Windamere Hotel - A Colonial Heritage

We have stayed here before. It is an old-world place in a beautiful setting on the edge of town. It offers a whimsical opportunity to role-play as a member of the pre-1947 Raj. Check out its history and have a gin-and-tonic before dinner!

The weather!

Location, colonial set up

Cleanliness, food

1. Colonial heritage of the property/historical significance2. greenery within the hotel & view from the room3. breakfast and food options were decent in the restaurant

1. Carpet in the room and within the property were old and not clean. It had musty smell and not at all hygienic.2. Bath tubs in the bathroom were old and made creaking sound while taking shower3. we were provided with 2 single beds joined together instead of single queen side bed, so not very comfortable to sleep with kids.4. No doctor on call when my sister-in-law was not well due to mountain sickness5. Even the hotel could not arrange for a taxi to take her to hospital, my sister-in-law struggled in her walk to the nearest taxi stop almost 300meters away. 6. Definitely not recommended for elderly people or people who may require medical attention, unless you have your own vehicle with you.

excellent location, great restaurant & food . Friendly staff , good rooms

room could be cleaner edo the flooring

Staying at Windamere is an experience as it transports you into a different world. The location of the place is excellent where you are in midst of the mall road but away from its hustle bustle too. The property is uniquely designed and have retained the old world charm. The staff and food is personal and top notch. I would like to call out the staff as they went out of their way to make us feel at home. They type their own menu each day and it's something I would highly recommended one should not miss, both their breakfast and their dinner. The bar and the reading room are very regal so I enjoyed my drink as well.

Only location of the hotel

Totally worth less Rundown property Colonial heritage in shambles

The breakfast was included and a very average one. We had twice and menu was unchanged, not a wide spread choices but a limited menu, both lacking in quality and quantity. Tea was tolerable and coffee unbearable. We had booked for a christmas gala dinner with them beforehand for a 5K per person. They took a detail list of our preferences previous night and while serving it seemed it was completely disregarded. The whole thing was so disorganized. A big group was celebrating birthday of a member and it looked like the full attention was on them and people like us gatecrashed the party with little attention, big pauses between courses and complete chaos on what would be served to us. Though a menu card was at the table but it seemed they ran out of choices for us. Except the location, right by the side of the mall, the hotel has nothing plus and negative value for money as we paid a 23K per night for a standard cottage, in basement like place, a very small unclean dingy room and that kind of food.

The room for a starter, and food next and about everything. We felt it so bad inside the hotel and the room that we stayed out most of the time and thankfully mall was next door which is the only plus for the place. I am no great celebrity fan so, staying in the same place as some movie stars or dignitaries from long lost colonial era, or the snobbish claim of it being the place of elites and british sahabs could replace the inconvenience and lack of facilities that a hotel should provide in exchange of such a rate, which is so high even for a hotel in Europe or abroad. Our standard cottage room was placed in a basement kind, with no provision of window, decayed old rugs basic furnitures, and leaks making it very cold, making room heater insufficient. Inside the cupboard a dirty quilt was heaped, making the space unavailable for use. The bathroom was just a slice of the room and a big dirty broken bathtub took most of the place. They put a cheap plastic doormat on the bathtub to cover its worn out paint. To our complain they only responded with one extra room heater We have stayed in number of heritage properties across India, and everywhere colonial rooms of olden days had spacious bathrooms. By the look of it this cottage seemed like a staff or gardener cottage converted in a neglected manner for guests. I also hear that this snob property allots their worst place to those who book through booking dot com. @booking.com please note.

Windamere is a taste of Raj-era India. My room had a fireplace which I used every evening. The turndown service brought a hot water bottle to help me feel warm and comfy. Overall it was a wonder place, with great staff

I was there in December, and the bathroom floors were chilly. Make sure to have some bath room slippers if you are there in the winter time.

Very good breakfast.. Stunning location

Little more promptness from staff..

Food was excellent though a little expensive. The service was absolutely wonderful, especially from Saroj who have a lot of personal attention.

