Mar 20, 2010 06:45 PM
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Matheran is my favorite spot. The only pedestrian hill station in India has its own beauty & calmness. I have been visiting Matheran for many years now & have stayed in almost 10 top hotels.
Recently I stayed in Usha Ascot & then in Bike also & this effort is to share my experience re Byke. This resort is a nice & spacious one has all the facilities that one would expect from a resort this pricey. It’s a bit far from market as well & hence the best part is you get to enjoy the pedestrian hill station at its best. There is nothing in its surrounding, except the forest & Usha Ascot right across. Don’t get scared, its not like miles away, its less than a km away from where the man made density starts.
The best think about Byke is its hospitality. I was there in the middle of the week gone by & hence there were hardly 5% of rooms occupied, However, this didn’t deter the resort staff to provide their best service & meet all your demands with a smile. They didn’t even forget to remind you that food is laid out & if you don’t wish to go to the dining area, they will be more than happy to provide a room service at no cost.
The only negative thing about bike or rather 2 things about byke are the reservation experience & the unexpected guests (& I don’t mean Monkeys alone). I had made a reservation over phone & had also paid all the amounts beforehand. If you don’t pay 100% upfront, they don’t allow you to reservation, as if all of are scoundrels who would run away post reservation. While reserving, I had shared all the details they needed, including info on my son’s age (since he would be charged at child rates). When I reached the resort for check in, I was told to pay extra 2k for the child. I was surprised since the package deal I had received I thought included everything. I was made to talk to the reservation desk in Mumbai, with one Mr Om. Om didn’t even think twice before alleging that I had hidden the information on purpose. If I had to hide, why would I disclose the same at the time of the check in? Moreover he had nerves to say that I didn’t check my reservation confirmation slip so its my problem. Well what a way to greet a customer who has not even finished check in formalities. He seemed dumb enough to me since he didn’t even think that reservation confirmation was sent by me post my payment, so what am I supposed to do with it.
Second point I mentioned is about unexpected guests. There are a lot of cockroaches in the room as well as bath area. If you complain, they will promptly send someone to spray, however these unwanted friends reappear next day & unless you get used to them, there is no way you can stay there. So much for the cleanliness. As if that’s not all, I also say monkeys droppings in the swimming pool in plenty. Although the pool is cleaned each morning, but what is the guarantee that water is pure enough for you to jump in. This may not be as much as Bike problem as much it is a Matheran feature.
Overall, Matheran is a great place & Bike is good too, but one may not find value for money. If you stay in some other hotels there, you might not get all the facilities Bike has but the money you save would be worth it as you can spend as much on shopping then.
