A two-day employee retreat at Jim Corbett for 110 Cloudsufi employees

The group assembled at Sector 16, Noida, and left at 08:00 on the Saturday in three coaches, with one 15-minute halt on the way. A packed breakfast box and water were handed out on boarding, so nobody queued for food on the highway. The return left after lunch on the Sunday with one comfort halt, reaching Noida at about 19:30.

The coaches were 2023 models or newer, with 2x2 pushback seats, air suspension, per-seat charging and a music and microphone system. Tolls, state permits, fuel and the drivers' overnight stay and parking at the resort were all inside the coach arrangement.

ICE India's first-choice resort could not hold the dates when it confirmed on 7 October that it was fully booked. The same day, the shortlist was screened again against the revised numbers, with the room count and headcount settled lower, and a replacement resort near Ramnagar was quoted that evening.

The group was fixed at 110 employees in 55 twin-sharing rooms, and the programme moved to the new property on the same dates.

Lunch was served on arrival, with check-in alongside it, and high tea followed in the late afternoon. The Saturday dinner opened with starters, two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian, served alongside soft drinks and a bar run by the resort under its excise licence. Breakfast and a farewell lunch followed on the Sunday.

All food was cooked and served by the resort. The only exception was the packed breakfast boxes that left Noida with the group.

The afternoon programme was two facilitated sessions run by a specialist team-building partner, with facilitators, equipment and props supplied. Mini Olympics split the group into teams for relays and games across the lawn, with coloured cones and balls marking each station.

The Drum Circle came next. The group sat in a ring of chairs with a drum each and played together to a facilitator's lead, a format that needs no skill and no preparation. The two sessions together ran for about three hours.

Dinner was set around a DJ with sound, stage lighting and a diesel generator as backup power. The resort's rules allow outdoor music until 22:15, so the DJ programme was built to that limit and the music licence was arranged in advance. A PA system with microphones covered the leadership address on the Saturday evening and the closing session on the Sunday.

One plan from Noida to Noida

Coaches, rooms, meals, activities, music and an ICE India team travelling with the group ran as a single plan, with one team answering every question.

A programme sized to the hour

On a day that starts with an 08:00 departure and a long drive, the afternoon and evening had to be short, physical and easy to join, which is why team building was two facilitated sessions rather than a long agenda.

Limits built in early

The outdoor music cut-off, the resort's own bar licence and the drivers' overnight stay were settled in the plan rather than on the day.

A replacement found the same day

When the first resort fell through, the re-screen and the new quote were done in hours, so the dates held.

The guides on planning a corporate offsite, national parks for corporate retreats and wellness retreats cover the choices behind a retreat like this, and event logistics covers the coaches.