JANUARY/JUNE 2011 The new world of RCI Holidays More fl exibility, more transparency, more choice 5 whole years of RCI Holidays... from just T6.00 a day! Avail RCI’s Special 2011 Renewal Offer today! Renew your RCI Membership more than 12 months in advance, and you pay only N10,950 for a 5-year extension. So, for just N6.00 per day, you and your family can enjoy the best of holidays for 5 whole years: Exchange Holidays in over 4,000 RCI-affi liated 5-Year Renewal Discount You pay* You save* resorts around the world Regular Renewal Fee N12,900 Fabulous RCI Rental deals in the world’s great More than 12 months before expiry 15% N10,950 N1,950 cities and other sought after destinations 6 to 12 months before expiry 10% N11,600 N1,300 And much more! 3 to 6 months before expiry 5% N12,250 N650 Plus, you save N1,950 on the regular 5-year 3-Year Renewal renewal fee. Regular Renewal Fee N9,700 Surely you don’t want to miss out on this great More than 12 months before expiry 15% N8,250 N1,450 opportunity! So avail RCI’s Special 2011 Renewal 6 to 12 months before expiry 10% N8,750 N950 Offer, and renew your Membership today. 3 to 6 months before expiry 5% N9,200 N500 *Calculated to the nearest multiple of N50 RCI Member Helpline Toll Free (All India): 1800 419 2131 Bangalore: +9180-41849100/66915555 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rci.com January•June•2011 contents A GOOD THING GETS EVEN BETTER RCI WEEKS ENHANCEMENTS features 8 EUROPE’S HIDDEN GEMS From thermal spas to Alpine splendour, 15 there was never a dull moment for Venkata Subramanian on his holiday in Central Europe 12 A JOURNEY INTO HISTORY A week is too short to savour Rajasthan’s treasures, discovers Daisy Ardeshir 15 THE NEW WORLD OF RCI HOLIDAYS A good thing gets even better with 8 the new enhancements to your RCI Weeks membership 27 GREEK TRAGEDY AT 12 THE ACROPOLIS Anushka Ravishankar fi nds unexpected drama on her day in Athens, as she 36 tackles the rain with dry humour 36 ENCHANTING NEW ZEALAND Neeta Nair and her family are captivated by New Zealand’s in each issue magnetic charm 4 Operational Resorts 6 Letters from our Members 10 Magic Memories 23 Rate Reckoner 24 Member Benefi ts 30 Inside View 32 Resort News 27 34 Snappy Holiday Recipes is the offi cial travel publication of RCI Operational Resorts: India & Sri Lanka Mussoorie Manali 4175 Avalon Mussoorie 6753 Club Mahindra Snowpeaks 6755 Hilltop at Avalon (Club Mahindra Associate) 4807 Manali Resorts 7492 Hotel Green Castle 5892 Royal Banon Resorts 4896 Snowcrest Manor-Manali Auli 4087 Sterling White Mist 4276 Clifftop Club Dharamshala Nainital A298 Club Mahindra Kangra Valley A961 The Naini Retreat C083 Club Mahindra Dancing Waters, Naukuchiatal Shimla 3823 Toshali Royal View C084 East Bourne Resort Almora C348 Club Mahindra Whispering Pines 6692 Club Mahindra Binsar Valley Resort Parwanoo Manali Bhimtal 5195 Timber Trail Heights Kullu 4431 Country Inn-Bhimtal Dharamshala Mussoorie 7695 Mountain Club Shimla Parwanoo Gangtok Ramnagar Auli C346 Club Mahindra Royal Demazong 5859 The Leisure Club Chandigarh A962 The Riverview Retreat Nainital C182 The Solluna Resort 1 Almora C347 Club Mahindra Safari Resort Ramnagar Bhimtal Gurgaon Gurgaon New Delhi 4438 Resort Country Club Bikaner Gangtok Jodhpur Agra 2 6191 Ajit Bhawan 15 Kanpur 32 6282 Fort Chanwa Luni Jodhpur C345 Prescon Desertscape 11 39 Jaipur 31 8 Jaipur Udaipur A960 Cambay Spa & Resort Kumbhalgarh C261 Cambay Golf Resort, Jamdoli Agra 7 2 5681 Jaypee Palace Hotels Udaipur Gandhinagar Jabalpur C262 Cambay Spa & Resort Indore Ahmedabad Kolkata Kolkata Kumbhalgarh 3 6691 Vedic Village A486 Club Mahindra Fort Kumbhalgarh Raichak Ahmedabad 8 INDIA 6 Raichak 5 6474 The Luxury Club 6 5490 The Ffort Holiday Klub at Le Meridien Nagpur Bhubaneshwar Silvassa Gandhinagar Puri Puri A472 Cambay Spa & Resort 4279 The Chariot Mumbai 2955 Toshali Sands Silvassa Lonavala 3090 Ras Resorts Silvassa Pune 9 Hyderabad Hyderabad Mumbai 4256 Amrutha Castle 6475 The Luxury Club at Le Royal Meridien 4 8773 The Country Club International 4889 VITS Mumbai 17 Goa Goa Lonavala Hampi/ 5890 Averina Beach 3935 Treasure Island 5 Hospet 7 4883 Club Mahindra Varca Beach C364 The Lagoona Resort 5677 Phoenix Park Inn Pune 5743 Lotus Suites Goa C264 The Waterfront Shaw, Lavasa 3726 Royal Goan Beach Club at Benaulim C363 Le Royale Residency Mangalore Chennai 3820 Royal Goan Beach Club at Monterio Coorg Bangalore 4129 Royal Goan Beach Club-Haathi Mahal 3594 Royal Goan Beach Club-Royal Palms Coorg Yercaud 4891 Sun Village 3452 Orange County Resort Kannur Ooty 5324 Vista do Rio 7703 Club Mahindra 8872 The Country Clube de Goa Kochi Kodaikanal Kodagu Valley Munnar Madurai Hampi/Hospet