Mango Hill Auroville Pondicherry — Hotel in Tamil Nadu

Having stayed here 4-5 years back when visiting Auroville, we decided to choose mango hill for our small family vacation only to be deeply disappointed and dissatisfied.

This time, we stayed for 3D/2N, having booked through Make My Trip. The room we had selected on the app, and the room provided to us in reality was vastly different. After asking three times, they moved us to another room, saying we have to pay extra as it was an upgrade, we agreed. As soon as we entered the room, reception calls saying we have to pay immediately. And sent over a person to collect the money saying we can only pay in cash - this was a red flag. They could have just added it to the bill at checkout.

Secondly, the beds were badly maintained with some cushions set up against the wall, as the mattress and the cot size was different. The mattress was smaller than the cot, with some extra cushions set up against the headboard. Pillows were resting uncomfortably due to this.

In the two nights we stayed, the room was never cleaned, despite requesting and leaving the keys with the reception. Towels, toiletries , water bottles were not replaced throughout the trip. Really tiny bottles of shampoo was provided, which was not enough even for one person. Despite asking for extra toiletries it was not provided. Toilet paper / tissue in the bathrooms were not replaced and only half rolls were available in the bathroom at the time of check in. Staff is totally laid back about customer service. AC in the room was old and rusty, and had a large display with no option to dim. The light from the AC was very disturbing at night. No TV, Minibar or any other facilities in the rooms. Plug points were not working, and we had to make do with two plug points in the room to charge our devices.

Wifi coupon was provided but restricted only to 1 device per room. Every day we had to go ask for a new coupon to log in, as the validity was only for a day. This was cumbersome and quite annoying to deal with.

The pool, which was what attracted us back to this place is now run down and badly maintaining with no tiling , cement chipping out and full of dried leaves and other critters floating around. Heavily chlorinated, murky water totally not suitable for kids. We saw a staff just dumping chlorine power into the pool. Unsure when the water is changed / cleaned

The restaurant/ room service is pathetic. With very limited menu, many things not suitable for kids and service is really pathetic. Wrong items were sent to the room when ordered under room service, and staff rude and impolite when asked. For example, they sent us fish fingers instead of chicken fingers. We do not eat fish, when asked, they didn’t bother to give us a replacement when they took the dish away. And refused to remove it from the bill. When asked, the restaurant manager says, we gave you 6 pieces, but when you returned, only 4 was there.. so you have eaten 2 pieces. Only when my husband and I ate one each, we realised it was fish and not chicken. This kind of back and forth was very unsettling. At the time of checkout, when I raised this issue of billing a wrong item in the room bill, the restaurant manager spoke rudely and offered to give us chicken fingers, long after the wrong item was provided. It is a matter of 200 rupees, but the attitude and way in which the staff treat guests is not worthy of coming back here.

All in all; we had memories of this place and decided to visit with my kid but was left feeling like it was a terrible idea and honestly a waste of ₹8000 per night we paid. The management seems to have changed over the years, and if the present management cannot manage to upkeep the property, they better shut the place down.

Infrastructure, service, staff and management was totally not upto the mark and I will not recommend this property to anyone...

Dear Management, Hope you are doing well.

Few days back I stayed at your hotel for a day and I was very much impressed in all the aspects. I would like to briefly explain my experience. We planned for a very quick short trip to Pondicherry and we have already booked a room in another place for two nights - unfortunately the other place was not up to the mark hence we were in dilemma to return within a day or extend our stay in another hotel. Your hotel was already in our list for long stay since my brother use to stay in nearby hotels and we have discussed about your hotel as well. We looked for options around 8:00 AM and immediately booked (Thai cottage) and moved from previous place to Mango-hill.

We reached sometime prior to check-in and there was minimal wait time for the room clean-up and readiness. During the check-in process, Mr. Sabareesh (Restraunt manager) approached me and explained about candle light dinner options. I usually initiate options whenever I book room - this happens when I plan the trip very much ahead, since this trip was very quick and short trip - I could not plan much. I was much surprised on the details and I could not say - yes immediately, since we already had plans for the evening. After checking in to the room, we were much happy and relieved that - we made a good choice on booking room in your hotel. Room was very clean and AC/Fan everything was working perfect and sit-out area was neat and nice.

Each and every staff smiled and welcomed us and we felt very nice and comfortable. Spa staffs were kind enough to explain details and recommendation and I even took 1 session and it was relaxing. Mr.Prithivraj/Ms.Mangai did a good job. Before leaving for the lunch, I decided to give a try and think about candle light dinner, so approached Mr. Sabareesh for all the details. He showed the pictures/set-menu and places with enough details to take next steps, he even came forward to modify the set menu for candle light dinner with our choice. He asked Chef Mr. Girish to sit with us and took the modified menu. I was very much impressed the way - Mr.Sabareesh took steps to make the customer happy and comfortable. Really really want to appreciate his efforts.

Dinner setup was excellent and outstanding. My wife was much happy and impressed as well. All the items came on time and it was damn delicious. I already told Mr.Sabareesh that my wife is not a foodie, so I may have to eat all the items. To another surprise, my wife had good portion of food since all the items were delicious and lip smacking. Mr.Sathyaraj was there to serve, he did a nice job. Double and triple thanks to the Chef Mr.Girish.

We will never forget this dinner since it was kind of surprise to me and to my wife as well.

Each and every staff was helpful and kind, which is much rare nowadays in the hotel industry. Kindly cascade the details to the relevant people/team and appreciate all the staffs.

Special appreciation for Restraunt manager Mr.Sabareesh for taking tremendous effort for the candle-light dinner and Chef Mr.Girish for outstanding food.

Thank you and we are already planning for next visit with full family. See you soon. Have a good...

Disappointing Experience at Mango Hill Resort

So many issues, booked through Agoda, didn't get proper response from their customer care regarding the problems, wanna explain this properly because they are quite significant.

To begin with, first day, after we checked in, despite explicitly informing the staff that I am a vegetarian, I was served a non-vegetarian pasta dish. This incident not only hurt my religious sentiments but also highlighted a lack of attention to guest preferences.

Another significant issue was the constant disturbances in the morning. The staff repeatedly called for breakfast while my companions and I were still asleep, disrupting our rest and relaxation.

Furthermore, the room service left much to be desired. On two occasions, I placed orders and waited for an extended period—30 minutes and 40 minutes respectively—without receiving any service. This forced us to eventually leave our room without getting our orders fulfilled. To our surprise, the servers seemed unaware of our repeated calls for room service when we inquired later.

The location of the suite room next to a party hall proved to be another setback. The excessively loud music from the hall made it difficult to enjoy a peaceful stay in our room.

The maintenance issues in the room were also concerning. The bathroom sink was clogged. The broken bathtub added to the list of disappointments.

The conduct of the resort's staff added to the overall negative experience. The watchman's unnecessary altercation during our parking was unsettling, especially given that we had observed other cars parked in the same spot (in parking area only) before and after. This incident was particularly distressing as it occurred in front of our friends.

Even when we tried to address our concerns by requesting to shorten our stay, we were met with resistance from the manager. His non-compliant and arrogant attitude only changed after considerable argument, leaving us mentally drained.

Amidst these various issues, I must acknowledge Ms. Divya at the reception, who was the only staff member to display decency and professionalism. Regrettably, her standout behavior only underscored the lack of care shown by the rest of the staff toward the guests.

It's quite saddening to see such a property...