Kumaon local heritage lodge

The in-house cafe is lovely, with bonfires and live music, and the friendly staff make it even better. The food there is something you should try. Rooms are comfortable and have what a traveler looks for, including Wi-Fi, a kettle, and a tea maker. Highly recommended.

The place has potential, and the stay was pocket friendly, but I can’t recommend it for lodging based on what we got. We visited on October 2 as a group of four and booked a dorm because our trip was planned late. It looked good in the photos, and the lawn was the best feature a hotel or cafe could have in a place like Bhimtal. Food was delicious, with dinner better than breakfast. You can also arrange a romantic candlelight dinner or have a bite by the bonfire with music and delicious food. Maybe other rooms were much better, and maybe we were too lazy to look for another place after seeing ours, but our dorm was barely acceptable: the mattresses were damp and as hard as a railway berth, the room hadn’t been cleaned, and we found dirty socks under the bed. The washroom was the worst we’ve experienced. Even camps at Chandra tal and on the way to nathu la had cleaner ones. It needs about 2k to 4k of maintenance. There was no ventilation in the room or kitchen, and a strange smell from the kitchen reached the balcony. There was seepage in the sitting area, which may be common in a place like Bhimtal, but they should do something about it and shouldn’t serve food there. This place could be spoiled if things stay this way for long. It needs funding, better management, and new housekeepers. You can still come for coffee or dinner any day, any time. Our experience may differ from others, but I can only share what we experienced. I’m sorry I didn’t take pictures of the room and dorm.

I’ve visited many places, but never had such a bad stay. The deluxe room lacked basic things: towels, glasses, an intact bed sheet, extra pillows, a dustbin, toilet mugs, and toiletries. There was no curtain at the window, so people could see inside. The room smelled bad and we struggled to sleep. Luckily my family and I only had to stay one night. I’d rather use 3AC on Indian Railways than stay here. Staff behavior was terrible; they seemed to care only about money. One actually asked, “Did you have dinner? Otherwise, we have leftovers.” I needed a blanket for my five-year-old daughter, but they had none. Whatever we asked, the answer was “I don’t know, ask the marketing team, owner, or manager.” There was no single point of contact, and the reception person wasn’t ready with our check-in information when I arrived around 6 PM instead of 2 PM. They took 70% in advance even though the booking site allows payment at the property. I felt cheated. Around 3000 for this room was far too much. In other places, a room and service like this shouldn’t cost over 800 to 1200 rs, and this isn’t a heritage hotel. In their reply, they still wanted money for extra bedding. To clarify, their staff offered that bedding as compensation for everything; I hadn’t asked for it. Please check with your team. I also asked to see a standard room to understand why I’d been charged so much for such poor quality, but they showed me a dormitory instead. That room was unclean, with beer bottles I had to ask them to remove. The broken roof was covered with transparent plastic, the window had no curtain, the toilet wasn’t clean, there was no toilet freshener, and there was a water shortage even in the morning. The reply came from the marketing team, who had never visited the property.

My workation at Kumaon Local Heritage Lodge was the worst stay I’ve had so far. I needed uninterrupted internet with enough bandwidth for video calls, plus a calm, peaceful place. Homestays of India sold me this property for that purpose. The place is right on Bhimtal market road, so it wasn’t peaceful. Rowdy, drunk tourists staying there partied until 4 am and disturbed the quiet, despite my complaints to staff. Service was absolutely poor: food came only after two or three reminders and took 45 minutes to an hour or more. The food was sad, and I couldn’t find one dish I’d order again. By the end of day two, I had food poisoning, which made me question the kitchen’s hygiene. The internet was completely down from day two, and nobody acted for almost two more days. The rooms and bathrooms are very small and unsuitable for a long stay. A house shrew also got into my room. The whole stay was a disaster, so I cut my trip short and went home after three nights, despite booking seven.