This was our second visit to Shaheen Bagh. We visited 3 years back in Oct and again now in Oct2011. It is a beautiful home stay away from the main city of Dehera dun a little walk from the tons river.
Shaheen bagh was lovingly made by an artist as his home, and that shows in every little detail, ever piece of furniture, the paintings and the bird prints on the walls, the bookshelves, the plants, the lamps, the doors, the painted wardrobes and cabinets, it is place that would be loved by a certain kind of traveler only.
It is not 5 star luxury, and it is not for the mall loving shoppers, or people who would prefer the hustle and bustle of Mussoori (we have had people asking us what we see in the property!!!). But it is a beautiful place if you like to relax, read, or just go for picnics next to the river with your kids.
The location: It is quite out of the way (a single lane hilly road which is quite lonely) and best reached during day light . We lost our way in the dark, but the owners Sandhya, and Arun Gupta were very helpful and sent a car to escort us to the property. Otherwise the location is very beautiful ...a 5 minute walk from the Tons river....with a beautiful view of Mussoori from the terrace.
The rooms are beautifully done up, but need better maintenance and cleaning. The Blue rooms stinks a bit....and the Green room and Pool side rooms can do with better cleaning.
We stayed at the master suite which is very very beautiful with 2 bathrooms, a sunken tub, a living room. A painted island type of sink and shower cabinet.
The staff is very helpful and tries to fulfill every request but they are more like house helps. It is best to go with friends or family as then one can enjoy the home stay atmosphere even more.
This time we were disappointed with the maintenance of the property:
1. The place used to be full of flowers of all colors and variety and was real fun for bird watchers. Now probably due to lack of water we saw less greenery , no flowers at all, and no birds . They said they had cut some trees around the property due to which the birds have stopped coming.
2. There was a lovely waterfall on the property (man made) with little canal running through the flower garden. All that is completely dry now.
3. The pool was not filled with water as they were having some issues with the filtration system.....
4. There were 3 huge dogs running loose on the property ...I am not sure whose dogs these were and the staff said they were not their dogs but the sheer fact that they were running loose made us uncomfortable to leave the kids playing alone on the verandah or in the garden....
This was a bit disappointing but yet we really love the place and will visit it again.
Room Tip: Go for the master suite. Avoid the blue room. The pool side cottage is risky for parents with toddle...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC