Jungle Lodges Kabini River Lodge, Kabini Hotel Reviews

"Poor service"

• Posted by Denise
• Toronto
• Feb 29, 2012

Kabini River Lodge came recommended to me by a close Indian friend and also through Trip Advisor. However the room that we were assigned was the worst place we ever stayed. We were really looking forward to our stay there. Our plane landed at 11:30 in Bangalore and we drove to Kabini, actually eating lunch in the back of the car to avoid wasting any time. We were the last to check in on a Saturday night at 6:30 pm. When I saw the room I almost cried. The walls for sure hadn’t been painted in a decade. There was about a four inch circle of filthy fingerprints around every wall switch. See the attached pictures. The bathroom was not beautiful by any stretch but the bathtub was so badly stained that it was disgusting. There was about a half inch at the bottom of the outside door that opened on the bathroom. Things were always crawling through there. Even a toad jumped over my foot in the room on the last night. Most of the lights did not work. They sent someone down to rewire a couple of switches for the wall/ceiling lights. Later we found that the bedside lamp did not work and neither did most of the outlets. We tried to charge my phone, to no avail as the outlet had no power. The bathtub didn’t even have a plug. My husband thought that the finger prints were the result of people repeatedly trying to get the lights to work. We heard that the newer cottages are very nice. Nearly all other “foreigners” were staying in these. When we complained to the manager and I mentioned how much money we had paid, so far in advance, to be assigned such a horrible room, he told me flat out that the cottages are much more expensive but for foreigners they charge the same for a “good room” as they do a “bad room”. There was no remorse whatsoever about the situation. A couple of other tourists who we met said they were happy with their cottages, which were very well maintained. They did comment that they found the management the most unfriendly at registration of any place in India. That was certainly our experience when we checked in and in later dealings we had. The general workers around the lodge were quite nice. The food was OK, nearly all Indian, which was OK with us as we were in India. We took the boat safari and enjoyed it very much. On the jeep safaris there was not a lot to see, deer, gaur, wild boar and langur monkeys were plentiful and we saw only a couple of elephants. We had been forewarned by our Indian friends not to expect much game in this area and even though the sign at the front tells tales of leopard and tiger sightings almost daily, it wasn’t true. No-one on the drives had seen any. Even one of the naturalists at the lodge admitted that those sightings were very rare indeed. There are many better places today close by. If you happen to be assigned a filthy room like we were after paying so much, you will not be pleased I am sure. You can take a look at my reviews of many other hotels where we have stayed and you will see that we are pretty generous reviewers. It has to be bad to deserve this one.

Best Experience: The boat safari was nice.

Worst Experience: The room was absolutely disgusting.

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 5 votes.

"Location was good"

• Posted by Mohan
• Bangalore
• Feb 27, 2012

The location of the hotel is beautiful.Really a nice hotel to stay at.The food was good.

Best Experience: The service was good.

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 1 vote.

"Nice experience"

• Posted by Dinesh
• Bangalore
• Feb 17, 2012

Its a really good hotel.Our stay was excellent.The hotel is a combination of wild life resort and camp.So one can expect nice adventurous stay here.The service and he property of the place is good.the location was good as well and i loved the stay

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

"Good food"

• Posted by Sandeep
• Bangalore
• Feb 12, 2012

a good destination, the food was good at the resort, over all was satisfied by the services provided by the resort

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

"Good food"

• Posted by Naren
• Feb 05, 2012

it was super we stayed in tents.. Rooms wer good .. the arrangents were done very well and climate was good .. Rooms wer luxurious

Best Experience: Food was excellent

Worst Experience: Maintanence of tent there were insects

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

"Nice hotel"

• Posted by Krishna
• Bangalore
• Jan 18, 2012

A wonderful place on the banks of Kabini river. Got to see elephants, guar and spotted dear by the plenty. and the JlR was not such a thing to complain or appreciate of just enjoy nature and whatever facility the JLR provides is just a bonus.

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

"Nice experience"

• Posted by Janukin
• Bangalore
• Jan 10, 2012

Nothing better than this place... Peace, and Nature just an enchanting experience :)

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

"Amazing experience"

• Posted by Shriram
• Nasik
• Age: 55 + years
• Nov 09, 2011

Our stay at the Tambu Niwas at Kabini River lodge was amazing we relaxed here and enjoyed Tent and Safari and wild life. Over all a beautiful trip.

Best Experience: We have seen Giant Squiral.

Worst Experience: No

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

• Posted by Nandini
• Bangalore
• Jul 13, 2011

I had heard rave reviews about it, thus expectations were sky high and consequently chances of disappointment concomitantly higher. To our surprise, we were anything but disappointed. The river and jungles are pristine and untouched, with loads of creepy crawlies to complete the picture. City dwellers should be prepared to stay in the middle of the jungle along the picturesque backwaters of River Kabini. The lodge is a Government of Karnataka undertaking with special permission and there are not too many other touristy activities around. The variety of rooms and cottages are well-appointed and furnished with all the important amenities like hot water, cooler, mini fridge, electric kettle and so on, which is a luxury considering we are in the middle of nowhere. The staff, dressed in camouflage prints is cordial and the service is warm. The daily package includes two safaris (boat and jeep), coracle rides and all meals.

Best Experience: The place is very pet-friendly without being too verbose about it − our pug was really welcome and got loads of attention from guests and staff alike. The forest and adjoining villages was such a welcome change from the incessant noises of the city. The safari guide was very well-versed with the information about the flora, fauna and geography of the region. The fact that there is poor internet connectivity and no TV was also great for a parent struggling to make her child appreciate life beyond DTH and Wii! The entire trip was an amazing nature trail with surprises beckoning on every corner.

Worst Experience: We visited in the first week of June. The rains had started, making the vegetation dense and visibility poor. As a result, it was hard to spot any carnivores. The last stretch of about 10 kms on the way to the lodge is a bumpy ride.

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.

• Posted by Anil
• Pune
• Jun 22, 2011

Very beautiful nature journey by road from Mysoor to Kabini. The resort is is on the bank of river Kabini in Karnataka TM Border area. Beautiful garden is around the resort.

Best Experience: Wonderful Jungle Safari is very much enjoyable.

Worst Experience: Nil

• Was this review useful?
• YES
• 0 votes, be the first to vote.