Al Amin Homestay

Mr Amin sir was very cooperative and helped us arrange affordable cabs for sightseeing, as well as a memorable houseboat stay on dal lake. We stayed five days with our family, and the children had a great time on our Srinagar vacation. The place is in the city centre, and staying there was a very nice experience. Manoj Shamrao More, Pune Maharashtra

The owner seemed like a nice person when I met him the next day, but the rooms and basic facilities were poor. The geysers didn’t work, cats wandered through the rooms, and the extra bedding was too dirty to sleep on. There was no parking, no kitchen, and not even tea. The western toilets had no washing jets or toilet napkins, which was irritating. It’s surrounded by a non-veg market, with no pure veg dhaba nearby. Bad experience overall.

The host was good, but this doesn’t feel like a proper homestay yet and needs basic improvements. The rooms weren’t clean and had a constant foul smell, so I went through a bottle of perfume. They said there’d be an electric blanket, but it wasn’t provided, and there was no mineral water. Dal Lake is nearby, but the muddy roads made carrying luggage difficult, especially from the road to the homestay. People were peeing along the way, which was nasty.

Amin ji was kind and down to earth. When another homestay we’d booked turned out to be far from the city and hotels were mostly full for peak season, I called him and he told us to come, saying he’d sort it out. It felt like coming home. Earlier, we’d booked this guest house through booking.com for an affordable June rate, usually a great month to visit Kashmir. Keep expectations reasonable: the rooms are decent for the price. Our first room had a few problems, and Amin ji readily moved us to nicer rooms on the top floor. He was always available and made sure we were comfortable. Some renovation is needed after two years of covid, which he acknowledged. I hope the property will be great once that’s done.