I landed in Srinagar the morning of the unfortunate Hindukush earthquake that left a lot of people stranded. My heart goes out to all those affected and I hope that everything settles down soon and they can go back to normal life.

The flight from Delhi to Srinagar was short and Azam was at the airport waiting for me. Srinagar was a chilly 15 degrees and it had been raining for a few days. I grabbed a windcheater from my bag and we got into the car and drove to the hotel.

Hotel Victoria is situated about 5 minutes from Nishat Bagh and about ten odd minutes from the Lalit in Srinagar. A family run boutique, Hotel Victoria promises you a comfortable stay with delicious food and incredible hosts. Managed by a Kashmiri family, the hotel offers personalized services and bespoke itineraries to Sonmarg, Gulmarg and the mosques for visitors.

We checked in and left for the Royal Springs Golf Course after a delicious home cooked lunch. We were walking along the course when we felt the tremors and walked back to the clubhouse for a cup of tea afterwards. Azam was kind enough to book a Shikara ride to show me around on the Dal. It was freezing cold at 430 in the afternoon but the gorgeous vista and the majestic sight of the snow-capped peaks were too perfect to pass up. I wore another layer and jumped into the houseboat with my camera. It was beautiful and you could hear the evening prayers at the mosque in the distance. The dal was calm and tranquil and the ride was breathtakingly beautiful albeit cold. I returned to the hotel with some great footage and cozied up with a book and a few cups of piping hot kahwa. I had dinner that evening with Azam and had the pleasure of meeting his parents too. The family was an absolute delight- extremely kind, magnanimous and caring and I promised them that I would be back again. We retired pretty early that night because I was exhausted.

I woke up to the aroma of kahwa, freshly brewed coffee and pregnant fruits plucked fresh from the garden. After breakfast, we decided to drive up to Gulmarg to see the snow. The drive was pleasant and took only about 1.5 hours until we reached the pristine valley. Just as we touched Gulmarg, it started to snow. We wore our mittens, caps and put on bomber jackets and drove up to the gondola point. Gulmarg has the highest gondola in the world and even though it was overcast, rainy and grey – the view was gorgeous and I have pictures that will make you seriously envious. I took some photographs when we were on the gondola ride and warmed my hands with cups of piping hot coffee and kahwa. It was a beautiful day in Gulmarg and winter had come early. We went to Highlands Park for lunch and ate tikkas while we watched it snow. When the snow started to settle a bit, we drove around strawberry valley and then finally ended up at the Khyber Resort. Decadent, warm and dressed in wood and gold, the Khyber is a magnificent property in Gulmarg that should be on everyone’s itinerary. We were too stuffed from lunch to eat anymore but we sat at their coffee shop and ordered cappuccinos and dessert as we watched everything turn white and wonderful with the snow.

I couldn’t believe my eyes because everything looked so so pretty dressed in white and everywhere I looked it was pristine and breathtakingly beautiful. Winter had come early for everyone in Kashmir and while it meant marshmallow season, bonfires and stay huddled in a quilt- I was pretty happy I watched it snow all afternoon. I was sad on my way back to Srinagar because I knew my stay at Hotel Victoria was coming to an end and I couldn’t believe how quickly this place had started to feel like home. On the way home, we stopped at a shop to pick up some almonds, saffron, kahwa and dates to take home for my family and friends. I spent some time chatting with the host-Azam and his parents before an early dinner. They would go out of their way to prepare a lot of traditional Kashmiri fare without the extra ghee so it would be easier to digest. I didn’t want dessert after so they would send over a large platter of the ripest fruits from the garden. 

All of the 16 rooms in Hotel Victoria are simple but well equipped with heating, electric blankets and tea and coffee makers. The super deluxe rooms up on top have amazing views of the Dal Lake, the forest and the Zabarwan range.

The bathrooms are spotless and the staff is available to turn the covers, prepare kahwa or masala chai or make you delicious Kashmiri fare. Round the clock room service is made available to guests who wake up really early or require food after hours. There is a buffet arrangement for mealtimes but you can choose to eat it outside in the garden or by a bonfire too. The food is too good to pass up at Hotel Victoria. I highly recommend that you eat at least a few meals at the hotel while you are there. The food is absolutely incredible and unlike most traditional fare that is extremely heavy and calorific- they have tempered the spices and cut the fat in the recipes by half so you can eat meatballs for lunch and dinner without the guilt.

Guests staying at Hotel Victoria can choose to go up to Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Pahalgam for the day. You could also sit down and discuss treks or arduous walks and request Azam to organize it for you. For those of you who wish to sightsee around Srinagar- you could go to NishatBagh, Shalimar garden, Parimahal, a shikara ride on the Dal, have tea at the Lalit or the golf course. If you’d like to just relax and unwind by a fire, cozy up with a nice book and spend time with junior – the most adorable dog and cat for company. The staff is courteous, prompt and always happy to serve you. The two nights I spent at Victoria felt like home and I cant wait to be back in the summer to write. I highly recommend the rooms on top because of the view. Please don’t forget to order kahwa, masala chai and sample their homemade rishta and nadru, if it’s available. The only downside was that the wifi was spotty so we had to connect to our phones to log on but this is something they plan to fix in the next few weeks.

I highly recommend this property to couples, families and those looking for some peace and quiet with scintillating views of the Dal and the mountains. Having said that, please leave a room for me in the summer.

Quick Notes-
Victoria
El Hotel Boutique
Next to Ishwar Ashram,
Sadhu Lane,
Nishat
Srinagar
Bookings@victoriakashmir.com
#91-9697715316
www.victoriakashmir.com
Instagram-@victoria_kashmir
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/victoria.kashmir/?fref=ts
Tariff- doubles from 4000 (breakfast included). Super deluxe rooms go for 4800 (breakfast included).