Country Roads

The staff made our anniversary stay special in ways we didn’t expect. They gave us a complimentary toto (e-rickshaw) ride around the large property, which has over a hundred well-kept country homes. When one staff member noticed my wife and me posing in matching clothes, they told the manager. At 8 pm, three smiling staff arrived with a chocolate cake and flowers. My wife has significant mobility issues, and our poolside-view room was upstairs with no lift. The staff carried her in a wheelchair on a palki ride more than once, and never made us feel overlooked despite also managing back-to-back weddings. We’d wanted a quick anniversary getaway at a good resort within a two-hour drive of Kolkata. Since it was wedding season, everywhere else was booked for February 5 and 6, and Country Roads in Raghudevpur was our only option. It was hosting weddings too, but still welcomed us. The manager’s ringtone was a John Denver song, though that alone didn’t reassure us. We’re glad we went, and will cherish those two days. Hospitality is about human connection as much as the rooms, food, activities, and hot showers, and Country Roads did that very well for us.

The place manager was the one bright spot. He was polite, respectful, and tried to help as much as his limited control allowed. But his good conduct couldn’t make up for the rest of the team, and I can’t recommend this venue to anyone wanting a smooth, respectful wedding. The catering was poorly coordinated and slow. When guests raised problems, staff weren’t helpful, and people had to keep asking for basic items. Rather than quickly fixing things or apologizing, the responses were rude and irresponsible. Across the resort, management and staff made guests feel like a burden on what should have been a happy, once-in-a-lifetime day. Simple requests got irritation, delays, or indifference. Many staff members spoke back to family and didn’t follow straightforward directions about arrangements or timing. Their careless approach caused confusion, chaos, and extra tension during the ceremony. The venue itself is beautiful, but the bad hospitality and mismanagement ruined the occasion. It failed to meet even basic service and behavior standards.

The resort felt disorganized from one end to the other. There was no clear coordination or responsible person to resolve problems, and event support, guest handling, and service timing all seemed neglected. For the price and premium reputation Country Roads claims, the service was nowhere near what I expected. We attended my sister’s wedding there, and the catering staff were rude and dismissive. They seemed uninterested and poorly trained instead of helping guests, which caused needless frustration. A wedding should be joyful and memorable, but the experience left everyone with a negative impression. I hope management improves staff conduct, hospitality, and event management so future guests don’t go through the same thing.

The one nice gesture was a lunch bag they gave us when we left. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend this place to foreign tourists. It doesn’t feel like a resort to me: there are no shops or ATM on site, and they wouldn’t even offer to book us a taxi to the city or airport. Getting to local carts was impossible, and when I asked for towels, I was told, “you already have towels.” They said their payment terminal was disabled for international cards. Check your bill carefully too, since the waiter tried to charge us 1000INR above the price.