Guest Reviews

Sukoon Houseboat: "Beautiful Houseboat – Wonderful Staff"

"I booked a ""tailor-made"" Sukoon experience, including a ""3 days camp & hike"" in the Aru Valley, a local hiking tour outside of Srinagar, and a 3 nights stay on the houseboat. First of all - the planning and organisation of all these individual parts of my ""Sukoon experience"" was perfectly well done by the Sukoon people. The camp in Aru Valley was luxurious with a ""real bed"" in my spacious tent, carpets, a little table with a mirror and bed side tables. Just outside the sleeping tent there was a ""outhouse"" tent, with a comfy toilet in it, and a washing tent, with towels and hot & cold water in buckets. While Manzoor and Rashid guided me on my hikes and took me to many beautiful spots in the Aru and Lidder Valley, Amin, the cook, prepared the most delicous Indian meals I could imagine. What he created in his pretty basic kitchen tent was just amazing - and I enjoyed every bite of all his heavenly curries and dishes, especially after a day-long hike.... I felt pampered from A-Z. Then I returned to Srinagar where the rest of the Sukoon Crew welcomed me very warmly. The boat itself is a jewel in Dal Lake - with beautiful wooden walls, ceilings and floors, spacious rooms, indoor dining room as well as a deck with an outdoor dining area and sunbeds/umbrellas for relaxing hours. The houseboat is reachable by the Sukoon´s own engine-driven Shikara. Every time you need a ride, the Shikara is made ready for you within minutes. The soul of Sukoon, and what makes this beautiful houseboat so homely, is the Sukoon people, with Bashir, Ashiq, Passang, Bela, and of course the kitchen crew around chef Amin. They just do all they can (and even more) to make every stay on Sukoon a very memorable one. They all live the great Kashmiri hospitality - and guest satisfaction always comes first. Srinagar and Kashmir are so well worth a visit - and I (solo female traveller) felt 100 % safe, wherever I went, in town as well as in the mountains. So - go ahead - and enjoy and discover this unique place!!! THANK YOU dearest Sukoon-housboat-team for making my stay such a wonderful one. (One thing about Reservation/Administration that is done by the headoffice in Delhi - Please be careful when making international bank transfers as in my case the money never arrived. Even though the problem with the payment is not yet solved I am full of admiration how the manager of Sukoon in Srinagar, Mr. Muslim Naqash, is handling this case. THANK YOU!!!)"

Slow Private Pool Villas: "Wow and wow"

It’s hard to explain Slow in so few words. We landed with busy city brains and two kids and we left two weeks later as islanders. The staff at Slow were amazing. I felt like they took us into this cosy family. It’s been three weeks since we left and I still miss the breakfasts. The rooms were a blend of modern luxury and traditional design. All day long the sun shone and we splashed in our own private pool. After dinner there was usually a rainstorm which the kids loved. We spent our evenings listening to the tokay gecko chiming and the crickets chirping while we played cards. We will return again and again to this island paradise.

Tugu Bali: "Great service, friendly atmosphere, and beautiful property"

"Service was outstanding from my arrival until my departure. Wonderful welcome, complimentary welcome drink and afternoon tea with tasty cakes. Stayed in the Dedari suite which had a nice private pool and outdoor shower area, with a separate room for the toilet. Spacious room, comfortable bed, beautiful flowers, and a nice fruit basket. I cannot stress how wonderful and accommodating the staff was! Had plenty of help bringing all my bags to my room and also had a bicycle which I had forgotten was muddy from my long ride that day. I asked if they had a hose where I could wash it and they were kind enough to take it and wash it for me, have never had that type of service anywhere! Food was fabulous! Enjoyed the ""Royal Tugudom"" dinner experience, a ""Grand Ceremonial Dining of the Majapahit Kingdom"" with our own ceremony and huge feast in the ""Bale Puputan"" room. There were only 3 of us so it was way too much food, would have been better for a larger group of people, but what an experience it was! Got treated as royalty and more great service during dinner, was truly a great meal. Breakfast was wherever we wanted it- in our room, on the beach, inside, in the garden, really anywhere. We chose a shady spot in the garden which was perfect and had a nice breeze. Enjoyed the beach afterward and a nice dip in my room pool and the main hotel pool. Lots to enjoy at this hotel! Wish we had more time to explore the area and all the amenities and history of the hotel. To top off our great stay we received a departure fruit basket with water for each of us to enjoy on our drive to the airport. Thanks to everyone at the hotel for a great experience and wonderful stay! Hope to return one day..."