Before you read this I totally
recommend as a must for anyone to stay atleast a night at the Gurkha,
among other reasons below, the main is my sister being quite fussy
did not make me check her into a 5 star hotel within the first 8
minutes of arrival <----litmus test.
This is the first time that we stayed
on a houseboat, in fact some people I spoke to hadn't even heard of
them! Houseboats here are always docked either at Dal Lake or in this
case the Nageen Lake. One reviewer said that Nageen is cleaner and
less busier than Dal, admittedly we had few pesky watersellers
offering their wares, could be due to being winter.
It is advisable to ask the houseboat
owner prior to arrival as to where the taxi must drop you off,
because these boats can only be accessed via shikara. We chose Gurka
because there was a brochure at the ITC hotel a while back that my
dad had safely kept for years, they also had some good reviews on
tripadvisor, and were given a 4 star rating by those same reviewers –
for a hotel i'd say its a 4 star but for a houseboat it would be a 5.
If you have been on a cruise before
dont expect this to be a 500 room Royal Caribbean Liner. These
houseboats are made of wood beautifully carved inside and out, with
about 5 spacious rooms all lined up against what resembles a narrow
train passage, although these boats are old, do not underestimate the
high standard of amenities of this one with the likes of wifi, hot
water, heated blankets and heaters etc. They are traditional so do
expect that finish.
Each room on the Gurkha has its private
bathroom with a shower head in the bathtub. Bathrooms although basic
are clean. It would be good for the boat owners to put a fixed panel
over the shoeboxed size hole that divided the bathroom from the
neighbours, I could hear fellow travellers bathing their child “okey
close your eyes”. I did not shower in the 2 days we were here
because it was extremely cold and I preferred the bad odour, it
helped keep the stray dogs away.
On arrival there was a man who showed
us to our room, and told us as the name suggests, “this is your
house, you must be happy and comfortable” he then ordered a fresh
pot of tea be made with an accompaniment of hot onion pakoras by the
gas heater, it really hit the spot and warmed us up as we enjoyed the
woody ambience in the drawing room. There was a tiny gap in the
window which we told him would be too cold for us at night, he said
with the heater and electric blankets you will be fine...he was
right, even at minus degrees overnight, we slept like babies(no we
didnt wake up for milk/nappy change). There was no key for our door
but a latch inside for privacy, there is a safe in the room and a
bigger one at another houseboat but he assured us everything will be
fine and no one will touch anything. We took his word for it and I
still have my laptop to write this. One could request for a key if
they needed.
The wooden walls throughout are thin,
and we could hear the neighbours faintly in the background not too
loud to disturb though. They didnt seem fun enough to eaves drop on
anyway. There is a satellite dish and a tv in the communal lounge
area.
This is really something to write home
about where do I begin, The butler - Gulam, the only other hotel that
would offer a butler like this are some new posh 6 or 7 star hotels;
the butler is actually the reason I say this is a 5 star houseboat.
Prepare to be spoilt! Our butler obliged to anything we asked, was
always smiling and enquired constantly if we were ok every time he
saw us. He filled us up with many litres of tea and coffee, and
served at our leisure the most amazing breakfast lunch and dinners.
The rate included all meals and was served in the common dining room,
our butler told us the times the other family were eating and offered
to serve at an earlier or later one; you know sometimes one may not
want to eat with strangers(because they hog the delicious chapatis).
My dad was trying to call us concerned if we were ok and was given
Gulams cellphone number, and at 11pm Gulam came in the heavy rain to
pass on his phone. The food he served us was among the best local
cuisine you could ask for, Rogan Josh, Dhall, Hot fresh Chapattis,
Chicken Curry, Rices, Desserts, Fluffy Omlettes with Jam and toast to
name some in the just 2 day stay. If you can, do request for Gulam,
we did tip him before leaving for which he seemed very grateful.
The electricity seemed to
partially(some of the lights) disconnect at times, this is done by
the council untimed for 30 – 60 minute spurts, im not sure if other
boats also cater for this, but Gurkhas all have alternate energy that
keeps basic lighting going, this is a great plus! The heaters were
powered by gas, so those ran all times.
The scenery is breathtaking, and
peaceful, every time we sat out on the verandah it seemed like time
was frozen and we were the only ones in the entire lake.
The only grouse I had was the “manager”
Farouk apparently a friend
of the owners who initially seemed friendly and helpful to us but was
just a shrewd glorified tout. Despite this I would still stay here
and recommend you do too, i'm sure the owners would address the
matter concerned otherwise this would be such a downfall to this
excellent property. I really couldnt find any other problems with the
Gurkha really none!
I booked another trip to Sonamarg
through him ONLY because the guide Abdul Rashid was one of the most
wonderful people i've ever met, he was kind, honest, obliging and we
had the most interesting and informative conversations with him
enroute – if you can request Abdul Rashid you wont go wrong. If you
can call him before you arrive he would arrange to fetch you from the
airport his number is 9906 512938.
During February our 2 night stay booked
via hotels.com was $135/night all inclusive. Taxi fare was 600rupees
from the airport and if you cant get Ab Rashid the driver must drop
you via the small lane just past the Nageen Club gated entrance.
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