Lodge Review: Gouri Farms, Gudalur Near Mudumalai National Park, India

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Tara

I knew I wanted to visit Mudumalai as the bird list is very impressive……………….oh yeah, they have tigers too! My search on a reasonably priced place to stay nearby had me searching Google maps for the nearest towns and typing the name of the towns into Trip Advisor. That’s how I found Gouri Farms…………………and what a great find!

The map on the website is pretty good if you just look for the landmarks but our nervous taxi driver kept stopping to ask for directions. We got there just after noon and were greeted by Dr Shyla and her family.

We were only staying one night to visit Mudumalai so we booked the smallest double room but they have rooms of all sizes available and would be a great place for a bird watching group. Breakfast is included and you can also order meals in advance for a good price (less than $5). They only serve vegetarian meals but they will cater to tourists who don’t want spicy food.

The grounds are very birdy and in the morning, Dr Shyla and her family helped me find some gorgeous birds like a Paradise Flycatcher!

Lodge Review: Grassroots Wayanad, Kalpetta

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Tara

When I was researching this trip, I fell in love with the lush grounds and tents with a deck overlooking the garden. It looked very birdy and the reviews on Trip Advisor were excellent. Although you can book directly with Grassroots on their website, I had a $50 Expedia voucher I needed to burn so used them to make the booking.

After some confusion, the rickshaw driver we hired in Kalpetta found the gate which is not well-marked. We knocked on the gate and Aditya, the manager let us in and showed us to our tent which was the first one going up the hill.

The tents are beautifully furnished, very clean and comfortable. I would have preferred that the tv not be there, the only sounds I wanted to hear were the songs of the local birds!

The deck was fantastic and we could indulge in some lazy birding complete with room service!

The peace and quiet didn’t last long. About an hour after we checked in, a family with several adults and small kids showed up. My heart sank as the kids started running up and down the paths shrieking. Why someone would bring kids to a peaceful nature retreat like this one is beyond me! They didn’t seem interested in birds or wildlife and just wanted to play as kids usually do…………….they should have booked a beach resort in Goa.

I wanted to escape the noise so I walked across the street and down the hill a bit, then noticed the Vernal Hanging Parrot in the tree. There were a few other birds around and I stayed to watch them until sunset.

Vernal Hanging Parrot shows where they get their name

The food was pretty good and we had requested food that wasn’t too spicy. Breakfast is included in the rate. There is supposed to be a resident birding guide, Lingesh but he wasn’t there. Aditiya offered to book a jeep to take us to a good place for birding the next morning so I accepted the offer.

Kalpetta is pretty much right in the middle between Bangalore and Kochi so if you were taking an international flight , you would need a Central Asian award, then take a bus to Kalpetta. If there is no direct bus, you can take one to Ooty, then change buses.

In my next post, I will show you the birds of Wayanad!

Lodge Review: Casa Coorg, India

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Tara

Coorg is actually a very large district between Bangalore & Mangalore called Kodagu. Casa Coorg is located near Virajpet. If you take a bus, get on one that stops at Virajpet. The owners, Bharat & Pearl will tell you how to reach the house from where you get off the bus.

On our previous trip to India, we stayed at Casa Coorg with some local friends. At the time, they were just getting started as a homestay and now they have a complete website, online bookings and details about the area. I only got a few photos of the property but they do have more on their website. The rooms are very comfortable and have a deck overlooking the coffee plantation. The entire area is stunning! People from Bangalore love to come here to escape the hustle & bustle of the city and enjoy the fresh air in teh countryside. Birdwatchers will love the variety of birds to be seen here, they have counted over 40 species on the property. Prices are listed on their website and are quite reasonable. Casa Coorg also has rave reviews on Trip Advisor.

There are some great walks to do in the area. You can see some coffee plantation workers at work, enjoy the peaceful countryside and watch birds!

You can’t ask for nicer and friendlier hosts than Bharat & Pearl! They are both fluent in English and Pearl is a fantastic cook! She will accommodate preferences for non-spicy food. This is an excellent place for both Indian and foreign tourists to stay. They really make you feel like one of the family!

I couldn’t resist the chance to wear a saree, and Pearl was kind enough to help me wrap it around myself!

Lodge Review: Jungle Side, Coorg, India

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Tara

Ironically, when I was planning this trip I had never heard of Jungle Side, nor did it come up in any of my searches. I had been to SAI Sanctuary before and was hoping to stay there. They were still looking for staff to run their guest houses so arranged for us to stay at Jungle Side which is only a few minutes down the road from them.

Jungle Side is not easy to find.

We took a bus from Gonikoppal to T-Shettigeri, where we had been told to get out and take a taxi to the lodge. We had trouble finding someone who spoke English well enough so a kind local used his cell phone to call Mr Muthanna who is the owner of Jungle Side and was able to explain to the taxi driver where to take us and negotiate a price.

