Looking for a Day Picnic Spot Near Ahmedabad? What We Booked
A first-hand account of booking a farmhouse in Sanand, Ahmedabad for Diwali week — what we looked for, what it cost and what we would do differently.
If you are in a hurry
What I know now that I did not know when I started looking: — Take the full day rather than the half if the difference is small. It usually is, and the extra hours matter more than you think. — Message the owner before booking. The one question worth asking is what usually goes wrong at bookings there — they will tell you. — Tell everyone to arrive an hour earlier than you actually need them. — Ask about food before anything else — whether outside food is allowed and whether you can use the kitchen. They are two separate permissions. — Search on the day-time guest limit if nobody is staying over. Bedrooms are the wrong filter and they hide the properties that would suit you. And book earlier than feels necessary. The properties that take a large group are a small share of what is listed, and they go first.
How we ended up here
For Diwali week we wanted somewhere the whole group could actually sit together. About 31 of us — two families who have been neighbours for fifteen years — and the usual problem: my house takes twelve people comfortably and not twenty-five. I teach at a school in Bopal, so I am not in a position to plan things far ahead, and I had left this late. Riddhi (works in a ceramics export business) had been sending me links for a week and I had not opened any of them.
At a glance
| Property | OASIS Retreat (BMF-F137) |
| Where | Sanand, Ahmedabad |
| Type | Farmhouse · 5 BHK |
| Guests — overnight | 30 |
| Guests — day | 35 |
| Weekday rate | ₹19,865 |
| Weekend rate | ₹19,865 |
| Extra person | ₹2,670 per head |
| Pool | 20x40x5.5, plus a children's section |
| Check-in | 1:00 PM |
A colleague who had booked a farmhouse the previous winter told me to stop calling brokers and just look on BookMyFarm.
What I searched for
My first mistake was searching by bedrooms. We were all going home the same evening, so bedrooms were irrelevant. The number I needed was the day-time guest limit, which on this property is 35 against 30 overnight. Once I searched on that instead, the list of options roughly tripled. Then it was the practical questions — outside food, kitchen access, how many washrooms, and what happens if it rains in the middle of the afternoon.
Two capacity numbers, not one
Every listing carries a day-time limit and a night-time limit. The day figure is frequently two to five times the night figure, because space rather than beds is the constraint.
If nobody is sleeping over, search on the day-time number and ignore bedroom count entirely — filtering on bedrooms hides most of the properties that would suit a large daytime gathering.
The property
OASIS Retreat is a 5BHK farmhouse in Sanand. What decided it for me was not the photographs — every listing has good photographs — it was that the details were actually written down. The listing says: Luxurious 5 BHK fully air-conditioned bungalow with premium furnishing; Private swimming pool with a dedicated kids’ section; Stylish furnished bedrooms with AC; Fun-filled indoor games. The separate children's pool is what sold it. With small children in the group, one deep pool means an adult standing in the water all afternoon. A shallow section means they can be left to it while somebody keeps an eye from a chair. There is a play area, which mattered more than I expected by about four o'clock. All of that is on the listing before you pay anything, which is the part I had not expected.
The property was OASIS Retreat in Sanand, Ahmedabad.
The day itself
Everyone drifted in through the late morning, tea got made, and then the long middle part of the day that is actually why people come. The children were in the water within twenty minutes and did not come out for three hours. The little ones stayed in the shallow section, which meant one of us watching instead of three. Lunch went on for a long time. Ronak, who works at a pharma company and who had been the most sceptical about the whole plan, sat at that table for four hours. The play area took care of the younger ones for the stretch after lunch when the adults are least useful. By six we were packing up. Nobody had spent the day in a car, and my parents sat and talked to their grandchildren for four hours instead of twenty minutes, which was really the whole reason I booked it.
The bill
The slot rate is ₹19,865 on a weekday and ₹19,865 at the weekend. On top of that there is a per-person charge of ₹2,670 above the included headcount, which with 31 of us moved the total more than the base rate did. Split across the families, it worked out well under what the restaurant would have cost for the same number of people — and we had a garden and a pool for the whole afternoon rather than two hours at a table. The one thing I would say about the money: work out your total for your actual headcount before you compare two properties. The cheaper-looking one was not cheaper for us.
