Jade Hills, Coorg

Excellent, location was simply superb and it only got better with the wonderful host, who shared their experiences and knowledge about coffee plantations, guided us to the different locations of importance which we enjoyed.

Best Experience: Hospitality of the host

Worst Experience: None

Just back from Jade Hills and here is how it went. We reached Jade Hills after a long bumpy ride from Mangalore airport. It took us around 4.5 bone crunching hours to reach Jade Hills. When we reached the place, we felt that the trip was well worth it. The view from there is really awesome! But our happiness was shortlived. After taking in the view, we realized that there was no one around the Bungalow. Finally after a few minutes, Mrs. Thimmaiah appeared. We were told the location of our rooms and that was it. There was no welcome to mention, no courtesy to ask whether we would like some tea or water after such a long trip. Our disappointment started there, but did not end there. All the doors and the windows are permanently closed thus making one feel very unwelcomed. True, that there is a problem of insects, but that is more in the evenings. All through the day the doors and windows are closed. We were given 1 room which was attached to the main bungalow and 2 which were one level down. From the outside the Bungalow looks really beautiful. But the same cannot be said about the inside. The rooms are only white washed and not painted. There is no wardrobe, and the shelves are just slabs of Katta. One of the rooms did not have a water heater, and we were told that we had to inform the staff every time we needed hot water and we would have to wait 10 mins for it! Since we had a 2.5 year old with us, that was very inconvenient! There was no soap, shampoo provided in one of the rooms, the bathroom door did not shut in the other two rooms, the flush didn\'t work well in one of the rooms and the shower only allowed a trickle of water to come out of it!! When we pointed that the amenities are not the best to Mrs. Thimmaiah, she said that we should have checked the web site for the amenities before booking!!! Well, duh, i didn\'t know till now that i had to check on all such things in advance. People, now you\'ll know!! Please add these things to your checklists. After a long time i sat on the WC in fear, never knowing when somebody would catch me crapping. Don\'t ask me when the last time I felt scared while sitting on the WC was... To rewind back, we had reached at 12 noon, and we asked whether we could have lunch. Mrs. Thimmaiah looked grudgingly at the watch and made a few sounds to suggest that she would rather not make it, but she would do us a favour and get lunch made. And that tone stayed for the rest of our stay. We always somehow felt that we were being done a favour by being allowed to stay there. Not the kind of thing, one would look for in a homestay. Finally at 2 p.m. we were served a princely lunch which consisted of a Mixed Veg. Bhaji, Chapati, Rice, Dal, Salad and Seviah Kheer. Well you must have realized that i was exaggerating on the princely part. We learnt at the time of checking out, and it was not a very pleasant surprise, that lunch was Rs. 150/- per person!! Since we were 7 (including the driver) of us we were asked to pay 1050/-. When we protested that the cost of a lunch for the kind of food provided was astronomical, we were again informed by Mrs. Thimmaiah that, we should have inquired about the rates before ordering for lunch! Well, there was no indication put up anywhere about the rates! So what would we expect at a homestay?! A charge of 150/- per person for food that one gets regularly at home? My maid servant would be happy to know that she could charge us 150/- daily! The other pain point is, that breakfast will be provided only after 9 a.m! And if one wants to cover most points in Coorg, one generally needs to make their way out of the hotel before the 9 a.m. So for the price being paid, one really doesn\'t get the benefit. Other amenities missing, which one can live without are TV in the room, Fridge in the room, heater / AC. All in all, a beautiful place, which doesn\'t have beautiful people to complement it. Makes the stay a bummer, since people are the one who make the place worthwhile. p.s: the servants at Jade Hill are nice,but only speak Kannada. So take someone who knows kannada if you want some work to get done from them.

Best Experience: The view

Worst Experience: Lots of bad experiences. Details mentioned in other section