Tumsong Tea Retreat is near Ghoom, an over 155 years old heritage Bungalow right at the heart of Tumsong Tea Estate situated at the “Golden Valley” of Darjeeling which produces the finest quality of organic Darjeeling Tea across the Globe. Local's named it "Burra Sahib's Bungalow" as it was the residence of the German planter from East India Company, Mr. J.A.Wernicke, when he planted the entire garden back in 1867. The Retreat and the Estate faces the highest Himalayan ranges and this puts it directly in the path of a constant cold breeze.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We were at Tumsong December 21-23, 2019 to experience a stay in a tea Manager bungalow, keep away from a crowded Darjeeling city and navigate temperature more moderate than in the city. It turned out to be a good option. Tumsong is about 25 Km from Darjeeling city and at half its altitude of 6700 feet. You take the road towards Mirik from Ghoom someway before deviating right from it for an hour long tumultuous road journey on a mud track that may once may have been a paved road. It's a good idea to farm this ride to the tea retreat. The drive is through multiple tea gardens and quite a joy during daytime. The retreat is a 19 century bungalow on a tea slope with the factory and workers settlement in close proximity. We occupied two of the three rooms on the first floor both reasonably maintained to give a feel of a gardeners home. Not luxurious but adequate for a short stay, the bed, mattress, carpet, plumbing all basic but reminiscent of good old days. Old photographs, a sunny garden, the tea slopes, lucky view of Kanchenjunga and hospitable staff led by Manager William make the stay worthwhile. A 5 km trek down the tea estate to the river, orange and guava orchards and an exhilarating climb up are a great half day option if your knees are good and the lungs functional. The in house kitchen serves acceptable home cooked Indian food and a variety of tea brews. There is a lounge with books and audio-video players to keep your feet up should the garden be in the shadow of a passing cloud. Any amount snacks can be called in, oily variety! A trip to the adjacent factory is on except in December-January when it is sealed and packed. Easy trekking options can be found in every direction. Tumsong is best enjoyed 'nothing to do.' Just laze and unwind. A mandatory trip to Darjeeling and lunch at Glenary's with some planning can include a ride on the toy train from or to Ghoom the highest railway station in India. All the way Tumsong Tea Retreat is recommended!
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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Barring a day hike up the mountains there isn't much to do here and this is not an active vacation or for someone who would like to rush from point to point of tourist attraction. This is a vacation for those who wish for simple laid back perfection and pampered indulgence. The Bungalow is a beautiful Victorian Bungalow from antiquity and is extremely well maintained resulting in beautiful rooms and indulgent settings for a state of privileged rest with picture postcard settings inside a Tea Garden. Mr. William Gonsalves and his staff add the cherry to the top with an extremely efficient service regime. The food is fabulous with all the organic produce coming from the garden including the chicken and the dairy. The taste of the food is complemented with a great amount of ingenuity and dilligence in preparation that makes each meal a unique experience in the property. This is a beautiful, laid back and pampered experience waiting for you. I had a lovely stay along with my family during January and the weather here is quite mild and an absolute pleasure for everyone.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Choose Room 3 or Room 1
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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End of this December we went to stay in Tumsong Tea Retreat for Twodays. Truest this was a lifetime experience. This is a perfect location if you want to have cup of olong tea with beautiful views of tea valley and Kanchenjunga sunrise. You will feel you are in paradise. The entire arrangement in the resort is excellent and touches high quality in every single thing room, bed, bathroom, cup, plates, sitting room, library, music, carrom board... Mr. William resort manager is true gentleman. He had made our stay so comfortable and memorable. Local cook can prepare what ever you ask for. Foods are fresh and delicious. All vegetables are home grown organic. I wish to be there again and this time at least 4 days. I really really love this place.
Debasis and Susmita
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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If your idea of a great vacation is to be amongst nature re – living a bygone era where time slows down, then yes, nothing beats a holiday in one of the heritage bungalows that dot the landscape across India’s tea plantations.
Since we were already in tea country, it was but natural for us to gravitate to a tea estate for the next, and last leg of our roadtrip.
After much research, we honed down on the Tumsong Tea Retreat, which is in the Ghum region of Darjeeling district. Our choice hinged on several factors. For one, this is an authentic planters bungalow. Secondly, the pricing is pretty competitive and they have a full complement of staff to take care of everything. There were other options too around Darjeeling, but either they were way too over – priced, or seemed downright dodgy.
he Tumsong Tea Retreat is a planters bungalow converted to a resort. It maintains all the charm of a colonial tea plantation bungalow. I mean, even the teak flooring is polished to a gloss with years of people walking over it. Perched on the side of a hill, the bungalow is picture perfect. Within moments of arriving here we’d forgotten all about the travails of getting there!
The Bungalow is generously endowed. It features a drawing room, a study, a spacious dining room, pantry and kitchen besides 4 bedrooms. It’s a perfect retreat for a large family or small group seeking a getaway amidst the calm of nature. The bungalow has beautiful sit – outs on two sides, with the front one affording sweeping views of the valley below. 4 – poster wooden beds adorn each bedroom. They even a cozy fireplace. As for the bathrooms, they’re large enough to hide a small regiment of soldiers. Having said this, the plumbing, tiling and overall upkeep was stellar, to say the least!
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Date of stay: June 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:The rooms on the first floor afford beautiful views of the mountains on one side and the valley...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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Very cosy, non commercial homestay with stunning views of tea gardens.
