Charities Advisory Trust
Yoga & Knitting Retreat at the Green Hotel
Two wonderful ways to improve your health and wellbeing in one great holiday: both knitting and yoga have well evidenced health benefits and what better way to improve (or begin to learn) than to take a break at the award winning Green Hotel in Mysore.
Two yoga courses will run in parallel; intermediate/improver and 'a gentle introduction for the mature beginner'. Guests can book for one week or two.
Week One: 19th - 26th August 2016
and / or
Week Two: 26th August - 1st September 2016
The cost of the holiday per week (excluding flights, transfers and taxes) is £695
This is based on single occupancy of one of the hotels' 'Travellers Rooms'. Other rooms and suites are available at additional cost. All rooms have ensuite bathrooms.
The price includes full board and all yoga sessions.
The price also includes a donation of £100 towards the charities supported by the Green Hotel, find out more here:
The Hotel
The prize winning Green Hotel inhabits the Chittaranjan Palace, build for Mysore's princesses. The palace has been lovingly restored as a charming hotel and its extensive gardens, with formal lawns and shaded pergolas, and fringed by majestic trees, provide an oasis of calm. The hotel was renovated and furnished using traditional Indian crafts, and offers comfortable surroundings, friendly staff, and a restful, creative atmosphere.
The Green Hotel has been set up to be a model of sustainable tourism and all profits are distributed to charitable and environmental projects in India. It incorporates energy saving initiatives; solar energy; recycled water for the garden and where possible they have used Indian crafts, providing employment for traditional craftsmen, many of them National Award winners. By finding an economic use for the palace and its historic garden the Charities Advisory Trust saved it from demolition and redevelopment of the site.
The Hotel has won many awards including British Airways' Responsible Tourism award and readers of Outlook Traveller (India's largest travel magazine) voted the Green Hotel the best responsible tourism project in 2015.
Yoga
Yoga practice and classes will be led by Dr Ganesh Kumar, who is Director and Chairman for University Yoga Courses at Karnataka State Open University in Mysore and has provided yoga classes at the Green Hotel since 2004.
The proposed timetable for a week's stay would be
Friday 19th Flight from UK
Saturday 20th (am) Arrive and settle in, relax in the garden
Sunday 21st Yoga (1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5 hours in the evening)
Monday 22nd Yoga (as above)
Tuesday 23rd Yoga (as above)
Wednesday 24th Yoga (as above)
Thursday 25th Yoga (as above)
Friday 26th Sightseeing/shopping at leisure
Saturday 27th Leave hotel at midnight for connection to airport for BA flight
Sunday 28th Arrive in UK am.
The same pattern would apply to the second week. Guests staying for two weeks would have both Fridays and Saturdays at leisure.
Knitting
Guests are encouraged to bring their own projects and can knit in a group in the beautiful gardens or at their own leisure
Food
The Green Hotel has received much praise for the quality of its food and the chefs can cater for special diets and provide both Indian and British diets to suit guest's requirements. Guests can easily choose a healthy yoga friendly diet from the range on offer.
You can find out more about the hotel's restaurants here:
To do and see
Located in the charming town of Mysore, immortalised by R K Narayan in his Malgudi novels, the town itself has many interesting things to do, including horse racing, concerts, palaces and colourful markets. The hotel also provides an excellent base from which to tour South India, the Western Ghats, the coffee plantations of Coorg, the game reserves of the Nilgris and the Ooty hill station are within a few hours drive. Mysore is 140km from the bustle of Bangalore.
Health
There is a doctor on call to the hotel and good health facilities in the town of Mysore with many European trained doctors. Guests are advised to take out travel insurance including health cover for the duration of their stay
Climate
Mysore has a temperate climate. There might be showers in August, but expect sunny, pleasantly warm weather.
For all enquiries and to book please call 020 7794 9835 or email people@charitiesadvisorytrust.org.uk