Once we arrived, the Muthannas showed us to a charming cottage with beautiful views of a river and their garden. They immediately offered us tea (chai) which we both love and really miss when we are back home.

They are building another cottage next door to this one.

Meals are included in the price and I had already asked my friends at SAI to tell the Muthannas that we don’t like spicy food. I don’t think they quite believed us as the first night was less spicy than a local guest would like but once I was able to convince them we didn’t want ANY chilis or capsicums at all, subsequent meals were really good! We really got a good night’s sleep here, it’s so peaceful and quiet!

The next morning, we woke up to very thick fog blanketing the whole area.

My heart sank, I knew birds would be very difficult to spot, never mind photograph! In tomorrow’s post, I will show you more of the bird life in the property of Jungle Side.

You have to book this property directly with the owners. In Nov 2013 we paid 4000 rupees for a double room with full board just as a ballpark figure for you. This was mid week and low season. If you are staying longer, they also have a list of other activities you can do in the Coorg (aka Kodagu) region which includes visiting coffee estates and river rafting!

Review: Transit Hotel, Mysore Road, Bangalore

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Tara

Who else but me would get off a business class Thai Airways flights and spend the night (what was left of it as we arrived at midnight) in a $12 hotel! OK you have to be real, you get what you pay for. Transit Hotel, Mysore Road filled it’s purpose. We paid for a reasonably quiet & clean room to catch a few winks in before the bus trip to Coorg and that is exactly what we got. We had taken the airport bus to the stop nearest the bus station (the driver told us where to get off) and got an auto-rickshaw to the hotel. He asked 300, I offered 120, we settled on 150 and we probably still got ripped off but we were too tired and just wanted to crash out.

It’s the first door on the left, we had to bang on the door and wake up the sleeping receptionist and give him the voucher from Agoda.

Very basic room but it had all the necessities for a stay of 5 hours. A/C, bathroom, tv (which we didn’t need) and it was clean.

I set my iPhone to wake us up at 5am and we walked across the street to the bus station.

It was pretty quiet and the information booth wasn’t open yet. I tried to find a direct bus to Coorg but couldn’t find one so took a luxury bus to Mysore instead. I had been told that Mysore has better connections to Gonikoppal where we would get another bus to our lodge.

Choosing The Best Lodges For India & Sri Lanka

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Tara

Yesterday, I showed you how I put together an itinerary for a birding adventure in southern India & Sri Lanka. Today, I will show you how I chose the accommodation in each place. In all cases (except Bangalore) I was prioritizing lodges that were located in birdy locations as I love being able to sit on a deck and watch birds any time of day! Oh yeah, and we were on a tight budget being a somewhat impromptu trip!

I will be doing detailed reviews with photos on each individual lodge in subsequent posts.

BANGALORE

The first night, we would be arriving around midnight and getting a bus to Coorg early the next morning. Bangalore has horrible traffic jams so I wanted to stay as close as possible to the Mysore Satellite Bus Stand. I used a Google map to zoom in on the bus stand and found the Transit Hotel Mysore Road right across the street. I Googled the name, saw it bookable on Agoda (unfortunately not on Pointshound) and booked an AC room for a whopping $12!

COORG

On a previous visit, I had accompanied some friends to the wonderful SAI Sanctuary and really wanted to stay there. Unfortunately, their staff had left and they couldn’t accommodate us but they booked us at a guest house just down the road called Jungleside Homestay. We made a day visit to SAI to visit our friends and watch birds.

WAYANAD

I had no idea where to stay so I checked on Expedia since I had a $50 credit in my account. I found a nice-looking place called Grassroots Wayanad, checked the photos & reviews on Trip Advisor and decided it sounded like my kind of place. I booked it on Expedia to use the $50 credit.

MUDUMALAI

I was researching the sanctuary online and wanted to stay in their accommodation. However it seems you can only book it with their office in Ooty or at the facility and they had no email. I resorted to Google mapping the area and found the nearest town was called Gudalur. I searched Gudalur on Trip Advisor and found a place called Gouri Farm which sounded good. They weren’t on any booking sites so I emailed them and booked and they agreed to let me pay on arrival since we were there on a weekday.

BANGALORE

We would be arriving in the evening by bus and I have plenty of Club Carlson points so I booked the Park Plaza.

KITHULGALA

I read a few birding trip reports that highly recommended the Kithulgala Resthouse. I wanted to book and pay on arrival so I used Booking.com which was the only booking agency that allowed for this.

