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Flying into Lucknow, I never thought that this long weekend would turn out to be the most interesting, filled with awe-inspiring moments, and let’s just put it out there, plush days I would ever spend on a vacation, which initially was planned as a shopping run.
1. Clarks Avadh Came In The Picture
What started out as a simple shopping trip transformed into a vacation with the long weekend approaching. I remember the conference call with my 2 friends and planning out the quick-in, quick-out plot of the journey to Lucknow. I realized that if we could just push it ahead by one week, we could have had a long weekend to ourselves. Lucknow is a place where you can easily spend that much time what with their cuisine, clothes, craftsmanship, and especially their architecture. We went straight online to check stay options where Clarks Avadh, as it turns out, was just waiting for us to land on it.
2. Booking; As Easy As Blinking!
The best booking experience of all my life, I could say, was definitely the Clarks Avadh website. The pictures spoke for themselves. The wood flooring of the rooms, the lavish washroom, and the overall luxurious feeling that the pictures exuded, we were definite of our choice as soon as our eyes landed on the Club Room. The description told us about the multitude of services that Clarks gave us in these amazing rooms, be it WiFi, Mini Bar, or Air Conditioning, you name it, they gave it.
And with the cascade of features like these coming at us, we booked separate rooms for ourselves, 3 in total. It might seem that we went overboard with it all, but you don’t really find places like this every day. What attracted us more was that the hotel was built on the banks of River Gomti. Apart from that, it was actually located in the center of the city and in easily accessible from both, the railway station and the airport. And places like Bada Imambara and Ambedkar Park were also quite close by. What more can you look in a hotel?
3. On the Way to Clarks Avadh
I will tell you, what more you can look for; the embodiment of royalty, which we got to experience as soon as we stepped out of the airport. The hotel sent a car to pick us up. Truth be told, we were all excited, not because we were going to be on a vacation, but because we were in anticipation of what Clarks had in store for us. Driving through the city was just as exciting as we expected. Being an architect, the buildings, both old and new, were truly fascinating for us, and we just couldn’t wait to go out on the streets and explore. We then entered Hazratganj, known as the shopping district of the city of Lucknow, also the location of Clarks Avadh.
If the city was so beautiful, the hotel was a class apart from the rest of the place. The car glided into the driveway of the hotel that towers over its surroundings in an elegant fashion. A white structure overlooking the elegant pool. You could feel the calm in the air as soon as you set foot here. And you could begin feeling the lavishness as soon as the hotel staff welcomes you into the foyer, escorting you to your rooms.
Clarks had an elegant feeling to itself, very classy and living up to its name, especially their rooms. The bed warm and inviting, the comfort almost palpable, the luxury making us feel like the Nawabs themselves. I controlled the urge to just snuggle into the comforter on the bed and went straight to the window to look at the River Gomti flowing by; people living their everyday life. At that moment, I just wanted to stay here, in the uber luxurious hotel and the warmth that it exuded.
In the evening, we gathered in my room and decided to check their gym out because we needed to stay in shape. The gym was modern, to say the least, and they kept it properly maintained.
Now, we knew that one of the many reasons that Lucknow is famous is for its street food. I mean, from what we had heard, it was beyond words and somewhere close to feelings and emotions. So as we headed to the Falaknuma Rooftop Restaurant, we had really high hopes.
True to its name, the Falaknuma Restaurant really touched the sky-high expectations that we had from Clarks Avadh, serving class and Awadhi Cuisine to the point where both of them fused together to form perfection. Added to that was the charm of Live Ghazal Night sending out the musical vibes into the air of Lucknow, every night.
Having an amazing sleep after I finally crashed into the bed that night, the first feeling that I had was of giddiness. I climbed out of bed and went straight to my friend’s room where both of them were already seated on the bed and enjoying their coffee, delivered straight to the room by the hotel staff. Sipping on the delicious coffee, I asked them about the day’s plan. My girls just shrugged. In the moment that passed, I looked them both in the eye and cried in unison with them, “Pool!!!”.
The elegant looking pool that had snatched our heart, seemed to be even more welcoming. We spent an amazing time in the water, before lounging at the patio furniture by the side of the pool, we realized the weather was the best kind of pleasant that there could be, and so, this was the most apt time to start shopping.
6. Lucknow Made Easy; Courtesy, Clarks
The proximity to Hazratganj really played well in our favor as we asked the front desk for assistance with a vehicle, which they readily provided us with. This day is the reason that I will forever praise everyone related to Clarks Avadh because our guide for the day helped us in ways that we could never expect. He instantly grabbed our perspectives and took us to just the right place. After a hectic day and with bags full of clothes and other shopping, we came back to the hotel and decided to give the Le Bougainvillea a chance. It is a 24-hour restaurant of Clarks Avadh that believes in delivering taste and flawless service.
I must say, during the long weekend spent at Clarks Avadh, I felt completely in awe of the kind of service, class, and hospitality of the staff. Everything that they did, reflected their brilliance. With the motto of delivering class and comfort at their heart, the Clarks Avadh Staff continued showering their impeccable services on us, as we set out on a second day into the city. Thanks to them, we explored the amazing Bada and Chota Imambara, Chattar Manzil and the Ambedkar Memorial Park amongst many amazing gems of the city.
7. Marrying In Style
As we came back that evening, the hotel was studded with lights and decorations, preparing for a wedding planned for the night in one of the amazing venues of the hotel. I say one of the venues because Clarks Avadh has 6 of them.
Banquets, boardrooms, grand halls, and seating in clusters or theatre like, Clarks Avadh felt like it was really the best place for organizing just about any and every event.
We saw Clarks’ staff being their usual helpful, courteous and warm selves so they could deliver what they are known for; the best in class hospitality. We went to Le Bougainvillea that night for drinks. And we sat there talking about the upcoming wedding of our friend, for which we came to the city of Lucknow to shop. And as we sat down for drinks with the grand wedding happening at Clarks Avadh, we were fascinated by everything. Over the last couple of days we saw the staff of the hotel work with each other in perfect tandem, alluring us so much that by the end of that night, we 3 made a pact that at least one of us would marry at Clarks Avadh.
8. Saying Goodbye To Clarks Avadh
It is not usually safe for 3 girls to just roam around in a new and unknown city. Safety was always our biggest concern, but when a place starts to feel like home to you, you know that you are safe there and that tells you a lot about that place. So, as we packed our bags and got to the waiting car in the driveway, we reflected on what an amazing time this weekend had been. We turned around to have a final look at the amazing white structure, and we realized that we did not want to go back at all, but we were still leaving. With a promise to come back again really soon, we got into the car that took us back to our lives.
The class, the service, the warmth, the smiles of the staff as they passed us by in the corridors, every little thing that the hotel did for us, it felt like home.
