holidayers staying
in the resort. The guests can try out mock river crossing on the lawns and paragliding in the adjacent hillock.
The Ayurveda Centre, `Age Halt', has started functioning and guests can undergo Ayurveda therapy under the supervision
of qualified doctors. The resort would promote Ayurveda therapy during the monsoon and off-season.
A golf practicing area as well as lawn tennis and badminton courts would come up in the resort shortly in addition
to the facilities for billiards and table tennis available at present.
The resort plans to organise `towing' with a speed boat for tourists at Mattupetty reservoir with the assistance
of NAF. "The trials are over and six tourists can make use of the facility at a time," said the Assistant
Manager, Travel and Tourism, Mr. K.V. Chandran.
Half-day, one-day and three-day trekkings at Rajamala near the Eravikulam National Park are also being worked out.
Trained guides will accompany the trekkers, Mr. Chandran said.
The KTDC has decided to cash in on the demand for residential conventions in the resort. Three workshops were organised
in the conference room, `View Point', facing the hillside and that can accommodate 200 persons.
The resort had 90 per cent occupancy in December and 80 per cent in April. The tourists, mainly businessmen, are
mostly from Mumbai and Gujarat. Foreign tourists arriving by chartered flights to the State also turn up and enquiries
had been pouring in from them for the coming season, Mr. Shyamsunder said.
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