Tora Eco Resort & Life Experience Center — Hotel in West Bengal

I have posted several reviews on Tripadvisor, which has been read by many and found useful, and I am also a certified guest on Airbnb. It pains me to be posting a negative review but I would need to do this to make other tourists aware of the bad experience that me and my family were put through for a 2 night 1 day trip to Sunderban, which we booked with Vivada hospitality. Let me begin with the positives - The Tora resort as a location is lovely, nestled in nature, next to a huge river and small village, ponds and paddy fields nearby. The highlight of our trip was the staff - the housekeeping boys whose service was exceptional - food, assistance, anything you could ask for. We also got reasonable and calm assistance from an agent of Vivada's called Mithun who helped us through the problems we faced. What nearly ruined our trip was my point of contact for Vivada - Madhu Chhanda Chowdhury- who I had been interacting with since 20th Aug to book a trip for six members of my family on 20-21 Oct. Since our trip from Kolkata was due to commence after dashami, I began my discussion with her well in advance. Also, my husband and I we stay in Bangalore and my sister and husband stay in UK, only my parents (one who is 60+ and the other nearing 60) stay in Kolkata, so my interactions with Madhu were well documented both through email and whatsapp texts so that there was no confusion. I have several emails from her listing our entire itinerary - pick up from our residence. ride to godkhali jetty, boat to Tora jetty, 1 night stay in 3 AC rooms, and then return through boat and car drop home. Based on her email confirmation we paid 50% of the entire package amount which she presented to me as a round-trip one cost (without any breakdown of individual service charges) for confirmation of booking. 1 week before our trip she contacted me for our pick up address and requested we pay the remaining 50% of payment as well since banks will not work in Kolkata during pujo week. Online banking is not affected by festivals so I was a bit hesitant but given how professional she was we did not think twice, and paid the entire amount of Rs 44000 in advance and everything was well documented over emails. On dashami morning, 1 day before our trip, I called her to ask her about the driver and vehicle details and she said she would share it soon. Till 6 pm in the evening, I had not received any details from her and called her multiple times and whatsapped her as well. Finally, around half past 6 she answered and said she would send me the details - which she sent as an sms. I called the driver to ensure he was comfortable with pick up time and address and gave him the directions.The driver Mr Lakhan was confused about whether he should wait for us after dropping us at the jetty and how long we needed the car and I said I did not know because Madhu was managing the whole trip. I smsed Madhu telling her the driver's questions and she said he would be duly informed and we were not to worry. The next morning our pick up arrive on schedule at 6 am and we set off for the jetty which was a 4 hour car ride. The driver was still confused about what was required of him after we reached the jetty. We were supposed to contact Mithun for the boat ride but the phone number Madhu had given me was switched off/ unreachable. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to ask our driver Mr Lakhan if he had Mithun's mobile number and through that we could contact Mithun. Once we boarded the boat/ ferry and set off, Mithun told us that instead of heading straight to the resort we should spend the day on the boat and go to the resort only by evening, We trusted his advice and stayed on the boat where he provided us with good breakfast and lunch. It was extremely hot that day (touching 37 degrees almost) and after the 4 hour road trip and being on the boat all day had us sweating and tired and we were looking forward to our comfortable rooms at the resort. 1 hour before we were due to reach, my father innocently asked Mithun that all 3 rooms were AC right? since that was in our email. Mithun said No it is 2 AC and 1 NON AC rooms - and that is what Madhu had communicated to him. We were very taken aback to hear that and showed him the emails confirming our room and payment details. He called Madhu to cross check and then he admitted to us that she had made some mistake and the room booking was not confirmed or communicated on time by her and now they did not have any free AC room available. On Mithun's request I called Madhu to understand why there was this last minute issue - and she admitted she had made a mistake and we should 'adjust' since it was just for 1 night. I was very shocked at her attitude - not only had she shown complete lack of accountability, ownership and communication by not letting us know about the room-mix up details in advance (which would have helped us be mentally prepared or cut short our trip) but now when the truth was out because of my father's query, she was asking us to adjust and co-operate. When I asked why the full payment had been taken in advance she said that was the company rules and regarding refund she could not say anything. When I kept insisting saying she cannot backtrack on documented service agreements at the last minute, she said 'AC nie eto keo matha ghamay na' which translates to 'nobody creates such a fuss about one AC room' and as customers we should focus on enjoying the resort with the rooms they were providing and not kick up such a fuss. She kept raising her voice saying I was not listening to her, and finally I lost my temper to ensure she stays quiet. I had to speak to her very rudely (which I am not proud of) to send her a stern message that I had paid the full amount and as a family, we were expecting certain service which at the last minute we were told cannot be provided because of her mistake alone. I am an HR manager by profession and I told her that as an employee, she needs to take accountability - whether it is arranging an additional AC room or proposing a refund - and not lecture the customer about what they should or should not do to manage her mistake. After that she went incommunicado and when Mithun tried to reach her again for a resolution to the problem, she did not answer his calls. Finally, we reached the Tora jetty and Mithun brought onboard a senior representative of Vivada who was also responsible for the resort. Initially he was listening patiently but when the conversation got tough on the refund we expected, he lost his temper and charged at us all. He started disassociating himself with Madhu and Vivada and saying his resort was a community project so he was not financially able to promise us a refund then and there. We were so confused because there were so many people managing a 1 N 2 D trip all shrugging off accountability and not aware of each other's commitments to the customers. We had to literally argue as a family and show him all the emails before this gentleman calmed down and said sorry for losing his temper. for literally 2-3 hours we were having this argument instead of enjoying the sunset on the boat, and finally when the gentleman agreed to a cash refund of Rs 8000 (we were expecting Rs 10000 refund given we had unquestionably paid the full amount of rs 44000 in advance and in good faith) we disembarked and went to our rooms. The non ac room was extremely warm and uncomfortable but somehow we managed. The next day at the resort was well spent but our car driver Mr Lakhan was calling me again repeatedly and since my phone had broken (in an accidental fall), I could not receive his call and informed Mithun who was also staying at the resort. Mithun said he had told the driver what was to be done and we should ignore. The next day in the evening we set out back for Kolkata, as soon as we reached the jetty, the driver Mr Lakhan asked us why Mithun had not come with us and he would not start the car without us paying Rs 500 for parking charges. Once again we were fed up with this lack of communication and had to call Mithun to resolve the matter. We waited for 15-20 minutes before Mithun spoke to the parking guy and we were allowed to leave in the car. On the way our driver Mr Lakhan also spoke about the utter confusion, saying he belonged to a different car company, and his understanding what that customers would pay all charges. We explained to him how we did not have breakdown of resort rooms, food, boat or car ride costs and for us it was one round figure which we had transferred to Vivada one week well in advance. That calmed him a bit and finally we reached home. Sunderbans is a beautiful location (weather wise advisable to go in winter) and Tora is a lovely resort, but I really request the Vivada management to take strong cognizance of this utter mismanagement, unprofessionalism and hiding mistakes by Madhu Chhanda, which led to our bad customer experience. Mithun did his best to help us through all the mess but he should also be given better training so that he can manage the multiple points of contact well. Also, the gentleman at Tora resort should ensure that they speak to all agents like Madhu in advance and ensure all details are shared and confirmed to customers correctly. Harassing customers for a 1 N 2 D trip is just uncalled for, and what are clearly internal mismanagement problems, are ruining the customer experience. Vivada and Tora have a good name and to ensure the reputation continues, the service has to be smooth and...

