Purnima Guest House — Hotel in Great Himalayan Range

We stayed here from 31st March to 4th April 2023. It was overall a very good and a satisfactory experience staying here. We were two families 6 people (3 children 13-17 yrs old and 3 adults). Purposely mentioning here for the travelers to understand the stay here.

The Management People : Tarun Thakur is a very humble and a polite manager who listened to our needs and requests and acted immediately. Support staff was equally good, Abhi and others.

Location : Fantastic location in terms of views of trees, mountains and old Manali. Its in the lap of nature. There is Apple, Pear etc orchard farm surrounding the property. Beautiful lush greenery everywhere. The orchard farm was in full flower bloom so it was a lovely and a picture-perfect sight and location.

Access to the Hotel : Though the location is beautiful but for reaching the property you have to walk and climb a few staircases having in total 50-70 steps. But that is not a problem as the Hotel staff gets your luggage safely to the Hotel. The Car does not go till the doors of the Hotel which some might find a bit odd. After crossing the old Manali Bridge take left and in about 50 meters there is this Cafe Evergreen on left of road in front of which (to the right of road) which there is a Parking Lot and there are these staircases that will take you up to the Hotel property. Hotel person will come to handle your luggage and take you to the Hotel.

Hotel Property : Property is impressive. Ambience and feel of the property is great. 10/10. Getting into the property itself is great as you have to walk through the pavement which is through the small farm garden. Then there is small pooltable area and a sitout area beyond which there is a beautiful garden with a couple of pear trees and flowering plants with 3-4 lovely small sitout huts. the building is rustic yet modern. simply fab.

Stay Comfort : If Manali Temperatures are 11 Deg Centi or more then its the best stay here. but if temperature is less than 8-9 Deg Centi then you have to rent room heaters at Rs.500 per day. Heaters are ok but not that effective looking at the size of the room. When we stayed here the night temp went down to 1 to 3 Deg Centi which was absolutely chilly. Actually its not expected to have such low temperatures in end of March - start April. It rained on 1st April, 2nd April was our Lucky Best Clear Sunny Day on which we could visit Solang Valley, Atal Tunnel and beautiful Sissu village snow mountains, 3 rd April it rained the whole day from about 12 noon till 8 in evening and it was very chilly we couldn't do anything but stay at the Hotel. 4th April there was slight drizzle, but weather was pleasant. Hotel will provide ample of blankets. Blankets, Bed Sheets, Pillows are neat and clean and there is no smell of any sort in the room which will make you feel uncomfortable. Rooms are big, fresh and clean. Corridors are also beautiful.

Choose top floor rooms numbering 120 (best),121,122 - They have the best views.

Transport Assistance : Manager provides the same immediately on demand.

Food : The food was not upto the mark. Except Dal Tadka and Fried Rice every other food item was not upto the mark. When we asked the manager for the reason he mentioned that the regular old cook was on holiday till May 2023 and the current one was only a new cook.

Service : 10/10, no complaints. Manager and the hotel staff is very friendly.

Others : Alternatively, you can take a right from the Old Manali Bridge and go straight till you reach just before the CLUB HOUSE at the Tara Hotel and from that property, there is this another way through narrow rock steps alleys which will take you to the Purnima Guest House Property. This route is good to access eateries on the CLUB HOUSE road.

Access to Market : Climb down the Hotel-hill and there is a buzz of shops and hotels around. Good access to Market. Its about 0.8-1 km away from Mall...

Ok Purnima is a nice little guesthouse in terms of room quality and location. Everything is clean and tidy. And Little Italy, the attached restaurant, serves excellent food at a competitive price. That being the case I ended up staying here for the best part of a month.||||But - and for me this is a big but - in that time I began to notice that the management was concerned with only the dollar value of its customers, and have not yet grasped the importance of high quality service equating to repeat customers, and the impact of word of mouth.||||A festival was organised nearby, and the organisers wanted to completely book Purnima place. Problem was that there was already guests staying there, so hotel management decided to make everyone leave, saying only "Oh you can come back in a few days." I can see a completely booked hotel would be alot of money for them, but the Purnima already had alot of guests, so it wasn't as though business was suffering. It's an established business in Manali. Despite this, they just chucked us all out without regard for the damage done to the relationships that had been built. That put a bad taste in my mouth.||||Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, an incident occurred when a water boiler in the bathroom of one of the rooms exploded, completely destroying everything inside. I'm not exaggerating, if someone had been in the room they would've been seriously injured, if not killed. The blast sent glass from the windows flying 15 metres across the restaurant's garden.||||Now I understand that these things happen in India, and safety standards are not what we expect in the west, so that is not what I'm getting at. What I want to highlight is the poor handling of the situation post explosion. I'd gotten to know the lovely French couple staying in that room, and alot of their stuff was destroyed in the blast. Most importantly to them was their guitar, which was totally smashed up. The management did not even apologise for what had happened, let alone offer to recompense them for their losses. When asked, they just refused. That is disgusting.||||To me these two points make this place well presented, but poorly managed. The owners are not genuine people and care only about the money coming from foreign travellers. ||||So, what can you expect? A nice room that may or may not explode, some very nice food, and to leave feeling like a walking...

I booked a one-night stay at this property after being captivated by the photos online, which played a huge role in my decision. The location is slightly challenging to access as you have to climb up stairs, located inside the parking area of old Manali. The property itself is nestled in what appears to be a home-grown garden, with an abundance of vegetables, beautiful flowers, and fruits like pears and apples.

The property is quite large, featuring an on-site kitchen and restaurant with both indoor and outdoor dining options. They also have huts available for personal dining experiences. The staff is cordial and friendly, adding to the overall pleasant atmosphere. The corridors are lined with planters, creating a soothing environment.

However, there was a discrepancy with my room. The room I booked was different from the one I was given. Upon inquiry, the staff explained that the room I opted for was on the top floor, which had significant heat due to its location and lacked fans. Thus, they assigned me a different room with relatively less heat.

While the photos online showed a spacious and aesthetically appealing room, the room I received was smaller and had some maintenance issues. Although the replacement room wasn't bad and also needed some fixing, it didn't match my expectations based on the photos. The management should address these discrepancies to ensure guests receive what they book. Despite this, the stay was pleasant, thanks to the beautiful surroundings and friendly staff.

Another thing that can be improved is the on-site restaurant. They don’t accept UPI payment which is a bit trouble. You have to pay cash or you will have to pay extra tax for online...