Silver Oak Country Yard Hotel & Resort

The lawn was large and well kept, there’s a decent play area for children, parking is on the premises, pets are allowed, and the place is close to the highway. That’s the short list of positives. This was one of our worst stays, and I would not recommend it to a family, a woman travelling alone, or a group of women. We arrived late at night to a poorly lit property that gave us a very uncomfortable feeling. There were beer bottles lying around, including in the children’s play area. Although we had confirmed in advance that we could bring our pets, we weren’t allowed to take them around the resort. The surroundings weren’t peaceful either. We were charged Rs 3500/- for one night, including the dogs and an extra bed, but the reception had no record of our booking. The first room they showed us was in terrible condition and not fit to stay in. I wouldn’t have paid Rs 1000/- for it. Water was seeping from the bathroom, it smelled of fungus, and it seemed to have been unused for a long time. We saw around four rooms before finding one we could stay in, and that only happened after I contacted the owner, who had taken the booking himself. Before that, the receptionist, Mr Ishwar, either seemed to have a language barrier or to be intoxicated, and he showed no basic courtesy. The restaurant closes at 2300 h, and we arrived around 2210 h. Finding a habitable room took so long that staff started pestering us to order food as soon as we got inside. They brought the wrong dishes several times, until we lost our cool. Even once the right food arrived, they didn’t provide plates, which is basic restaurant etiquette. There was no hand wash in the bathroom, so we had to ask for soap and towels. The extra mattress was extremely thin and unsuitable for sleeping on the floor in winter. The linen and pillowcases weren’t clean enough, and the shabby, dilapidated cupboard wasn’t usable for storing our things. The room clock didn’t work, and neither did the intercom. The staff who brought the extra bed and food seemed underage and didn’t know how to handle guests. In the morning, Mr. Ishwar gave us a handwritten bill. The same bill book was used for the restaurant and room charges, so we had to call the owner to get the correct bill. The pool water was dirty, probably because it’s winter and the pool isn’t in use. Leaving water in it during winter made no sense. When my child was playing in the park, two staff members, including Mr Ishwar, sat on the swing themselves for reasons I couldn’t understand.