Mystic Heights, Koyna — Hotel in Maharashtra

Had been to Koyna Nagar last month and stayed at Mystique Heights. Booked this stay after viewing lots of positive reviews of this place. My response about this place was mixed & downgraded a few notches. Let's start with the positives first:||PROS:|1. Easy to reach, located on the main road and very near to the Nehru Garden. I am specifically mentioning this point when compared to most of the other hotels and resorts at Koynanagar which are situated on the other side of the town and on a hilltop. The road to this hotels is very narrow with a step incline. The pathetic road condition adds to the misery.|2. The view from Mystique Height is the main selling proposition of the property. Any point of the day, it offers panoramic view of the calm waters of the lake and mountains behind. Sunrise from the verandah of your cottage is simply mesmerizing! |3. The stay is nestled amongst nature and the surroundings offers complete relaxation to the body and the soul. The only sound you hear comes from the nature and it's inhabitants. Ideal place to watch the beautiful vistas and do nothing.|4. Good place for bird watching. You can easily spot 15-20 species of birds.|5. The host Mr. Rajesh Jadhav is friendly and willing to offer information and help as and when required.||CONS:|1. Hygiene and cleanliness needs urgent attention of the owner/staff. The wash room of our cottage was not even cleaned when we checked-in. Even after pointing this to the owner, just the wash basin was cleaned and rest of the place was left as it is. Major thumbs-down for this! The same goes to overall cleanliness and maintenance of the overall property.|2. Food options are very-very limited. Food is freshly cooked and served but don't expect much in terms of variety. Also you need to wait every time you order anything. Taste is Ok.|3. If your mobile has a JIO card, then only you are connected else you are totally cut off from the world. So all the people who loves to update every moment of their itinerary on the social media will be disappointed. Those who are not bothered about the network and prefer solitude are truly blessed.|4. Keep your service expectations to bare minimum as the place is highly under-staffed. Other than Mr. Jadhav and a cook at the restaurant, there was no one else to look after you. |5. The restaurant is at the entrance while the cottages are located level above. So you have to climb-up approx 30-35 steps from the restaurant to your cottage. People with knee problem or senior citizens should avoid this place. |6. The place is isolated from the town with very few people working / staying at the resort. So people who are jiffy about the security around should avoid this place.||VERDICT:|A beautiful place to stay provided the owner keeps sufficient staff to look after their guests and maintain good hygiene and cleanliness around. I booked this stay owing to good ratings given by the guests. But something seems to have gone wrong in between - either a change of ownership or staff cutting due to current COVID situation but has dampened the...

Had been to Koyna Nagar last month and stayed at Mystique Heights. Booked this stay after viewing lots of positive reviews of this place. My response about this place was mixed & downgraded a few notches. Let's start with the positives first:

PROS: Easy to reach, located on the main road and very near to the Nehru Garden. I am specifically mentioning this point when compared to most of the other hotels and resorts at Koynanagar which are situated on the other side of the town and on a hilltop. The road to this hotels is very narrow with a step incline. The pathetic road condition adds to the misery. The view from Mystique Height is the main selling proposition of the property. Any point of the day, it offers panoramic view of the calm waters of the lake and mountains behind. Sunrise from the verandah of your cottage is simply mesmerizing! The stay is nestled amongst nature and the surroundings offers complete relaxation to the body and the soul. The only sound you hear comes from the nature and it's inhabitants. Ideal place to watch the beautiful vistas and do nothing. Good place for bird watching. You can easily spot 15-20 species of birds. The host Mr. Rajesh Jadhav is friendly and willing to offer information and help as and when required.

CONS: Hygiene and cleanliness needs urgent attention of the owner/staff. The wash room of our cottage was not even cleaned when we checked-in. Even after pointing this to the owner, just the wash basin was cleaned and rest of the place was left as it is. Major thumbs-down for this! The same goes to overall cleanliness and maintenance of the overall property. Food options are very-very limited. Food is freshly cooked and served but don't expect much in terms of variety. Also you need to wait every time you order anything. Taste is Ok. If your mobile has a JIO card, then only you are connected else you are totally cut off from the world. So all the people who loves to update every moment of their itinerary on the social media will be disappointed. Those who are not bothered about the network and prefer solitude are truly blessed. Keep your service expectations to bare minimum as the place is highly under-staffed. Other than Mr. Jadhav and a cook at the restaurant, there was no one else to look after you. The restaurant is at the entrance while the cottages are located level above. So you have to climb-up approx 30-35 steps from the restaurant to your cottage. People with knee problem or senior citizens should avoid this place. The place is isolated from the town with very few people working / staying at the resort. So people who are jiffy about the security around should avoid this place.

VERDICT: A beautiful place to stay provided the owner keeps sufficient staff to look after their guests and maintain good hygiene and cleanliness around. I booked this stay owing to good ratings given by the guests. But something seems to have gone wrong in between - either a change of ownership or staff cutting due to current COVID situation but has dampened the...

Beautiful location. View of Koyna river from the room is very nice. Good place for a relaxing holiday. Courteous and helpful staff.||||Areas to improve: Food was quite pricey. They charge around Rs. 200 per meal per person. For the quantity served (though as we were the only family, they asked us our preference - which was normal roti sabji and curds), 200 per plate seemed quite a bit. Also, there is no power back up in this location. In the afternoon it does get warm and with no fan - it was annoying. It took about an hour and half for the power to restore. If you are going to this place in summer, this is one point you will need to bear in mind.||||Drive: We drove from Pune. The way up took about 4.5 hrs starting at 8:15 AM on Saturday. Return took 3 hrs 45 mins with no break en-route. Road post Umbraj is not good. There is construction going on at various places. Even the so called tarred road is in bad shape at various points. It takes about 1 hr 15 mins from Umbraj to this resort.||||Location: Location of the resort is beautiful. Limited parking space (uncovered). There are 4-5 small cottages kind of rooms. Very well kept. Large and clean bathrooms. View right ahead is of Koyna river. ||||Places to see nearby: We went to Nehru Garden (easily skippable), drove ahead towards the water falls. On our way back, we took a deviation that goes right till the lake. And this was the best part of our trip. Clear blue water of the river - Not a soul anywhere closeby. During monsoon, I am sure there will be opportunites to do bird watching and if interested you can go for a jungle safari!||||In summary, a good...