MTDC Accomodation at Panchgani or Mahabaleshwar

Hi,
We are planning to visit Mahabaleshwar during the second week of Aug. From this forum, many people are suggesting stay at Panchgani. Can some one suggest a reasonably good accomodation?

Just found out that MTDC has Hotel Five Hills @ Panchgani. Anyone has any feedback on Hotel Five Hills? Is there any better options?

Just came back from Panchgani trip! We stayed at Hotel Ravine (http://www.ravinehotel.com) has probably the best view in Panchgani. It's expensive, especially the restaurant is very expensive. But the views are fantastic!!!

It was not raining, but mahabaleshwar is foggy. We didn't go for a full mahabaleshwar site seeing, as it was foggy. Went to Tapola Dam, the route to Tapola Dam is excellent. But due to lakh of rain, the water levels in the dam is very low. The boating wasn't exciting :-(

All, in all it was a good trip. The valleys are really green and the temperature is cool!

thanks for your feedback, guruji - always helpful for other members looking for this sort of information.

Recently came back from Mahabaleshwar. We hired a Cottage and a standard room in Mahabaleshwar. The Cottage was too costly (Rs. 2200/-) and horrible. It was not maintained at all. I have seen three separate cottages before selecting one. All 3 are in same hopeless condition. The staffs were helpful.

So just a word caution : Never book Krishna Cottages of MTDC in Mahabaleshwar.

The standard rooms were OK but nothing special. Abosolutely not value for money. I do not know why Govt. does not maintain the place properly.

Frequently government accommodation is not as good as private - the same here. RTDC is adequate, clean, o.k. but much better is to be had in the private sector.

Yeah.. agree with you. I never thought it will be so horrible. We spent too much money in MTDC for those dirty small room. The walls are having cracks and also the bed linen are in pathetic condition.

Just check the golf course in Mahabaleshwar. It is worth a visit and very less no. people frequent it. Although it is not open for public but you can always take a walk down from MTDC.

Goa is one of the few places in India where the government operated hotels are fairly well maintained with the best locations whether on the beach or in the city.

Fully agree with you. We were at Goa during October begining. Stayed at Mirador Beach Resort cottages. Nice location and excellent cottages. Also far cheaper than MTDC. Even food was much better. MTDC should learn from GTDC.

That's good for Goa - I think the government accommodation places ought to be showcasing their states, and they should range from budget prices upwards - all too often here, they are overpriced for what they offer.

One more place where you will find good govt accommodation is in Kumaon in Uttaranchal. Most of the KMVNs are nicely located and fairly priced.

I stayed in Panchgani at Il Palazzo Hotel a couple of months back. It cost me 1800/- per day, per person inclusive of all meals, tea etc. This turned out to be a very good deal, firstly because the cook there seemed to be out to feed us to death and secondly, the hotel itself is just superb. Very quiet and very beautiful. You can check out a few pictures in my members gallery.

Nice pics. I am sure most of the places will be better than MTDC. I just wanted to inform the IMers on the same.
Have you booked it from Pune only? Its a bit pricy though.

Yes, Sudipto, we booked from Pune, but you can book from anywhere, I think. Here's the link to their website - http://www.ilpalazzo.co.in/home1.htm

It is a bit pricey, but then you get all the meals too. This was great for our family because there doesn't seem to be any good restaurant in Panchgani itself.

Thanks Arijit for the info. Will keep in mind in next visit.

Summer Plaza Resort is the best resort in Panchgani (http://www.summerplazaresort.com/), though they are on the costly side. We recently stayed there, and found these things very attractive:
* a typical five-star like room with a bath-tub, and hot water 24 hrs.
* the food is very, very delicious, but it is a strict veg resort. No smoking and alcohol is allowed.
* children play area is very well maintained with a soft cork-like floor matting for shock absorption.
* the entire resort is sparkling clean
* swimming pool is indoor, so the temperature is moderate.

It was 6K per night, including all food in Christmas week. Other times, it is generally 4.5K per night. Highly recommended, if you are okay with the cost.

In Mahabaleshwar, a very nice resort is Ramsukh (http://www.ramsukh.com/). Very similar to Summer Plaza, but in old-Mahabaleshwar, with beautiful view all around. Nice and veg. food here too. Costly though.

-choombak (Amarendra Godbole in real life).