Work, Unwind & Repeat: Why Gram’s at Shivom, Pawna Is Your Next Workation Destination

Imagine closing your laptop at 6 p.m. and walking — not to a parking lot, but to a private pool with the forts of Pawna glowing on the horizon. That’s the quiet promise of Gram’s at Shivom, a villa near Pawna Lake where the workday ends and the evening simply takes over. It’s one of the rare workation villas near Lonavala built for both deadlines and downtime, where the Wi-Fi works, the co-working corner hums, and the lake is never more than a short stroll away.

This isn’t a hotel pretending to be a home. It’s a home that happens to understand how you work now.

The Setting: A Lake, Four Forts, and Room to Breathe

Some places make you arrive. Pawna makes you exhale. Set beside the calm expanse of Pawna Lake — an artificial reservoir cradled by the Sahyadris — Gram’s at Shivom sits within view of four historic forts: Lohagad, Tikona, Visapur, and Tung. The topography is postcard-perfect, the climate forgiving, and the silence the kind you forget exists until you’re standing in it.

The location does the heavy lifting for a workation. Far enough from the noise to let you focus, close enough to civilisation to feel easy. The Lonavala main market is about 14 km away, Lonavala railway station roughly 18 km, and Pune airport around 85 km. For anyone hunting a weekend getaway from Mumbai or Pune that doubles as a remote-work base, this stretch of the lake is hard to beat.

By the time the property comes into view, the city has already loosened its grip.

First Impressions: Four Hauses, Each Its Own Little World

Gram’s doesn’t announce itself with marble and grandeur. It welcomes you the way an old family home does — warmly, and on its own terms. The property spreads across four charming “hauses,” together holding 12 private rooms and accommodating up to 36 guests. That scale makes it one of the more versatile group getaway villas near Pawna Lake, equally suited to a solo writer, a couple, or a thirty-strong company offsite.

Here’s the detail that changes everything: every house comes with its own pool and its own lawn. No queueing, no sharing with strangers — just a 15ft by 11ft pool and a slice of open green that belongs to your group alone. Unroll a mat for morning yoga. Spread out for an evening of outdoor games. Or simply lie back under a sky uncluttered by city light.

You notice, almost immediately, that the place was designed for lingering.

Inside Gram’s: Where Nostalgia Meets Wi-Fi

Step inside and the concept clicks. Gram’s — short for “grandmother’s” — is built on a single, lovely idea: the comfort of your daadi’s home, with the connectivity of today. Think warm courtyards and cosy nooks, retro accents that tug at memory, and then, quietly, the Wi-Fi and co-working zones that let you actually get work done.

This is where the villa earns its workation credentials. The check-in counter doubles as a gathering spot. Co-working nooks flow into social corners, so you can move from a video call to a chai break without changing buildings. And then there’s the Wish Lock Wall — a whimsical corner where guests lock away dreams and little notes to the future, the kind of detail that makes a stay memorable rather than merely comfortable.

At the centre of it all is Gram’s Canteen, where the food tells stories — daadi-style comfort cooking on one end, modern gourmet plates with an Indian twist on the other. An on-site cafeteria means you never have to break your flow to feed yourself, a genuine luxury when the nearest restaurants are a drive away.

The Rooms: Private Sanctuaries and Spaces for the Whole Gang

The rooms at Gram’s are designed to feel like your own little sanctuary rather than a numbered door down a corridor. Spread across Haus 1 to 4, the 12 private rooms each come with an attached bathroom, air-conditioning, and that signature blend of retro warmth and modern ease. Every room opens to the unit’s own lawn — your personal patch of green for a slow morning coffee or a between-meetings breather.

What makes Gram’s unusually flexible is its range. Beyond the private rooms, the property offers dormitory-style stays — 4-bed, 6-bed, and 8-bed units, including a dedicated female dorm. That makes it a rare find: a luxury villa near Lonavala that also welcomes solo travellers and budget-conscious friend groups without losing its design soul. Whether you want a private room with a lake breeze or a buzzy bunk with your crew, there’s a configuration that fits.

It’s the kind of layout that quietly answers the question every group asks: will everyone be comfortable here? Yes.

Experiences That Define the Stay

A great workation needs a great “off switch,” and Gram’s has thought this through. The pools are the obvious draw — one per unit, complimentary, and perfectly sized for an end-of-day dip or a lazy weekend float. The lawns stretch out for sunset chats, board games, and the kind of unhurried evenings that don’t happen in a hotel lobby.

As the light fades, the property leans into its best hours. Arrange a bonfire (available at an additional charge) and let conversation slow to the rhythm of the flames. Queue up a karaoke night under the stars. For the more adventurous, the Pawna region is a hub for paragliding, and the serene Narayani Dham Temple sits within easy reach for a quieter morning out.

Then there’s the lake itself — steps away, asking nothing of you but your attention. After a day of calls and to-do lists, that proximity to still water is its own kind of therapy.

A Day at Gram’s: Morning to Midnight

Mornings begin gently. Coffee from Gram’s Canteen, a few sun salutations on your private lawn, then an hour of deep work at the co-working nook while the lake mist lifts. By mid-morning you’re on a call with the forts framed in your window — the best backdrop your colleagues will see all week.

Lunch is a daadi-style spread that makes you grateful you didn’t pack sad desk snacks. The afternoon splits between focused work and the occasional, entirely permitted, glance at the pool. Around five, the laptops close. A swim, a walk to the water’s edge, a slow drink as the sky turns amber.

Evening is for the bonfire — stories, music, maybe karaoke that no one will admit to the next morning. Dinner stretches long. And when you finally retreat to your room, the only sound is the breeze. Tomorrow, you do it again. Work, unwind, repeat.

Why Gram’s at Shivom Stands Out

What separates Gram’s from both hotels and ordinary holiday rentals isn’t a checklist — it’s the balance. A business hotel gives you Wi-Fi but no soul. A remote villa gives you serenity but no infrastructure for actual work. Gram’s gives you both: a genuine co-working setup, an on-site canteen, reliable connectivity, and private pools, lawns, lake access, and forts on the skyline.

Add the reassurance of a property rated 4.5 out of 5 across more than 1,200 guest reviews, and the choice gets easier. For groups, the four-haus layout means privacy without isolation. For solo workers, the dorms make a design-led stay genuinely affordable. For everyone, the nostalgia-meets-now concept turns a routine remote-work week into something you’ll talk about long after.

It’s not just a place to stay near Pawna Lake. It’s a place that changes how the week feels.

Frequently Asked Questions