Thekkady C475 Vijayshree Heritage Village Kannur Kottayam 9 7636 Kairali Heritage Alleppey 7 SRI Yercaud Munnar Kollam LANKA 6 4881 Sterling Rock Perch 4800 Club Mahindra Lake View Thiruvananthapuram 4 C082 Lake Forest Yercaud (Club Mahindra Associate) 3720 Sterling Green Vistas 6 3470 The Tall Trees Colombo Ooty 2 5192 Hill Country Resorts-Ooty Thekkady 2 3721 Sterling Elk Hill A963 Club Mahindra Tusker Trails Hambantota 2969 Sterling Fern Hill Kottayam Kodaikanal 4962 Golden Waters 5193 Hill Country Resorts-Kodaikanal C263 Gold Field Lake Resort - Kumarakom 3719 Sterling Lake View Alleppey C260 Panoramic Sea Resorts Hambantota Kollam 5258 The Oasis C090 Club Mahindra Backwater Retreat C091 Cambay Palm Lagoon Thiruvananthapuram 8666 Poovar Island Resort 0100 200 Miles 0 100 200 Kilometres (Club Mahindra4 JANUARY/JUNE Associate) 2011 Kovalam C138 The Country Club Treasure Cove Check out your 2011 holiday opportunities! news from RCI Take a look at the 2011 Holiday Calendar It’s unusual for Endless Vacation, a magazine about in the enclosed Plan Your travel and holidaying, to have a cover feature that’s 2011 Holidays pullout. centred on technology; but when technology impacts the way you plan and book your RCI Holidays to Th ere are plenty of long weekends to look the extent that the recent enhancements to your forward to: start planning right away, and RCI Weeks membership have, an exception is surely you could end the year with a bagful of called for. new holiday memories. Whether it’s a spot of adventure you crave or just a laid Th ese changes have not happened overnight. From back week of fun and relaxation, we have the January-June 2009 issue of Endless Vacation, we plenty to off er you! have been telling you about the amazing new features that have been incorporated in RCI.com—the new user-friendly interfaces, the improved functionality. We have also been urging you to register at RCI.com to get the most out of your RCI membership: when you turn the pages and fi nd out about all the great things you can now do online, For Your with tools such as the Exchange Planner and the Deposit Calculator to help you, you’ll understand why. Eyes Only It’s not just online that you’ll fi nd the improved experience. When you contact our Call Centre, you’ll fi nd that your RCI Guides use the new transparency Th ere’s plenty that about trading power and the new tools to help you fully leverage the fl exibility you can do once that Deposit Credits and Combined Deposits bring to your holiday planning. you log on to RCI.com, and go to the Th e launch of these new enhancements in November 2010 is arguably the most members-only section of the Web site. momentous event in RCI’s 35 year history: the culmination of a global eff ort Th e Online Ease guide on the reverse that took its cues from what members told us they wanted, and then married the of the Plan Your 2011 Holidays pullout benefi ts of the latest technological developments to the RCI Exchange System tells you how to use the tabs and links to to deliver a revolutionary new experience. In the larger context, however, momentous navigate through the member pages at though these enhanced benefi ts defi nitely are, they are not an end in themselves: RCI.com, whether you want to transact they are but a major milestone in our never ending quest to be responsive to the or just get information. ever changing world around us as we make a good thing—holiday exchange and all the benefi ts it brings to your timeshare ownership—even better! In the Plan Your 2011 Holidays pullout this year, you will not only fi nd the 2011 Holiday Calendar, but also useful tips on how you can go about transacting on RCI.com once you have registered. I am sure you will fi nd the pullout and New Rate Reckoner the enclosed Availability Grid invaluable as you go about using your new Of special interest in the 2011 Rate membership benefi ts to bring back incredible holiday memories in the New Year. Reckoner is the fee for Combining Happy holidaying—and have a great 2011! Deposits: A2,500 is all that it will cost you to avail this great new feature of your RCI membership! Radhika Shastry Go to Page 23 Managing Director – Indian Subcontinent for full details of the fees that will apply for all your RCI transactions this year. Endless Vacation® Magazine is published twice a year by RCI India Pvt. Ltd. Designed by DIREM Marketing Services (Bangalore) Pvt. Ltd. Original articles and contributions may be reproduced or transmitted only with written permission from the publisher. No responsibility is accepted by RCI India for any losses or other consequences resulting from advertisements or other material in this publication.