There’s a distinct buzz in the room. At an adjacent table, a mother scolds her son in Kannada for wasting food. At another, a Gujarati family discusses what dish scored higher on their palate, as they try to get a fix on a wedding menu. Across the room, more couples and families enjoy their breakfast as they take in views of Garhwal’s mountains through floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
The spread on offer spans the gamut: from the now pan-India staple of idlis and dosas, and Garhwali dishes made from high-altitude lentils and greens, to western breakfast essentials such as eggs Benedict and waffles. Aptly then, the restaurant’s called Range (at least to the punster in me, though the name refers to the mountains outside). It’s the all-day diner at the new 263-key Hyatt Regency Dehradun.
The hotel comes with a spa that champions the herb tulsi, a rooftop pool and two bars, one of which specialises in malt-based cocktails and the other has a strong gin game. Drinks at both are crafted by Yangdup Lama whose Delhi’s cocktail bar Sidecar was ranked #47 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2022. There is also an Indo-Tibetan restaurant in the works that will go beyond momos and thukpas. “Our aim is to market Dehradun as a destination,” says Harkaran Singh, the hotel’s general manager. “Apart from cities like Delhi, smaller business-centric cities like Ludhiana, Meerut and Saharanpur have people who are well-read, well-travelled and who yearn for luxury experiences in the neighbourhood. We already see them coming here on weekend trips.”
