Banyan Tree Farm Stay | Resorts in Pollachi | Resorts in Topslip | Resorts in Pollachi Sethumadai — Hotel in Tamil Nadu

I am certain this is the only "terrible" rating I have ever given on TripAdvisor...I couldn't even imagine what would warrant that rating until we arrived here at the Banyan Tree. I wish I had read the reviews before booking this but instead I looked at the website and saw a property with lovely wooden buildings with the described heritage and charm surrounded by a farm filled with trees and plants of all kinds. However, when we arrived, we were shown to our rooms in a recently constructed concrete structure and provided just basic furniture and completely absent of charm. There was space for a small fridge but no fridge, no extra chairs, just the minimum needed. The bathroom offered shampoo, towels and nothing else. It turns out there are other rooms in a wooden building, not sure why they were unoccupied, but we learned that most of the photos on the website were taken at the owner's private residence.|Throughout our room was evidence of recent construction and recent guests including construction dust layers in the toothbrush holder, handwritten marks on the tile, a layer of dust and dead bugs on the headboard, smears on the mirrors and dirty tea mugs. Additionally, there was no service on the second day to refill our water bottles, empty trash and replace toilet paper etc. We had to ask for every single thing and even then we didn't get all that was needed. (as a point of reference the four of us have traveled extensively in India and stayed at locations without electricity or toilets that provided a bucket of cold water for bathing, but it was also what we expected and didn't mind at all)||We asked the manager if we could go wander the grounds and explore and he said no, we were to stay in our rooms and relax until dinner (this was at 2pm). Finally our driver called the owner to say there were some concerns and the owner came over to speak to us. He told us things that weren't true such as the manager was new to the job and didn't know what he was saying. When we looked at reviews we could see he had been there at least a year. We felt like we were being told what the owner thought we wanted to hear. Being lied to and deceptive advertising doesn't make for a positive experience. He did offer to show us around and we had a pleasant walk around the farm. || The website also noted the owner was a food connoisseur. At a farm stay one expects to be eating mostly food grown on the farm, this was not to be true. Our meals consisted mainly of lentils and potatoes and the chicken was more bone than meat. No special local dishes or unique meals were provided. The flavors were good but not anything one would expect from a noted connoisseur. The final evening we were served apple crisp which had a piece missing and the dough was partially raw. One of our companions has a serious food allergy and at the first meal an attempt was made to accommodate that (and they knew well in advance from our tour company) but after that minimal to no attempt was made and our friend was left sitting looking at an empty plate after the manager confirmed all the items on the table, except the chapati at one meal and plain rice at another, included the ingredient she is allergic to. ||Finally, there was the curiosity that we were the only guests here during the height of tourist season where everywhere else we had been was quite busy. Additionally, it was odd that we were told by the manager that we didn't have to provide our passports and sign paperwork as is expected at every hotel, homestay and farm stay when we travel in India. When the owner came to speak with us, he said the manager didn't know about the rules and he took a photo on his phone of our passports but not our visas and no paperwork was provided for...