What sets Tumsong Tea Retreat apart from other home stays in this belt is its exclusivity, and non commercial aspect. We were a family of five occupying the entire cottage, and our stay was very cosy. This is a place where one can relax to the fullest, within the boundaries of the estate by either playing cricket on the beautiful green lawn, reading books with views overlooking the tea gardens, enjoying the mouth watering organic based cuisine from the fantastic kitchen, or tuck into bed with a lit fire place in the bed room. It is a very exotic, unique and enchanting experience staying at Tumsong Tea Retreat, and the hospitality of the staff members is brilliant, led by the able manager, Mr William. Lastly, would like to re iterate that the food prepared here is one of the best in its class, and scores well above its more reputed peers such as Glenburn, Makiabari etc.
Thanks & Regards, Aneesh Mitra
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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Tumsong Tea Retreat is a wonderfully quaint, postcard wooden bungalow surrounded by misty hills and lush greenery, enveloped in picturesque clouds and the most peasant weather. The manager, Mr. William Gonzalez is the most amazing and ever smiling human being and has a lot of knowledge to share about a perfect cup of the finest Darjeeling tea. One must visit this place to enjoy its blissful serenity in the lap of nature, far away from the tiring humdrum of city life and to savour and experience the taste of the finest cups of beautifully golden, premium Darjeeling tea.
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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It was a visit to have a taste of tranquility for two elderly couples. The road was very bad during the last leg of the journey for about an hour. It almost brought back the experience of the European gentlemen riding on a horse back centuries ago.
Ambience - the sprawling garden , kanchenjunga, decor of the rooms , lobby will take you back to the European settlers life style. Everything was satisfying. But, management was horrible. Had to ask for the room heater, TV was not working ( we had to miss that night's WC football match). Back door of the ground floor room could not be closed properly. Had to wake up the manager who came rushing in his pyjamas. Food was just not eatable. Snacks were good. One item at dinner had no salt in it. Cold gulab jamun served straight from the refrigerator
Overall not worthy of spending so much money.
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Banerjee, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 14 Dec 2022
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your stay. We regret to hear that your experience as you mentioned, at Tumsong Tea Retreat did not live up to your expectations. Hence, we have taken good note of your feedback and scrutinized it thoroughly. Honest feedbacks are always important to us as it enables us to constantly monitor and improve the care and service we endeavor to provide all our guests. Whilst we cannot undo the experience, I am truly thankful for your constructive comments which would allow us to work on our strengths and areas of concern. We would love to welcome you back and my team and I remain at your disposal always. I assure you of our combined efforts and commitment to do all we can to ensure you have a delightful and memorable stay with us in the future.
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We stayed atTumsong Tea Retreat for 3N4D from may 16th to 19th 2024. It was a wonderful experience...with great service, good food and wonderful hospitality of the staff. Special mention for Anuraag our caretaker who made sure our rooms were always neat comfy and homely...his personal touch in cooking up delicious food with so much earnestness deserves a thumbs up. Next to mention our supervisor Ankita for serving us with so much care. Last but not the least the magnificent view from our rooms was the icing on the cake..not to forget the aromatic darjeeling tea.....excellent experience @Tumsong
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our stay at the Tumsong Tea Retreat was a memorable one. A quiet, peaceful place, a quaint colonial bungalow, wonderfully tasty meals & endless cups of fragrant Darjeeling tea served in style were an endless source of joy. Mr William Gonsalves, the manager, made our stay even more enjoyable with his unfaltering attention & amiable personality. We would like to visit again & again
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 6 Oct 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Chiabari Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. We are overwhelmed to read your kind words of appreciation for our services. I have conveyed your compliments to the team for whom it has been a tremendous source of inspiration. It is our constant endeavour to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. Appreciation such as yours increases our motivation to achieve the expectations that our guests have of us. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong Chiabari group of resorts
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We spent 4 nights in this lovely retreat nestled among luxurious tea gardens. It is an ideal place to enjoy the sunshine on cold wintry days with the majestic Kanchenjunga looming above. We were 3 couples and a child and had the place to ourselves. Nicely furnished big rooms, luxurious bathrooms, excellent food and awesome hospitality and service led by William and his team. We were fortunate to have 4 days of absolutely clear weather and had magnificient views of the Kanchenjunga range almost all day. Sitting in the garden with a drink, the sun on your back and the mountains shining high above was a truly relaxing and pleasant experience. Would love to go back again. A word of caution. The location on Google maps is misleading. The resort is about 25 KM from Ghoom railway station off the road to Bijonbari. The last few kilometres are bumpy and it is not advisable to travel on sedans. Best to contact William and fix up airport transfers or sightseeing trips. Not much to sightsee actually, but a day trip to Darjeeling town may be worthwhile.
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Date of stay: December 2021
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:The 2 mountain view rooms on the first floor are the best.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjoy Chamong, General Manager at Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat
Responded 26 Dec 2021
Dear Guest, Greetings from Chamong Group of Resorts!!! Thank you for choosing to stay with us during your recent visit and we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us. It is our constant endeavor to provide our guests with the highest level of comfort and to make their stay truly memorable. We are grateful for your recommendation and do hope you will continue to provide us with more opportunities to be of service. We immensely treasure your patronage and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Warm regards General Manager Chamong group of resorts
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
You can directly contact Mr Rajat Nandi at the number given above. One word of caution - the time will be peak monsoon time with chances of heavy rains causing landslide and road closure
There are more places to choose from in the Darjeeling area.
PRICE RANGE
₹16,290 - ₹19,479 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
IndiaWest BengalDarjeeling DistrictDarjeeling
NUMBER OF ROOMS
4
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect average nightly room rates, including taxes and fees that are fixed, known to our partners, and due at time of booking. Please see our partners for more details.
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What are some restaurants close to Tumsong Chiabari : The Tea Retreat?
Conveniently located restaurants include Grains Pure Veg by Udaan Nirvana, Darjeeling, Grains Pure Veg by Udaan Himalayan, Darjeeling, and Sonam's Kitchen.
