Sterling Holidays is not a name that is new to us. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, escaping to Yercaud for the summer is something we often do. And Yercaud was always recognized by the tall towering building perched on the cliff overlooking the entire town, like a crown of the Yercaud hill. With every hairpin bend that the ambassador car would pick itself up, I would move from one window to another in the back of the seat, to catch a glimpse of the building – the Sterling Resorts. As though the excellent location of the place and the thoughtfully done property was not enough, Sterling Holidays have revamped themselves to suit the needs of today’s travel needs and is now known as the “Sterling Holiday Differently“. Tell anyone that you are going on a holiday, the first thing people want to know is, “what is so special about the destination or what is the offbeat thing you are doing there”. Experiencing the destination, living life like that of the natives, holiday differently is what we want to do these days. And Sterling holidays have picked up this vibe at the right time. Sterling holidays have changed their logo, theme, their travel options and much more so we get to #HolidayDifferently.

On a Friday evening, upon invitation from Thrillophilia, I braved through the traffic of Bangalore roads for two solid hours to hear about all the buzz around Sterling Holiday Differently. The room was filled with travel enthusiasts, all hooked up to the passionate talk of Peshwa Acharya, the chief marketing officer from Sterling. The first thing to notice was the colorful new logo that has been designed to match their vision. With many thoughts gone into designing the logo, those little bubbles are the shots of energy, the little bursts of adrenaline that kicks in as you get excited to experience the destination. The three bands symbolizing their three key brand pillars, people, places and experience. And the colors add on to represent; red for passionate people looking to explore, yellow to show the vibrancy of the destination and purple to symbolize the royal experiences the Sterling holiday differently offers.

What’s in it for us?

Sterling holiday differently wants us to experience the destination and their vision seems to be all focused about it. My eye was all on the Sterling Discovery – bringing in more to the destination than the sight seeing places. I for one look for experiences and stories to write when I visit a place. Have traveled many times to Ooty as a kid and all I knew was posing among the roses in rose garden, boating in ooty lake, shouting at top of voice at doddabetta and rolling on the lawns of Botanical garden. While all that also adds on to experiencing the destination, had I gone now, I would have also tried to understand the tribes of Ooty, the dance by the Badaga tribe or check out the huts of Toda tribe, trying to understand a way of life that am not familiar about. I have been to Yercaud and have gone wide mouth looking at those views, have used alternative routes through the tea estates without realizing what it was called. If someone had told me that it was a loop road and I had to stop at this bakery to have some home made buns and jams, it would have been an enriching experience. And that is exactly where Sterling Holiday Differently is trying to bridge the gap. To have experiences defined for you to pick from. It could be a heritage trail, tea trail, stargazing trail or fool and culture trail depending upon what the destination offers. What we know is it has been curated by the experts.

My pick of Destination:

Of the many destinations they showed, two stood out for me. One, Dindi – because this was the first time I was hearing about this place. Backwaters in Andhra, why did anybody not tell me about this? Close to Godavari, the place seemed very inviting for a nature and heritage lover like me. There are few prominent temples in the vicinity and having wanting to write more on Temples of India this year, I would definitely want to visit Dindi. Plus the yummy food trail, the birding around, putharekulu for the sweet tooth, this could be a place to unwind. Second, Jim Corbett – am sure you guys know why I would pick this place. Being a wildlife enthusiast and having experienced the thrill of Tiger sighting, I would definitely want to visit Jim Corbett. And in the background they kept playing this off-roading experience in Jim Corbett! That’s two experience that I have been thrilled about in the past and would love to experience them again and again. Check out the video.. Holiday Insurance – This is one of the best features! They give door to door insurance for no extra cost. From the time we leave home, to staying at the resort, experiencing the destination and getting back home, we are covered! Cool! And then there is a new mascot in town called Raja Rex. Raja Rex is here to show you around the activities and all the experiences. Fun fact: there apparently was a Rajasaurus Narmadensis, our very own native dinosaur to India and Raja Rex is named after it.

And if you are lucky, you might land up on their day of Unexpected Surprise. Every 100 days Sterling holiday differently celebrates the joy of experiencing the destination. They are either celebrating festivals or conducting events or having CSR activites that you will as well get to experience.. Having heard all about the Sterling holiday differently, all we travel enthusiasts then gathered up to discuss about what is our favorite pick 🙂

Thank you Thrillophilia and Sterling Holiday Differently for inviting to be part of this event..