A Review of Banyan Farm Resort |In pollachi ||If any one around the world and India specially , is looking for a quiet and a homely family holiday in southern part of India ,at an affordable cost , this is one place they should check out .||The Banyan farm resort home stay is located inside a 500 acre farm just at the foot hills of the Anamalai hill range . in Pollachi ,Tamil nadu and is abundant with Coconut , Arcanut , cocoa , fruit trees, flowering trees and banyan trees in addition to many native wild trees.||Mr Prabhu is the 4th generation in the family to own this farm now and his wife Ms Jayanthi assists him in running the Home stay and the farm .Their Son Abhishek has just joined their enterprise after completing his Business administration .||The USP Of this home stay is hospitality, quiet and green surrounding that is filled with lots of flora and fauna.||The owner is a lover of nature and he believes his guests must experience nature in its very best without interference of modern day electronics |Like TV and Internet .||That is the reason, why the six Ac double rooms on offer, three in the ground floor and three in the first floor , is devoid of these facilities.The rooms itself are very comfortable , spacious and clean .||Frankly the cell phone signals |are quite weak due to farm being located in a hilly terrain .||But for any pressing communication needs of a guest, the owner provides a dongle that works at one spot in the farm .||The farm has 5 cows and a 3 1/2 year old mascot named simba, who is adoring and is a tame boxer. His main interest is to take the guests around the farm and showing off the land with pride .||He loves spending time with the guests. He now has a new female comany ,a three and a half month old boxer named smokie .Together they shower lot of affection in guests who love dogs and would like to get close to them .||The farm has its own seasonal waterfall and a stream .Its a great experience for guests to bathe under the falls when there is water flow after rains in the hills above .||The food served here is both vegetarian and non vegetarian Indian with preset menus.||The staff we found were very courteous and willing to go the extra mile to keep the guests happy .||The well designed swimming pool provides all the recreation needs of the guests.||If one is a writer , this is one place that will offer a salubrious atmosphere that will kindle their mind, to write in a free flow.||This homestay has hosted eminent ornitholist couple from USA and they have even published a book on the |Birds that abound in this area .||This farm is very close to other tourist attractions like Top slip, that is also known as Indhira Ghandhi wild life sanctuary , Aliyar dam and valparai hill station.||These tourist spots are all in the ambit of a day trip, if one is interested .||Personally speaking, my family of twelve came here for a four day holiday and credit to this place , time has flown. ||The farm also offers the facility of cycling around the farm and it is the best way to go for bird watching .||Malabar squirrels abound this place |And some times, wild elphants too roam out side the bounded perimeter of the farm at night .||The farm has two jeeps in which the tourists are given a trip around the 500 acre farm .||This farm can be reached from coimbatore international airport or Pollachi Railway station .||Its really a home away from home and the place is ideal for a good family bonding, like we are doing at present !||I strongly recommend this place for a good quiet family holiday away from |the usual commercial area in a green forest like area that will be rejuvenating to the mind...

Just making references from their website and updating on my stay there with cousins (Oct 1-2). Location and the swimming pool are the best things to be noted at property. Rest is not worth the charges we pay.||Their website claims to be as one of the one of the most visited resorts in Pollachi but they also call themselves as a boutique farm stay property and not a commercial property.||1. Most of the photographs seen on the website or shared by the booking team are of the owners bungalow next to the rooms we stayed. There's no access to home theatre, lounge areas, gym, living rooms etc.|2. The owner is supposed to be a food connoisseur and a passionate cook and food was to be authentic South Indian delicacies made from fresh grown farm produce. We were served food from a mess nearby. Food was served cold and quality was poor. Food is cooked at the property only if there are less than 10 guests at the property. We were not informed about this while booking. Mr Dhilip informed us about this upon asking if the food was from outside. They don't serve tea or coffee during breakfast. We had to insist and later they offered to prepare in while.|3. There is no private waterfall and they lack staff who can organize activities mentioned on their website. Anything we ask, they say it needs to be notified earlier. Keep at least a 1/2 options available for the guests so they can decide during the stay.|4. Rooms were maintained poorly and lacked hygiene. There was dust under the beds, insect mesh damaged and soap bottle in bathroom had dead insects. Website says "The decor and furnishings of the room enhances the homey ambience of the resort." There was no decor in the room and one plastic chair was kept outside the room. The TV was not recharged and the manager had no clue about it. Only one socket worked in the room apart from the two behind the TV.||They property needs a lot of renovation work, maintenance and better hospitality to justify the rates charged from customers. We kept tripping at the uneven floor in the dining areas. Please do not mislead and cheat with false information on the website and sending pictures of the owners property on Whatsapp while booking.||Also, most of the reviews on google from 3 months ago (June-July 2023) with 5/5 seem fake, they all have used the similar language and detail to describe the property. Most of the people have given 5 stars for every review on...