Your family had stayed at the Holiday Inn which gave the following advertisements in the newspaper:
Parents — you may relax at our holiday camp. Capable and kindly manners guard your children. “Uncles” and “Aunties” arrange and supervise playgrounds and games. Full of fascinating programmes for adults too. We have plenty of free entertainment for you, including the swimming pool, dancing, TV, tennis, shops, concerts, cricket, billiards, putting. Superb position on cliff-top. All chalets have hot and cold water and electric lights. Special entertainment for teenagers. Washing and ironing rooms. Write a report saying how far the Holidays Inn had fulfilled what was mentioned in the advertisement.
The Holiday Inn is virtually perched on a plateau atop a hill. Its site is lent a grander perspective as overlooking it far down is a still-water lake that mirrors the surrounding hilly woods as also the building of the inn.
The resort abounds within a sprawling area enclosed by a boundary wall. We discovered it in a magazine devoted to tourism. The opportunities for diversion and entertainment were there true to the letter of the advertisement.
The four of us including our son and daughter took a taxi. The drive uphill was exhilarating/sensational for the children. The curves that the car negotiated were through jungles so dense and forbidding, that the sight of the resort on the crest (= top) brought relief in the monotony.
In fact, the entire journey was rattling (= full of jerks and discomfort). Naturally, on reaching the destination spot the children seemed to behave like caged birds whose latch is removed.
We stayed there for a week. It was a refreshing sojourn no doubt, but, frankly speaking, the site and the natural prospects contributed much to it. The Inn’s loud claims had appeared to me a bit exaggerated, but in view of my husband’s poor health the tranquil heights of the Inn would make up the loss in other facilities, I thought.
However, we were housed in a suit properly furnished and were accorded a good reception as promised. A middle-aged woman/lady often took our children to the hotel’s outskirts in the morning. From there they enjoyed the fog that hung in the declivity (= depth of the hill).
The playground has turf well looked after and games are also organized. But our visit being on a lean season when visitors are limited, the varieties of games were naturally reduced. The hotel’s athletic room is big and heavily equipped. There is a cricket field at the far end of the hotel, but it becomes evident that this game is not much in vogue. My husband, who was a Ranji player, had marked this aspect from his study of the kits of the game. They were in scarce use, he had said. The coach also supported his view, saying that very seldom they got visitors enough strength to make up a team. The swimming pool was one of the most popular and attractive corners.
My husband and I enjoyed seeing tennis. There were learners, but sometimes we saw some players and good knocks. The carpet of the ground is maintained well and the rackets and the balls were provided by the hotel. But all these privileges had to be paid for in by willing customers. TV sets were provided in every room and there was also a big one in the lounge. One day we two visited the billiards room. It was an interesting experience, nay, entertainment as well. Four young men were busy at it. They were in smart turnout and seemed to be well-versed in the style and etiquette of the game. My husband who had an acquaintance with the game felt drawn. We sat and, in a while, another nearly old man sat beside us with his adult son. We were exchanging the preliminaries of this maiden interview, while the four players were busy. In fact, they were overbusy with a game that called/call for planning and execution; the balls rambled over the board helter and skelter like the players in a Kabaddi. Our new acquaintance left in a whiff and we followed. We never visited the corner since.
‘Special entertainment’ for teenagers included computer games and darts. There were ‘quiz’ games where one had to spot the correct answer by pressing the relevant button. At one such entertainment one had to hit blown balloons with pellet pistols. This drew many teenagers for the fun of it. There were cassette films designed to entertain such children.
We had booked for ourselves a chalet apartment for one night. We were conducted there by the management. It was an exclusive place that had to be approached through a devious (= roundabout) path coming down the plateau. The privilege was an additional levy on a visitor. The apartment was a three-roomed hut having a separate service staff. We liked it for its exclusiveness, away from the humdrum of the resort. It was surrounded by elegant, serpentine purlieus (= walks) adorned with dainty wild hilly flowers.
Thus almost everything promised was there. But one feels that it is difficult to maintain a consistently good standard of service in such elaborate proportions and in such a remote place. There were lapses in the hot water supply, quality dances, and entertainment. Moreover the commercial instinct also partly affects the quality of its inmates, as in the case of the four billiard players above. Some methods should be devised to screen visitors, one feels. The shopping arcades are well furnished, but some provision for medical aid and primary medical check-up ought to be incorporated (= added).