SINHARAJA

Unfortunately this visit fell on a weekend and my first & second choices (Martin’s Simple Lodge & Blue Magpie Lodge) were booked up (according to Sri Lankan travel agency Red Dot) and they tried to get me to book a place for $200 a night that looked lovely but was out of our budget. I did some researching online and stumbled across a place called Rock View Motel Kalawana which had room so I grabbed it.

Flights and accommodation booked…………………..the journey yet to begin!

Hotel Review: Radisson Summit Hotel & Golf Panama

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Tara

The Radisson Summit Hotel & Golf Panama offers a rare chance to use points to stay in a location where you can watch birds from your balcony if you ask for the rainforest view. It’s even better value for holders of the Club Carlson Visa from US Bank (not affiliate link). Using the “last night free benefit”, 28,000 points gets you 2 nights here.

Getting here is pretty straightforwards from the airport in a rental car. I just printed the Google map and memorized where I had to turn. The one tricky thing is you need either cash or a card for the toll booths. You can get a card from either the rental company (Alamo in my case) or the toll booth. The hotel is situated on the outskirts of the Soberania National Park just a mile or so from the Panama Canal as the crow flies.

There is a free car park in front and a golf cart facility to the left. The hotel attracts a lot of golfers. The rooms are spacious and comfortable and some have a fantastic view of the rainforest.

There is a bar next to the reception and one floor up you will find a restaurant and a swimming pool. You can even watch birds from the swimming pool, I saw 4 Brown-throated Parakeets (distinguishable by their long tails and noisy Aratinga screech) while we were swimming, not to mention a few Toucans & other birds. Unfortunately, my camera isn’t waterproof so I missed the shots.

I love how they have photos of the local wildlife on this wall near the pool! The first morning we went to the Rainforest Discovery Centre & Pipeline Road. The following morning we relaxed on the balcony for a couple hours and watched the mist rise from the rainforest and birds began to appear. We saw lots of Toucans, Aracaris, Tanagers, Orange-chinned Parrots, Blue-headed Pionus Parrots and a few other birds I didn’t know. Unfortunately, the sun was behind the area I was trying to photograph so more silhouettes!

Once the action quieted down, around 8:30-ish, we went down to breakfast, then had a walk on the trail behind the swimming pool. This takes you through a small patch of rainforest and ends at a butterfly house.

When we checked out to move to a hotel near the airport for the last night, we were able to follow the hotel’s shuttle to Albrook Mall. This prevented us wasting time getting lost as the city can be confusing to drive in. All in all, we were really happy with this hotel and highly recommend it especially to eco-tourists given it’s location and views from the balconies!

Hotel Punta Islita (Near Ara Project) Available With Marriott Points

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Tara

The Ara Project had been located in Alajuela for years but were recently served an eviction notice. They eventually found a new home on Punta Islita and have been working hard to get a new breeding centre and release site up and running. They are anticipating a “reveal” with a new website on 15 Dec, 2013.

The good news for miles & points collectors is that the nearest hotel, Hotel Punta Islita; to their new location is available with Marriott Reward points. It’s a beautiful property and a great place to take the whole family as there are plenty of activities to occupy those who are less interested in bird watching.

Hotel Punta Islita Spa

Hotel Punta Islita is easily accessible from both Liberia International and San Jose International airports. Local 40 minute flights service the regional Islita Airstrip, including private charters. For those who prefer to drive, Hotel Punta Islita can be reached through a good road network connecting with Costa Rica’s main cities. Land transportation takes about two hours from Liberia and about three and half hours from San Jose. Here you see the location (red star) in reference to the cruise ship port of Puntarenas, the airport at Alajuela & the capital, San Jose.

The most recent program involves a full partnership with The Ara Project. Jumpstarted in the 1980’s by a retired expat American couple The Ara Project is now staffed by a dedicated group of scientists, administrators, and volunteers who have successfully reintroduced close to a hundred red and green macaw specimens in three wildlife release sites in Costa Rica. Hotel Punta Islita is proud to host the program’s headquarters, donating a plot of land, a specialized aviary cage, living quarters for a biologist, and the biologist’s wages. The recently- inaugurated Lapa Lookout is an education and viewing center where guests can learn and participate in the recovery and release efforts.

Rooms start at $203 USD which is not bad for such a posh hotel.

You will need 30,000 Marriott Rewards points for a free night here and other than the holiday season, availability looks really good! If you are new to birding and would like to be introduced to the hobby gently, or your spouse/partner/family wants other activites while you go birding, this is a great choice!

Lodge Review: Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve & Spa, Costa Rica

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Tara

Eighty-nine kilometers (55.3 miles) south of San Jose in a private natural reserve of 400 hectares and just 9 km. (5.5 miles) from Los Quetzales National Park, Hotel Savegre is the ideal starting point for exploring Costa Rica’s magnificent tropical cloud forest in all its beauty.

