Chamong Chiabari Mountain Retreat

Such a luxuriously fabulous experience. Although the drive was long, roads were steep and winding and needless to mention, scary, the stay was well worth the long travel, for the scenic views and the great service. It’s good for when you love nature and want to take in the beautiful views of the mountains - if it’s clear, you will see the most spectacular colours in the sky and around you. The food is really good. The staff are extremely hospitable so you have to tell them to serve small portions. The chef visited and discussed the menu with us. One day we had Indian, one day it was Chinese and, on the last day, we had the local cuisine experience. Breakfast too was a lavish affair. I chose to eat out on the lawn and take in the view. Since we left early for the airport, on the last day, they packed a dry meal comprising fruit and sandwiches. Book your cab in advance and use a local driver who knows the roads well. There is an agency just 50 metres out of the premises. The estate is sprawling and thriving. There are lots of lovely viewpoints and places to take photos.

POSITIVES 1. The beauty of nature, surrounding mountains and the tea plantations all over were breathtaking. I have visited very few such places in my life.  2. The food served for breakfast, lunch and dinner was very well cooked and tasty.  3. Attention paid by the service staff including those who did housekeeping could not be any prompter or closer and I must thank the entire team for that. They may not be as professional or trained as one finds in a luxury chain hotel but they did their job with sincerity and earnestness.  4. Visiting the Chamong tea factory was a great experience. Mr. Suresh the Asst Manager took pains to explain every stage of tea production from weathering to packing in a professional manner and that made the visit all the more interesting.  5. I must thank Asmit one of the service staff for guiding us to the nearby Shiva Temple, located on top of a hill within the tea estate, and helping us to climb up and down the slope.  NEGATIVES 1. We could not be accommodated in Duke and Duchess as the flush was not working and the bed had a huge spider when we walked in. The maintenance team worked hard while we waited but failed to fix the flush. Therefore, we were assigned one of the lower category, Mile End Manor rooms on the ground floor. In any case Duke and Duchess Manor is much hyped up as the location, size and the layout are far worse than the ground floor rooms.  2. Maintenance was found wanting as the tap water was muddy, the shower mat was slippery, there was no provision for mosquito repellents in the balcony in the evening hours, etc. One of the guests slipped (shower mat slipped) in the bathroom and is still recovering from pain. Fortunately it was not very serious.  3. There was no provision for free packaged drinking water in rooms. This was shocking. We had to buy water for drinking and ended up spending more than Rs.1,700/- towards drinking water alone. This was the first time that we found a luxury resort not providing free packaged drinking water in the rooms. On the 5th evening the staff said that there was no packaged drinking water in stock and all of us panicked. The resort manager was never in attendance. He took my call after many attempts and somehow arranged for a few bottles.  4. The approach road to the resort was narrow, eroded and full of potholes. That made the last part of the journey from airport quite scary. The power back-up was inconsistent, which caused a lot of discomfort.  5. Lack of professional management. All in all it was a mixed experience.

A silent place but too off track. Security is compromised as they have black panther in vicinity. Just ok