JKTDC Huts, Chasme Shahi — Hotel in Jammu and Kashmir

A very good option if you are a group of 3-4 people and want a home-like stay, with privacy. The cottages are spacious, equipped 'well enough', and the service excellent (at least that's what our experience was). Hopefully, the detailed review below will help you make an informed decision, so that you know what you're likely to get, and won't be disappointed.

JKTDC Chashmeshahi is distributed over two plots - one immediately adjacent to Chashmeshahi ( 60 huts) and the other a 10-minute walk away ( 22 huts, aka Pari Mahal Hutments). While you don't get to choose where you'll stay, for what it's worth, all the Pari Mahal huts are 2BHK cottages. We were also allocated one of the Pari Mahal huts. Other types of cottages can only be found in the Chashmeshahi-adjacent property. The restaurant, Zaiqa, too is located next to Chashmeshahi. But we didn't experience that to be a problem as the caretakers (my impression is that each hut is allotted 1-2 caretakers) were happy to bring the food to our rooms (Tip: Request them to leave a menu card in your room so that you needn't have conversations with the chef over the phone). The food has enough vegetarian and meat options, and was generally very good. E.g. the dal tadka was made in a unique manner with some local spices and the rajma were good too (the only disappointment was the chicken dhania, which was a bit too sour). If I recall correctly, the restaurant opens around 8 am and operates till 9 pm. The kitchen is well-equipped and if anything is missing, you can bring it to the attention of the caretakers, who will try their best to arrange it for you. To our surprise, we even found a cylinder in our kitchen. I'd recommend though, that you keep your expectations basic.

We had booked a 2-bedroom cottage, which was equipped with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a decently sized living room. The cottage also had a front porch and a front lawn that could be used for sitting and soaking in the views or for having a meal (weather permitting). Both the bedrooms were spacious and while they had no heaters, they were equipped with enough blankets to protect from the cold. The general cleanliness was also good, though don't expect every linen to be spick & span (that's where the experience is home-like rather than hotel-like). There was a water heater, which meant that there was hot ater in the bathrooms. The kitchen was equipped with an RO water purifier. There was no WiFi (do note that these cottages are old) but that wasn't a problem for us as we could use our phone data whenever we returned to the cottage. There was also a TV connected to a set-top box, which the caretaker made functional.

Last but not the least, an important perspective - the price that you pay for a 2-BHK deluxe cottage is equivalent to the price that you'd pay for a single hotel room in during the season in Srinagar. Hence, we found this a really good deal and had an excellent time during our stay there. If you keep your expectations basic, this place presents really good value for money (and if there is something missing, the caretakers will be happy to go out of their way for a tip)!

P.S. I had read and heard about the service at these cottages being disappointing but our experience was quite the opposite. The enthusiastic service of the caretakers will be one of our fond memories of our stay at JKTDC...

These Huts are beautiful from outside and inside too but absolutely unmaintained. Beds are all creaky very very creaky if you turn even slightly it will start creaking ... kitchens have a coming range but very dirty ... waiter will visit you only once on your first day of stay and ask for money to get you a cylinder for kitchen... ||carpet is clean, extra bedding means only mattress and quilt to be put in floor .. no extra beds... taxes for hotel rooms are charged extra to be paid in cash at the counter ...||Location is beautiful, chesmeshahi garden is beautiful garden outside hut is beautiful, army camp in premises helps you feel secure and you can interact with very warm and smiling Indian army soldiers they even offered us tea... very nice people ... ||one expensive restaurant in premises but is only accessible through a 10/15 mins steep climb so if you plan to walk back post dinner ... you better be healthy ! Not texomm need for elderly as huts are not wheelchair accessible and restaurant too ... go at...

We stayed their for a week in the month of July, although we had reserved a deluxe hut and made arrangement for the best hut but as we got their it was a nightmare, everything was dirty, I was wondering if cleanliness is even a thought in Kashmir. We barely stayed a night and went to see the manager in the morning, I already had it so he got earful, he was a nice guy apologized and made all the arrangements to move us to a different hut, it was a day and night difference, everything was new and you could feel like a human, I was told this hut was reserved for Indian ministers who stay their for free.... ||helpers were great they made us very comfortable, we were able to get a cook who cooked all the Kashmiri food which was a treat!||Thanks to the manager and the support staff for making it somewhat...