Comparing what Ahmedabad offers
| Property | Where | Sleeps / by day | From (weekday) | Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OASIS Retreat | Sanand | 30 / 35 | ₹19,865 | Private + kids |
| Aamla | SP Ring Road | 10 / 10 | ₹5,280 | — |
| Mahadev Stay | Kakarkhad | 30 / 30 | ₹13,950 | Private + kids |
| Morvan Farmstay | Nenpur Cross Road | 10 / 10 | ₹9,680 | Common |
| Friday Homestay | Nikol | 10 / 10 | ₹7,919 | Private + kids |
Work the total out for your actual headcount before comparing these. Above roughly twenty guests the per-person charge reorders the list more often than not.
Why an OTA search does not surface this
If you have tried finding a place like this on Airbnb or a hotel aggregator, the gap is structural rather than a matter of taste. Those platforms sell nights. This category is largely sold in slots — a half day, a full day, or an overnight — and the day slot is what most family gatherings and birthdays actually need.
The second difference is capacity. A farmhouse routinely takes fifty, eighty or a hundred people for a daytime function while sleeping fifteen. An OTA listing shows one guest number, so the property either looks far too small for your function or does not appear at all.
Getting there
We went out along the Sanand road, picking up two families from Satellite on the way. The lesson I would pass on is about timing. I told everyone eleven o'clock. The last car reached at half past twelve. A group of 31 does not arrive at a time, it arrives across an hour and a half, and if you are the one who has to be there when the caretaker opens up, plan for that. If anyone in your group wants something to do besides sitting at the property, Thol lake is the usual add-on from Ahmedabad, though we did not bother. Also worth doing your shopping before you turn off the highway. There is not much once you are into the area itself.
Finding one yourself
The practical route is the app or the website: pick your city, pick the area if you know it, and filter on what your group actually needs — a private pool, a separate children's pool, covered seating, a kitchen you can use, parking for eight cars.
Short-term rental vacation homes in Ahmedabad are a genuinely different product from hotel rooms, and searching for them on a hotel platform is why most people conclude nothing exists. As an Airbnb alternative for farmhouses, villas and resorts in India, the difference is that day bookings and whole-property exclusivity are the default rather than the exception.
If the stay goes well, leave a review and tell people which property it was. Owners in this market live on repeat bookings and recommendations far more than on advertising, and a specific recommendation — the property, the area, what it cost, what to watch out for — is worth considerably more to the next family than a five-star rating on its own.
Where to look
Browse all Ahmedabad properties · farmhouses · villas · resorts · weekend homes.
Nearby: Gandhinagar · Anand · Vadodara · Saputara.
Written up from a guest's point of view. The narrator here is a composite rather than one named customer — but the property, its rates, capacities, amenities and house rules are taken from the live listing and were accurate when this was published.
Frequently asked questions
Can we play music at the property?+
Music is allowed at OASIS Retreat, but guests should keep the volume at a reasonable level as per local guidelines.
Is kitchen access available at OASIS Retreat?+
OASIS Retreat does not provide kitchen access. You can order food or arrange catering instead.
Is the swimming pool available at OASIS Retreat?+
Yes, the swimming pool at this Farmhouse is private and available for your exclusive use. It is regularly cleaned and maintained for guests visiting Ahmedabad.
Are pets allowed at OASIS Retreat?+
Yes, OASIS Retreat is a pet-friendly property. You can bring your pets along for the stay. Please check for any specific restrictions or additional charges before booking.
How many people can OASIS Retreat take?+
It is listed for 35 guests on a day booking and 30 overnight. A day booking is limited by garden, parking and washrooms; an overnight is limited by beds. If nobody is staying the night, the day figure is the one to search on.
What does OASIS Retreat cost?+
The slot rate is ₹19,865 on a weekday and ₹19,865 at the weekend. Above the included headcount there is a per-person charge of ₹2,670 a head, which at a large group moves the total more than the base rate does.
Can I book for the day without staying the night?+
Yes. Most properties sell a half day and a full day as well as an overnight, and the day slot is what a birthday or a family lunch usually needs. It is also why the day-time guest limit is often several times the sleeping capacity.
Is the whole property mine, or is it shared?+
The whole property is reserved for your group. The listings state this explicitly and the property FAQs repeat it — you are not sharing a pool or a lawn with another booking.