A Tribute to the Creator of Fridenstal 

A Tribute to the Creator of Fridenstal ,a place with a Special Heart

A Summer Family Holiday made special at Fridensatal, a swift get away plan from the Hot Summer of Delhi.

With my extended family, I visited Friedenstal, the Peace Valley, from 11th to 12th Jun. During my short stay, I truly appreciated the resort. Let me tell you why?

This enchanting place has been scooped out of a dense forest and curated by professionals, directed by the creative mind of the owner, who is sensitive to a visitor’s every need, like a gracious hostess.

Her personal touch is omnipresent everywhere in the resort.

Her eye for details needs a special mention. Scrupulous cleanliness and fresh paints make the place genuinely inviting.

It is indeed a peaceful valley in the nurturing arms of mother-nature. I find it difficult to describe the place justifiably. I would instead encourage everyone to experience it.

People say that home is where the heart is. The owner knows the way to the heart of a guest. A guest cannot help falling in love with this place.

The rooms are not lavish in size. But the optimum space usage and the log house look with defused lights makes the rooms attractive.

One finds everything that he may need at his elbow. There has been an excellent combination of aesthetics and technology in the

tastefully furnished rooms perched atop steel pedestals.   

For the more adventurous a tree house has been built. A specious living space has been created around the trunk of a living tree. The tree fills the tree-house with  natural fragrance at all times.

Friedenstal caters for all ages. For the senior citizens, there are cobbled pathways to walk around, relax on manicured lawns on garden chairs, or sit with a tray of hot tea on the balcony attached to every room.

For lovey-dovey young couples, there is a swing and a few strategically placed sit-out areas under tall trees. Many indoor and outdoor games are available to keep children occupied. There is an isolated place from where bird lovers may watch and photograph their winged friends discreetly.

If someone is fond of butterflies, he can trek about a few hundred feet up the hill and meet Mr Peter, who has maintained a reference Museum of hundreds of butter fly specimen. He would be delighted to share his deep knowledge of butterflies with anyone who is keen to know. 

Security is everyone’s concern. One feels protected and safe in this resort.

The place is covered with solid wire netting all around the property to ward off wild animals. Powerful flood lights lit up the entire area after sun-down.

Alert security guards petrol the property 24 X 7.  

The staff is the backbone of any organisation. The best infrastructure will fail if the team is not dedicated, hardworking and well-behaved. Manager Ravindra Biisht has a small handpicked group of workers in this resort.

Under Ravi’s leadership, the team members are ready to go out of their way to satisfy every customer’s need. They do it with total dedication. On the evening of my arrival, I noticed with concern that the commode in the toilet got choked. It was unusable.

I discovered the issue when the sweeper and the plumber were away for the night. Under the guidance of Manager Ravi, the two waiters worked for long at night and finally cleared this blockage. I will never forget their dedication because it was not the duty of any of these people. Yet they did it without fuss.

Another day I saw the waiter Hem, was assisting a small boy in riding a bicycle. It was not his duty either. But his work attracted admiration from the kid’s parents.

The sinewy old gardener comes from five miles every day to maintain the garden and the lawn areas. The property is quite sprawling for a single hand to maintain. But with a permanent orange cap on his head, the gardener works sincerely through the day.

I have never seen him sit and talk to anyone as he goes from plant to plant throughout the day. Instead, it seems he holds affectionate private conversations with leaves and buds with unspoken tender words.

As I mentioned before, Friedenstal caters for everyone’s needs. I found three leaves on a small plant hidden in the common grass – an ageing leaf, a mature young leaf and a budding leaf – all attached to the same stem. It appeared to be a symbolic representation of what I was trying to say.

In the end, I would also like to mention three minor points which could add to the comfort of the guests:

• Between the living area from the dining area are some concrete steps to climb that are pretty high for older people with knee problems. A handrail fixed there to hold could make the senior citizens’ step-climbing more comfortable.
• A tiny patch between the entrance gate and the road has remained uncovered with concrete. It could make the first entry of a guest more welcoming.
• The resort works with a bare minimum of working hands. They always chip in to help each other at times of high-pressure work. Despite their sincere efforts, preparing and serving warm and fresh food gets a wee bit delayed. The Management may temporarily consider hiring one or two additional helping hands to tide over the high influx of diners. The diners expect a quick service as in a restaurant. 

We used to order for the next meal clearly, after finishing one meal and also tell when we would come to the dining hall. This system helped the staff to remain ready for us. 

Fridenstal is a hidden beauty which awaits to be discovered. I found a symbolic representation of the same when I noticed a couple of tiny grass flowers.