The suites in the heritage building could be modernised with an intercom, a TV and most importantly, a tea/coffee arrangement.

great location and property is steeped in history. well maintained gardens and the rooms are spacious and comfortable

While the staff in the dining room and those who light the fireplace were helpful, the ladies at the reception were very stern and unhelpful. Their stock reply was no, and they were more keen on reading out rules and what is chargeable extra. We did not feel very welcome when from the onset the answers are ‘not possible’

colonial feeling. location. warmth of the staff! rooms. view from the premise.

food! too frugal. could have been more elaborate keeping in mind the exorbitant charges for meals!

Breakfast is OK. But same menu is repeated every day.

Room I started is small. Not value for money. Bathroom is without exhaust fan, smells badly.

Location is unsurpassed. We had a room overlooking the Mall on one side, providing a birds eye view of the soul of Darjeeling at all hours. That was fascinating - to see the crowds during the day, the quiet Mall at night and the same space taken over by the locals in the morning - exercising, socialising, etc. A very colonial experience as expected, with Tea Parlours and Music Rooms. The fireplace in the room was a wonderful experience. The room names were vintage interesting - ours was 'Roy Bahadur'.

bad

place was dirty staff was rudevery slow service

The best location in Darjeeling. Perched atop the observatory hill, it over looks the mall road and the chaurasta. The property is also decently maintained given that it's almost a 80 years old.

Hugely overpriced. Rude reception by the staff. Refusal to cooperate. A very, 'this is how it's done here' attitude. Very limited menu for breakfast or meals. Which again are hugely over priced (2k per person for meals, that have hardly 5 things on the menu). No room service of food!! Last other for food orders (if you don't want to go for buffet) is 6 pm! And check in can't be a minute before 1 pm and check out strictly at 11 am. In fact, we were categorically told that 2.5k extra if half an hour delay, i.e. till 11:30 am. After 11:30 am you will charged for the full day

There is nothing to like in this property except the heritage photos and letters on the walls everywhere. More like a museum than a Hotel.

The property is in a really bad shape. It has deteriorated and run down. Looks like there is no one to look after this property. I had stayed here 20 years ago and was really looking forward to stay again but the experience was really bad. The HK staff is so old that you don’t feel like getting anything done from them. Even though the breakfast was so limited still it was really bad. The bed covers, the duvet, the bed sheets had stains. The Almirah stinks so much that you don’t want to put anything inside it. No charging point by bed side. No black out curtains so all the outside night light comes in the room. I stayed at Room Summer & Spring and there are open high voltage electrical wires around it which could be dangerous for young kids. There were empty broken pots lying around. Finally I asked the reception to arrange for the taxi to airport 8 hours before my flight which they said is not possible so I had to call for a taxi from outside because of which I almost missed my flight. This property needs a lot of maintenance and needs much more attentive staff. Honestly it felt like a Dharmshala rather than a Hotel.

Location.

The service was tge worst I have ever experienced. It took then 2 hours to get a glass of milk & when their hair dryer went bust... they were unable to provide me with another one .... the breakfast menu is the worst I have ever seen in a hotel with their prices .

The local staff are mostly good, the location is superb and the food enjoyable.

Inordinately rude owner, a British lady with tons of racist undertones, and a front desk that tries to throw you out at 11 in the morning refusing to acknowledge booking.com timings. Also beware of being shoved into nooks and crannies of the hotel when you book a superior room. They gave us the Rai Bahadur where the TV was shoved inside the wardrobe and our clothes had to be on the bed. Unless you are a firang or someone likely to stay for a while, you are in for a roughish stay.

Windamere is a very charming property thanks to its colonial vintage. The location is perhaps the best in Darjeeling. Located right above the main square, it's very accessible and the perfect place to explore the town, and due to its height it's surrounded by beautiful views. My favourite thing about the stay was the live fireplace which was the perfect end to a long day of walking in the rain!

Since the property is quite old, some of the fittings may appear a bit worn. Also there was no power for sometime and there's no backup on the premises.