Fleetwood House, Matheran

When we looked up Fleetwood house on the net through the recommendation of a friend, we didn't imagine it would be as beautiful an experience as it finally turned out to be. I use the word 'experience' consciously, because Fleetwood house is unlike any hotel I have stayed at so far, its truly an experience. Starting from the rusty simple vintage colonial structure of the Villa (built in 1871) to the ample grounds it sits on, from the stable with healthy shiny horses to the family of dogs who are like members of the family (I mentioned that Johnny(father dog, leader of the pack) actually came to pick us up from before we even reached the place, he walked along till we reached). But most importantly the staff who don't behave like staff because they love their work, the dogs and horses and the Villa like it was their own.
On the practical side, those looking to go there need to know that it is at the higher end of Matheran and this means an hour of walking after the last motorable point. Like I mentioned Matheran is one of the few hill stations which dont allow vehicles. Ofcourse you can always go up on a horse (there are options of human pulled rickshaws, but I have seen only senior citizens availing it) Our walk just made us more ravenous for our lunch which was waiting for us at Fleetwood House.

I took so many pictures of the place that I will spit it into 2 posts, outdoors & indoors. Presenting the charming exteriors of Fleetwood house.

Do you see Johnny on the stairs?

Fleetwood house looks best in the evenings, with the sun throwing in tall beams of light through its windows.

The compound is full of surprising touches like this elephant head

The Fleetwood house owners are polo players of repute & the stable has some really fine horses

This seating carved from stone is probably the only place we didn't spends hours on

Chairs strewn around pretty patches, great for a conversation or just quiet reading

We slept an entire afternoon here on the purple bedding, after gorging on the delicious home cooked lunch spread.

This tent is ideal place for shade conversation & some lovely tea. Just next to it is a lovely swing I don't have pictures of. It has a great view of the stable and the many monkeys which were around.

I loved the last picture. Fleetwood house was a weekend home till 1 and a half years back the owners decided to make it a home stay. So the place is in a state of constant improvement. Coming up next is the lovely interiors of Fleetwood House.