Taj Chia Kutir Resort & Spa, Darjeeling — Hotel in West Bengal

Good resort with ordinary Service

Disclaimer - This review is coming from someone who has travelled to almost all premium Taj palace, forest, resort properties and Oberoi properties.

I've always been in awe of 'Tajness' and the incredible service Taj offers but this is the FIRST time ever, I felt the service was poor to say the least and not of premium Taj level. The front desk staff, specially Harshit Porwal was not polite and was rather arrogant, did not provide any update/ solution to any problem and kept talking back in a condescending manner. My wife too tried to explain our issues but to her too, he kept talking back - we definitely do not expect a Taj/ Oberoi staff argue/ talk like that. We ultimately had to complain to the senior manager there who was an extremely sweet person and tried to settle/ cool down the issue but I would definitely like to mention all my issues here.

I had several issues during my stay -

1. Baby Cot issue - I had asked for a baby cot a month back and kept asking for it even after checking in - but I was never provided one and neither given an alternative solution like a mattress or something. No one called back to provide any update. I had to sleep on a sofa while my baby and wife slept on the bed. When I was really upset the next day and complained further, only then I was provided a baby cot. It seemed like no one took a note of any request made while making the reservation.

2. Room issue - I had booked the Tea Plantation Villa room (which is a higher category room) and I was told and even the description mentions that there is a nice view of the Tea Plantation. This information is as wrong as it can get. There was practically no view; only a partial view of the valley. Nothing else. DO NOT CHOOSE THESE ROOMS. Only go for Luxury Valley View Rooms (on 7th floor) or Grande Luxury Rooms (on 4th floor).

3. Power cut issue - The power kept going on and off repeatedly. I was watching IPL and I literally had to switch on set my channel 6 times since the TV kept booting up again and again.

4. Water issue - My father went for a bath at 7am and to his surprise/ disgust there was no water half way through the bath. It seemed like we are staying in some 3 star hotel. The housekeeping staff said it is a one off case but it was extremely embarrassing.

5. Transport issue in property - Unlike other big resort properties of Taj that provide Golf Carts to move around the property, this property has only 1-2 Innovas to move around and those too come after literally 25-30 minutes of calling. I went down to the Tea Estates and kept asking for Innovas to get us back since it is a steep slope, but they took so long to come, that ultimately we walked both times. My father who is a SENIOR CITIZEN, ultimately could not really enjoy the property since movement was an issue for thim.

6. In-room dining issue - I ordered for ice cubes and beer mugs. While it is totally understandable that it will take time to come since it is a big busy property - to my surprise when the guy finally came after 15-20 minutes - he only came with ice cubes and no beer mugs - I again had to wait 5-10 minutes to get beer mugs. Like I said - service here is bit of a bother - not of premium Taj level.

All in all, we had quite an average stay here. The property is nice, not the best.

Since the service is quite shoddy, I think this property can be...

It was an absolutely amazing experience we had at the taj chia Kutir .Right from the moment we checked in…where Mr Bhaskar made sure we had a most smooth check in and even sat with us to plan our 4 day trip in kurseong.He made sure we we were at complete ease and booked us most of the tours without us even worrying for anything.The property was amazing and we had the most scenic views from our room.I would recommend the Luxury Grande room with valley view as it fairly spacious and has a large deck which offers some spectacular views of the valley.

When we were out for our trips Mr Shankar was our guide and he chauffeured us around in the very comfortable hotel car.He definitely made those trips memorable and was very courteous.Miss Supriya at the travel desk was all around to advise us on the places to visit and was very prompt in arranging the vehicle whenever we required one.All in all the we felt there was a great sync among the staff members and I would like the thank the top management there to have managed it so well.

The hotel is built on a great location and is very well planned with nice little paces to walk around and enjoy the natural beauty.The cleanliness is par excellence and in these Covid times there is proper sanitisation and proper masking followed by all staff.A special mention of Mr Rajesh of the management team who we felt was so warm and friendly.He recommended us places around kurseong and made sure we we were taken well care of without worrying about a thing.I would jokingly call him the Mr COOL …. and he said “Sir when you are on a holiday you should enjoy urslef and leave all ur worries to us “….which he made sure he did as without even mentioning he would take care of everything .

The only place where we felt there a scope for improvement was the F&B.The hotel has only 2 restaurants and that is one area where we were left wanting for more.Since it’s a new hotel I’m sure there will be new restaurants coming up .Overall the food was sumptuous and there were a wide variety of dishes available .The all day dining is a beautiful place for a meal and offers great views of the valley and I recommend guests to sit on the outside area.

On the last 2 days of our trip we were in the Plantation Villa and we visited the Tea Factory and it was definitely a great experience.Also the tea trail organised by the hotel is an absolute amazing experience.The villas are well appointed and are so so peaceful and offer scenic views from the small but cozy verandah.

Overall we had a most fantastic experience at the Taj Chia Kutir and would be back again soon for the amazing hospitality and awesome views.A perfect 5 star experience.Kudos to...

I am in Darjeeling and wanted to visit the chiakutir property for lunch and roam around the property.

Due to covid uncertainty and rains in Darjeeling we weren’t sure what time we would get our rental car and what time we will reach chia kutir which is why did not book in advance.

We were certain that the Taj Hospitality would accommodate us somehow and we could wait for an hour , check out the property etc.

It took us 2 hours to reach the property and upon reaching (we reached today ie 15th September at 1 pm) our car was taken to the parking lot and the security guard told me his manager said they can't accommodate anyone for lunch since they are full. I told him to make me talk to the manager. His name was Mr Jasbir or Jaswant. I can't exactly remember. The manager refused to pay attention to anything I was saying . On the contrary the manager was extremely Curt . He said you should have booked and come . We can’t accommodate you . To which I said I will wait for an hour even then he said no. I told him I've come from 2 hours away. He said you take my number and call before coming. I told him i don't stay in darjeeling, and I'm going back to Calcutta tomorrow. But he did not seem to care. I asked him if I can atleast view the public areas of the hotel and have a cup of coffee. He said no to that as well. Even though I told him that all 4 guests have our double dose vaccination certificate. I was amazed as his answer was NO for everything. Is he really in the hospitality industry?

I had heard from several friends that the service in general is pathetic at chiakutir but today I experienced it myself.

Nowhere in the world does a hotel stop tourists to take some pictures , sit around the hotel or not offer basic tea coffee if not food. We visited properties of Mayfair, and Elgin also in darjeeling without booking. And they were very happy to serve us.

Absolutely pathetic hospitality from such a leading chain of hotels.

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