For me, this was such a lovely experience. If you’re coming here for the outstanding views, peace and quiet, and very kind and helpful staff, you will have an excellent time as I did. The hotel offers a very low cost daily early morning hike to the peak of the mountain ($6) and a similarly low cost daily early evening walk through the tea plantations just below the hotel ($2.50). Note that depending on who you go with, they may know more or less about the local ecology, and the tea process. If you go just expecting a lovely walk, you won’t be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a naturalist talk you may need to book elsewhere. The valley view rooms in the Cliff Resort (note that this is embedded in the larger Deshadan resort) are just to die for. Amazing balcony to sit and just watch the light change on the hills or read, meditate or do yoga. I didn’t use the wifi much so no idea if it’s fast enough for streaming but was plenty to check social media and email - important as most Indian carriers have no service this far up the hill. Breakfast buffet is delightful with about 5-6 different main options daily, and deliriously good grape juice. The staff are uniformly kind and go out of their way to assist. The hotel might not be a good choice for every traveler. It is not accessible to those with mobility issues - stairs and steep climbs everywhere. Also to get these views it’s pretty distant from literally anything else, so you can’t just easily wander into town. It’s about a 2 hour walk to the center of Old Munnar from the property, or a half hour in a rickshaw. Also note that due to the distance (and the steepness of the road to the resort) it can take anywhere from 20-70 minutes for a rickshaw, jeep or taxi to arrive after calling - plan ahead! Note that the resort really caters mostly for rest and relaxation; it’s not really set up as a local travel agency that organizes local tours. They’re happy to make phone calls and order taxis but you will need to do your own research to find out which local attraction are of most interest to you. Last, you’ll practice mindfulness every time you open and close the door, as if you let it close automatically there’s a tremendous boom. Hot water was generally available but not 100% even after letting the tap run 5 minutes.
Outstanding
54 Reviews