The Grand Retreat - Chikmagalur — Hotel in Karnataka

On the outset, the resort looks good and premium but there are lot of loopholes. I will write in detail, on the pros and cons of this property. Hope it helps fellow travellers to make a better decision

Pros: 1 Resort is present at a very scenic location, the rooms have beautiful mountain view from the balconies. 2 Pool is good, neat and well maintained. 3 Resort staff were courteous, friendly and accommodating. Service was fast. 4 Jaccuzzi was good, we had a relaxing experience. 5 The resort organizes a coffee plantation tour early in the mornings, and a coffee grinding session in the evenings, within the property which was quite fun, informative and engaging.

Cons: 1 The food was very very bad, the absolute worst there is. I paid for my stay+dinner so had to go for the buffet. I can say, not one item was worth eating. I had only fruits and raw vegetables in salad. However I could not eat a single item from the buffet, so the staff agreed to serve me a simple meal of my choice from ala carte. 2 The person who laid the plan to this resort must be high or something. My room was on the 1st floor, but there is no chance to take the elevator. If I use the elevator from top and land in 1st floor, I should climb down a flight of stairs and climb one again to reach my room 🤦🏻‍♀️ not even kidding.. one has to see it to believe it!! 3 The intercom was not working. When asked, they said entire resort is having some problem and none of the intercoms were functioning. We had to talk to the reception lady via my mobile, had to call her on the number she called me, to confirm my reservation, whenever I needed anything. Pathetic! 4 Resort should have rooms on higher floors to accommodate the beautiful Mountain Views but instead the rooms were in 1st floor, restaurant in the 2nd floor and games room on the roof which doesn’t make sense. 5 A badminton court was set up, on an uneven piece of a sloped mountain land which is not at all suitable to play as there is good chance of slipping and falling due to the slope. 6 I took a jacuzzi suite, but was shocked to find that there was no hair drier in the room, which is pretty basic. It is common sense that any person who uses the jacuzzi might need a hair drier afterwards. 7 The toilet is isolated from rest of the washroom, no complaint there but it was a small, closed, confined space, little claustrophobic even! God save the person who’s waiting next to use the toilet, as they DO NOT HAVE AN EXHAUST FAN FOR THE TOILET. 8 Rooms and the overall property could have been maintained little better. I found cobwebs in multiple locations. 9 The indoor games room was pathetic, dusty and had cobwebs. Carrom board was badly maintained. 10 The mini fridge in my suite was just there for the sake of it, wasn’t even working.

For INR 11,000+ per night, this was not at all what I expected!! The cons hugely outweighed the pros, so I would not recommend this resort to be honest.

Suggestion to the resort people - Change your chef and cooking staff. They are too bad at their job. Try to maintain the property with little more cleanliness. And for gods sake, install hair dryers and...

There are pros and cons to this property. As a verdict it is a beautiful property with some extremely helpful staff. However, it is overpriced and not a 5 star property. We had fun so 4 stars but it is actually a 3 star experience. I had booked the resort for a friend's 30th birthday.

Goods: Service: 6/5. Shabaz was exceptional in everything from coffee nature walks to helping my friend overcome fear of outdoor adventure activities and roasting sessions. Will never forget his nuggets of coffee wisdom. Some staff in restaurant were very kind and helpful. Most staff are more than happy to help for anything. From badminton to parcelling last minute maggi for our return trip.

Room: 5/5. The Jacuzzi Room is extremely spacious and comfortable, with great views. Lots of plant pots in room. Architecuturally mess though as you need to go down and climb up stairs post using lift to get to room (with keycard).

Bads: Food: 2/5. Though priced decently in a buffet not more than 2-3 items were in decent to goodish range. Definitely not expected from a 5 star resort.

Ambiance: 2.5/5 The lightning and mood of resort overall was good. However entrance and lobby etc was like a fancy homestay at best but not a 5 star resort. Can have a little focused reception area, maybe some pieces of art for some good vibe and some common areas. Entry board is little more like a home stay than a resort. Architectural issues glaring.

Biggest complaint: The power kept going off every hour or so for 1 min. Even my 30k/month society (vs 10-20k/day here) has better power backup. This is absolutely horrible. There has to be an automated way to trigger backup that doesn't make you lose wifi, ac, tv, lights, jaccuzi and fan for few minutes every 1-2 hours. My friend had to take a work call and every 45 mins they have to fumble to turn on mobile data for 2-3 minutes.

Resort overall: 3/5 I had an awesome time. However bit of mixed feeling with expectation of a 5 star resort. It is a relatively small resort (3.5 acres). Had it been larger it would've been more fun taking walks/cycling. Loved the staff and the overall calming vibe. There's a stream near the villa. Many villas still under construction but thankfully not active (no noise). Decent game room.

For the price point I had expected something amazing. I mean a luxury room in The Lalit in middle of Delhi costs the same. It was a great experience with the hills and the greenery however it was not incredible. Might have been a good deal for ~5-10k per night but not for 10-18k per night (depending on room...

I stayed here for 3 days with my family, and while the rooms are spacious and each villa comes with a private plunge pool, that’s where the positives stop. |Everything else about this property is far from what one expects of a “5-star resort.”|1. Misleading property photos|The aerial photos online are not true to reality. This is a small property with just concrete villas—no mountain view, no landscaped greenery as suggested. |2. Inflated ratings|The 8.9/4.7 ratings you see on travel sites seem to be largely from B2B/corporate guests visiting as part of packages or deals. As a regular guest, my experience was nowhere close to those ratings.|3. Not a 5-star by any standard|It’s surprising how Booking.com and MakeMyTrip classify this as a 5-star. Apart from the size of the villa, the property offers nothing that resembles 5-star service or hospitality.|4. Overpriced & poor value for money|The villa is very expensive considering the property has nothing else to offer. The food is frankly horrible—neither taste nor presentation is at par with even a decent 3-star. The chef seems clueless about making good food, and there’s no intent to improve.|5. Lack of customer service culture|I would truly blame the leadership of this resort. The basics of hospitality are missing. Staff appear unhappy, untrained and lack the finesse you’d expect. They focus only on mechanically delivering what you ask for, often incorrectly. Examples:|Tea spilled on plates when served.|Tea served without cookies.|Paratha without curd or pickle.|Khichdi served plain, without accompaniments.|Even after feedback, the same mistakes were repeated.|The reception staff were smiling but still huge headroom to improve|6. No ownership or intent|I personally explained to restaurant and property manager what 5-star service means, but though they nodded and agreed, the execution never improved.|7. No proactive thinking|During rains, we asked for umbrellas. Staff brought just one umbrella for 3 guests, while others sat idle. That shows the lack of initiative.|8. Poor amenities|Internet is patchy.|Tata Sky subscription wasn’t active—so if you’re traveling with kids, you’ll end up handing them your phone for entertainment. Despite complaints, nothing was done.|No trolleys or covered pathways for luggage transfer. Bags were carried manually, even in heavy rain.|9. Housekeeping /hygiene is not a habit |Rooms aren’t cleaned unless you specifically ask—again, not the standard for a...