A four star Eco Resort amidst the world’s largest Mangrove forests, Sundarbans. The serenity and the beauty of the place is incomparable, its like living in the lap of nature. The resort is owned and managed by the Vivada Cruises, which operates many Cruises from Kolkata. The resort is situated on Bally Island of Sunderbans, the island itself not rightly mapped on Google Maps, however the location of Resort is rightly mapped, you can reach here by ferry from Kolkata or Namkhana. The Resort also provides pick and drop facility to Kolkata.

The rooms are comfortable and spacious, family rooms are also available, looking at the location Bathrooms are Ok. The fresh and healthy food is cooked here itself, you can even get the food of your choice cooked. You can also visit and experience the village life on the Island Village and the Mangrove Vegetation. The Resort also arranges boats and necessary permits to visit the reserve forest. Overall a unique experience. Satisfying. Recommended for all...

We were very disappointed with the quality of accommodation. We stayed 4 nights. On the second day it rained heavily and the roof leaked. The bathroom ceiling was absolutely disgusting with mould and was leaking.|| We asked to change rooms and the second room was better with no mould but the roof still leaked .||All bedding was badly stained. Sheets had holes. Pillows did not have proper covers on them, only pillow cases. Cushions on the bed were dirty. Both rooms had patches on the walls and needed maintenance.||Our agent had booked a package which included full day boat trips each day. Except for the last night all meals were provided by the boat's cook. NOT the resort.|Food on all occasions was quite good.||The tablecloth in the dining area was filthy and only changed on the last night when the resort staff catered.||There was a lot of noise at night with village celebrations and...