This outstanding eco-lodge in the tiny town of San Gerardo de Dota was my favourite lodge of the trip! The lodge and rooms are warm and comfortable. The food was fantastic and reasonably priced. The garden is full of hummingbirds, tanagers and other birds…………..and there are Resplendent Quetzals just down the road!

GETTING THERE

I covered the bus ride in the previous post. If you advise the lodge you are enroute, they will meet your bus at the 80km spot and drive you to the lodge for $25 each way. If you need advice on how to get to Costa Rica, see my posts on Central America awards and Costa Rica.

THE LODGE & ROOMS

We were there in August which is low season and there weren’t a lot of people there. Even though I had booked the cheaper room online, we were upgraded to a Junior Suite. Everything is rustic looking but immaculately clean. The reception area has a small gift shop next to it (yes I bought lots of Quetzal stuff). The garden paths are well-maintained and we got a room right next to the bar (how convenient). The fireplace kept us warm in the chilly mornings and got our laundry dry. It was nice to have a bathtub to relax in and the back glass door that opened into the rainforest.

THE RESTAURANT

I was amazed at how good the food was, and it was reasonably priced too! I didn’t get a shot of the dinner menu but there was a chicken dish cooked with some kind of fruit that was superb! Since there weren’t many people, all meals were a la carte. Breakfasts were excellent, especially the Ranch Style Eggs! The windows look out into the garden and there are nice photos of the local birds and some bird art around the restaurant and adjacent bar.

A cute little Collared Whitestart managed to get in. We were happy to have company but he found his way outside again.

DEL RIO SPA

This was a great place to relax and I love a jacuzzi with a view! The one thing I would have preferred is a stronger massage. The masseuse had a very light touch which was relaxing but didn’t do a lot for my aching muscles. You can use the facilities as long as you want when you have a massage so it is a relaxing way to spend the afternoon while the birds are also relaxing.

BOOKINGS

Although you sometimes see this property on hotel booking sites such as Hotels.com & Expedia, I was unable to find availability so I am not sure if they still partner with these sites. It is easy to book it online on their own booking engine. Sometimes there are specials available. Reviews on Trip Advisor are excellent, everyone loves this place!

Coming next: Birding Savegre!

Lodge Review: Villa Lapas, Carara, Costa Rica

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Tara

Villa Lapas is adjacent to the Carara National Park. From their website:

We are a rainforest-resort, located in the pacific coast of Costa Rica. We have become one of the Costa Rica’s top tourist choices, becoming a favorite of birdwatchers and nature lovers.

Our Hotel features 58 rooms surrounded by lush tropical gardens sitting in the midst of a private 500 acre rainforest reserve, with a beautiful river flowing alongside the resort complex.

A replica Of Costa Rica’s historical past, the Santa Lucia Town in Villa Lapas adds a quaint, charming touch to it’s natural surroundings. Santa Lucía includes a church, a local cantina, a lake, restaurant, two souvenir shops and other points of interest, perfect for weddings and private events too. And the Villa Lapas Canopy tour, where your adrenaline flows while you zip through the jungle.

We arrived in the early afternoon from Monteverde after being dropped off by the bus. The grounds are beautiful as one would expect from being next to Carara.

The reception, bar & restaurant are in a breezy open air area with views of the garden.

The rooms are on the small side which was fine as we spent most of our time outdoors watching the birds. The buildings have a Spanish colonial style.

You won’t have to go far to start birding. You will find the same species here as you do in Carara but they can be easier to see with the wide open spaces. We watched Scarlet Macaws flying to and from Carara & their roosting grounds.

The swimming pool was small and full of leaves so we didn’t go swimming though we did dangle our feet in the water to cool off. We were amused by the iguanas running around, sometimes upright!

We walked across the bridge to the Santa Lucia Village just in time for an afternoon shower. It’s a beautiful scenic walk past a small stream.

On the opposite end of the property were some buildings that looked like staff quarters and an unused massage hut that would actually be better used as a bird hide.

Dinner & breakfast are served as buffets and there was a decent variety of dishes-meat pasta, some local dishes that I found a bit spicy, soup & salad. I forgot to bring my camera to dinner so no pics, sorry! It started raining as we walked back so had to borrow an umbrella.

Although some hotel booking sites will show a link to Villa Lapas, they never seem to have availability so it could be the property isn’t using them anymore so no airline miles or Ultimate Rewards points. They have an onsite secure booking form which gets the job done.

The staff are very friendly and helpful. Although it’s a beautiful property, it does need renovations. If you are a dedicated birder, you won’t care because the birdlife is amazing but if you are used to Sheratons & Intercontinentals you will probably be disappointed. The reviews on Trip Advisor are pretty mixed. Birders love it, normal tourists didn’t.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Category Archives: Accommodation