Xomotel - the Park Retreat

You can play table tennis or badminton, or wander around the terrace and take in this beautiful destination. The rooms have mountain views from the windows, and they serve tasty food and snacks at low prices. Good service, hospitality, rooms, and staff all around.

The rooms were cozy and comfortable, with a ceiling fan that was a real relief in the Himalayan heat. The hotel is okay, just outside Almora on Honaar Road, though the approach is congested, narrow, and steep. The parking area only just fits three small cars. Hospitality was okay too, but the staff gave us a teacup with a big hole in it and didn’t notice.

The rooms were neat and compact, with wall-to-wall carpet, good linen and mattress, plush blankets, and a nice verandah that also served as a small common lobby with a table and chairs. There was a good cupboard and side tables, though my room door lock didn’t work. We were eight adults and two children under 10, coming from Xomotel Ranikhet to this Xomotel on Almora Binsar Road. We got there around 7:30 pm. The approach was tricky and narrow, with almost no parking space, and it took 15 minutes to fit our 10-seater bus in. There were no lights on arrival, no working generator, and just two staff members in the whole hotel to handle service, cooking, food, luggage, and management. They said everyone had gone to a marriage, but nobody showed up by 10:30 the next morning. We waited until 9:30 pm, then realized no food had been cooked and probably couldn’t be, since there was no light and the two staff didn’t know what to do. They seemed very unhappy about the situation. The three women in our group got fed up, sent the two men out, and cooked dinner using the vegetables that were already cut and the dough. The lights came back at 10:30 pm. We were a big group and not scared, even though the place is quiet, separate, and hard to reach. We played jembe and danced in the moonlight while dinner was being made. The next morning the women made breakfast from whatever was available in the kitchen, and the two men served it. If we’d been a couple, or a family with one young woman, two older parents, and young children, I don’t know what we would have done. The management didn’t offer a discount, anything free, or even a free return stay to make up for the disastrous experience. Very pathetic.

The staff were very well behaved, and the hotel has a fantastic view. The food was good too. I’d definitely recommend staying here in Almora.