PWD rest houses

No sweat!

Well i totally agree with it.PWD rest houses are really well maintained.I stayed in one at Khara Pathar.and trust me the location was ultimate.It was there on the top of mountain and whole city is there down .Ultimate view and really cheap.Caretaker was really cool.Now i am planning my trip to Lansdowne but cant find any number to book PWD rest house.Searched a lot on internet,Every one says there is PWD and forest dept and army rest house also.That's it.No contact numbers anywhere.If anyone can help please do.

Well after calling almost n number of phone number to get PWD Lansdowne number....Got the right one to findout that they are not available in may due to election.

STILL In case some one needs it.

Hi,

I have seen the links giving the rates of HP PWD guest houses and their rates. I understand that ideally we should go to the corresponding booking office and book it - if available. E.g. for Sarahan, we would have to book from B & R Division, Nirmand (01904-255140).

However, somewhere I was reading (sorry don't have it book marked ) that we can call them and book it. So how do we pay them? Do we pay to the caretaker at the Rest House? Do we get receipt against that?

One also referred about booking the PWD RH over fax, so do you get that after you call them (likely)?

Any 1st hand experience would be appreciated, as I am planning to visit HP in Nov'09 with family and plan to make most of the stays at HPPWD guest houses.

I understand that we need to keep the caretaker "happy" (some rum/mutton/chicken etc)!

Hi,
I have stayed a lot in pwd both irrigation and road work department of the government of karnataka. Their guest houses are meant for officier who are on a duty but if you have the right contact you can probaly get the best and the cheapest accomodation.
Some of my favourite places are
1) Badra reserviour at lakkavalli
2) Hemavathi reserviour at gorur. We had the opportunity of fishing
3) ooty
4) Nandi hills
5) Tirupathi
6) Gokak falls
7) KRS dam mysore
and the list will go on

Yes, Receipts are given.
Ideally, booking should be done in advance and via booking office. And Priority is always given to PWD Officers and their families.
There are CPWD guest houses as well in most cities as well which always have 1-2 rooms for Delhi Quota.

Btw.. somebody earlier mentioned PWD is for roads department. It's not. PWD deals with all civil maintenance including Govt Buildings, Hospitals - electricity and construction included.

Many thanks! My question, however, was specific to Himachal Pradesh PWD rest houses.

As I understand, though 1st priority is always their own staff, still it rents out to non-employees (tourists) as well.

Any specific inputs from people who has availed HP PWD rest house/circuit house would be great!

Just in case anybody is taking a look at this thread:

I have managed the contact number of the HP PWD guest house booking offices for my travel around end Nov'09 with my wife and <2 yr baby.

Questions specific to Himachal PWD resthouses/circuit houses:

1. Can we call the respective PWD offices and pre-book? If not, then how can we pre-book?
2. If we can pre-book over phone, how do we pay? To the caretaker of respective PWD Rest houses?
3. From many posts, it seems important to catch hold of the RH caretakers' tel#. Guess that would be available from the booking office when we call them to book?
4. How early can one book such PWD RHs?
5. Would PWD RHs have appropriate bedding?
6. Would anyone have any idea/experience about the Sarahan Circuit house?

Many thanks in advance!

Any idea about the booking procedure of PWD Guest House in Sandakphu???

Any contact no. will be highly appreciated...


Thanx in advance....

Hi,
Officially pwd guest houses are not ment to promote tourism, they are ment only for officials who are on a official tour. But some state governments are renting their guest houses with the special permission from deputy commissioner. Affcourse if you have the influence you can get one.

HP PWD is one of those state govts then, and they state the contact numbers and offices for booking of various PWD RH/CHs on their website (link by Delhiwala in previous page of this thread).

Incidentally, I had a talk with one of those offices for my travel (I'm a private org employee) and they didn't even ask who I was - just intimated the process.

Any person who has booked/stayed with HP PWD (like Shobhit above) please share their opinion and feedback. I am specifically interested about Himachal Pradesh PWD (am sure lot of others would be intereted as well).

I have posted some links containing pics of it in another post, linking it now.

Driving Direction --New Delhi to Khara Pathar

Tikkar HP PWD guest house snapped by Vasuki on Sunday (27th September 2009).



This PWD R/H is under Rohru circle.

P.S. Khara Pathar PWD R/H is under maintenance and is expected to unavailable for 1/2 months (mid-Oct/Nov'09). Please check before finalizing your plan. I got this info when calling for booking of the same around end-Nov. They wanted us to confirm status around mid/end-Oct.

People

Has anyone been to the pwd rest house at palakkad/palghat ? If yes, please let me know how if the guest house was good and if you have pictures to share. I will be in palakkad in 10 days,so just want to check if it is good to check out for accomodation.

Any inputs are appreciated.

For those who may require it:

The process for booking HP PWD guest house is as below:

1. Send a mail/fax to the concerned booking office
2. PWD official would validate if accomodation is available
3. Approving officer (typically XEN or Executive Engineer) would approve it
4. An "Warrant" will be issued in your name if accomdation is approved
5. You should have a copy of it by fax/mail
6. A copy of warrant would also be sent to the caretaker of the location where you would stay
7. You show your warrant upon arrival
8. Caretaker verifies and allows access

Actual scenario:

1. Call the concerned booking office and find out if accomodation is available. Mostly they will tell you to call not more than 10-12 days before stay. Do not bother! Confirm the fax number and about a month back, send it to that fax # addressing the XEN.
2. Mention a return fax number in your application.
3. After sending the fax, call them up to confirm that they received the fax loud and clear !
4. Also ask them, when they expect it to be processed. Sometimes the XEN is on tour or does not seat regularly in that office, so there may be a wait time before it is processed.
5. Call when the wait period is over to see if it got processed. Always keep a note of the person you are talking to.
6. If it got processed, ask the person confirming it to fax it to your fax #. Mostly they will say that it's not needed. In case you can't insist, ask for the caretaker name and contact details. Himachal is complete mobile-enabled, so that should not be a problem.
7. Try to confirm with the caretaker a few days beforehand to see that they got the warrant copy. It might be an issue if you are checking in on a weekend when the officials are off, and caretaker do not have a copy.

Cons:

• In the locations where it is a small one (1-4 rooms), you may have trouble in case a local gathering (some fair or local marriage) is happening. Local people tend to book the PWD accomodations (cheap, no other option etc) and they would have an edge on the caretaker as well (caretaker himself may be a local man)! It is very important to have a copy of the warrant then!
• DO NOT EXPECT FOOD except in the ones which are designated as circuit houses. Always carry some instant foods like dry fruits, maggi etc. Sometimes self-cooking is possible, somtimes not. You need to check with the caretaker for that.
• Condition of the accomodation depends, and because the last one you stayed in is great, does not ensure that the next one would also be great.
• If you're checking in on a weekend, always have a backup plan, if you're not carrying a copy of the warrant.

PROS:

The most prominent ones are:

• Very very cheap and high value for money!
• Best of views available, even better than HPTDC hotels mostly.

I have stayed in the following locations:

Narkanda (Rest house at Main bazaar) - Very good
Sarahan - (circuit house) - Excellent
Baghi - Very bad condition with broken corridor to toilet and stinking bed. Had to stay as didn't have other options!

Have seen the Kotgarh RH from outside and it looked great!

Please keep on adding your feedbacks below.

I'm interested to book PWD guest house in Tamilnadu,Karnataka or Kerala region.What is theprocess to book those places.
I tried to book the Vengurla Maharashra PWD guest house,called them severel times and finally they said its fully booked.Finally we stayed at MTDC and when reacheed that guest house found that completely empty.