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4.5
#2 of 5 resorts in Pallivasal
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Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
The Windermere Estate is an 18 room plantation retreat surrounded by the cardamom, coffee and tea hills of Munnar. Established as an estate in the 1940s, Windermere recreates the essence of an estate home devoid of a hotel atmosphere with a unique blend of simplicity and luxury wrapped in old world charm. Consciously remaining small and exclusive we invite you to experience heartfelt plantation hospitality, delivered seamlessly and unobtrusively.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family Resort
Quiet
Languages Spoken
English, Hindi
Location
Bisonvally Road, Pallivasal, Munnar 685612 India
Windermere Estate
735 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This is a real character place, with lots and lots of steps, and some amazing views. The staff are brilliant, every time we were returning to our room at night one of the security team appeared with a torch to light our way. The rooms are basic but comfortable and the view from our veranda was spectacular. The restaurant is very pleasant and offers excellent food at a reasonable cost. There is afternoon tea in the tea shack and we were lucky enough to experience a BBQ under the boulder too. We decided to use the laundry service and were very impressed with the speed, quality and cost of the service. Part of the estate does overlook what can best be described as a building site but away from this it is brilliant. One word of caution, they do say they can take credit cards but make sure you have enough cash to cover the bill as their card machines are VERY temperamental!
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Date of stay: January 2020
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Location
Service
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.
I spent two nights at the Windermere Estate hotel in the hills of Munnar. The journey there is long and winding and not good for the car sick!
The welcome at Windermere is very warm. The rooms are large, and clean and comfortable but felt the mattresses were a little uncomfortable, I’m afraid. It is cool in the evenings and we enjoyed hot water bottles in our rooms at night. The setting is really stunning, acres and acres of hilly tea plantations and very tropical trees and shrubs and flowers.
You need to take books and things to do, as after daylight there is not really anything to do but relax, which suited us.
JOBY, the Chef cooks lots of fresh local dishes and makes a very fine Madeira cake and Banana critter served in the little tea area in a simple but. There is no alcohol serverd. It is a set three course menu for dinner and an excellent breakfast with particularly good porridge. There are guided walks to go on around the plantation and a visit to Munnar shows you more but the tea museum and tea factory are quite basic, unless you are fascinated by tea. A walk into the tea planters village can be arranged and is very interesting.
You can walk down the road to have massages at the newly built hotel but walking through the very poor hamlet is a bit of a shock so close to the Windermere and not being cleaned up.
I enjoyed visiting the Windermere Estate. It is pleasant and back to nature.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
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.
Rooms were large if fairly basic. Lovely terrace to sit out on. Small pool area with a couple of loungers. Great base for treks and exploring the tea plantations. The staff were friendly and helpful. There was a tour of the local cardamom estate offered free every day at 4pm. Only 1.5 to 2 hours but well worth it, Ansil the guide was very knowledgeable. They also had a tea tasting on one of the days we were there. It was very interesting and worth popping along to. Free chai or coffee and local snacks were served in the Tea hut each day from 3:30pm, delicious. There is no alcohol at all served on the premise, although you can buy alcohol and drink it in your room if you want. The evening meal is set with no choices and different each day. They are very helpful in providing alternatives if you don't like certain things, just tell them in advance. All the food was very tasty and we really enjoyed the meals on both evenings we were there. You don't know how much the meal is until you check out, at the time of writing ours cost around 1200 rupees (ÂŁ12) per person for a 3 course meal.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Bring your own alcohol if you want a drink in the evening.
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.
We spent 2 nts at Windermere in the very cosy Planters room. Hospitality in every sense was stupendous. The food was absolutely fatastic with a very generous variety of Keralite fare. The beds were too comfortable and cozy. My boys were very excited to cycle and we enjoyed some delightful walks and treks, besides some down time in the cozy library above the Barn. Our guide who led us to the cardamom and coffee plantations was also wonderful. The staff overall and, of course, Sunil ensured our stay was comfortable and more... Thank you very much and we are sure to return to this pristine location which enjoys the most envious view I presume amongst most properties in the area. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! Highly recommended đź‘Ś
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Traveled 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 John Windermere, General Manager at Windermere Estate
Responded Jul 24, 2021
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a lovely review. We were equally thrilled to meet you and family, and so wish you could have stayed longer. We are delighted to know that you all have enjoyed your time at Windermere estate, and we look forward to seeing you all soon ! Best wishes & Regards from all of Us
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We only had one night here but really enjoyed the stay. Sadly the weather wasn't great but we still went out with a guide they organised for us and had a good walk around their cinnamon plantation - this was complimentary - and lots of interesting birds were pointed out to us. We were also invited to have afternoon tea in their tea house which turned out to be tea and snacks, which was also complimentary. They really do try to make you feel welcome. The room was a really good size and as soon as I said I'd need a heater they brought one across and left it with us for our stay. We ate there in the evening. It was a set menu but very well cooked food which we enjoyed and it was a reasonable price. We thought there wasn't any fruit and yoghurt for breakfast but they offered it to us after we'd had our eggs and toast so we could have had it if we'd wanted. It's a shame we didn't see it at its best, on a nice warm sunny day but nevertheless we had a lovely stay and would recommend it.
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Date of stay: November 2022
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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.
We spent 3 nights recently up at the Windermere Estate and had a really lovely stay. We were aware that no alcohol was served but that you were welcome to enjoy your own in your room; we stopped at a 'foreign liquor' store on the way and brought wine and beer with us. There was plenty of room in your room fridge to store this. Our room had a lovely balcony overlooking the pool, and we enjoyed sitting out there with a pre dinner drink.
The dinner is a set meal, for the extremely reasonable price of ÂŁ9. We were asked if we had any food requirements - my husband mentioned that he loved cardamon spiced rice pudding. The chef didn't usually have this on the menu. but he made it specially for my husband one night! And it was superb!
We happened to be there for BBQ night. The BBQ is set up at the bottom of a big rock, beautifully lit as the sun went down, and pre dinner appetisers were served, whilst you had an opportunity to chat with other guests and the staff. If you're lucky enough to be there on BBQ night, DO go along!
There are dawn and early evening free walks available with Ansel, the resort naturalist (and many other jobs!). These were both wonderful opportunities to see both the bird life around the hills, and the cardamon plantations. A dog has adopted the hotel, and every walk, chooses to accompany everyone which is lovely.
The pool is a little cool, but fine for a refreshing dip after a day of hiking and exploring.
We were extremely well looked after by all the staff; sorry I can't remember everyones names, but a particular shout out to Jacob. We really enjoyed chatting with John, the manager, who is the son of the owner. He's growing coffee beans and was keen to get feedback on his different brews. We loved tasting and discussing this with him. To be honest, it was like staying with a very welcoming family.
It's a family friendly resort - and that brings us to the only negative. There was a large family group staying with several extremely noisy and active young boys. Whilst enjoying lunch outside, or relaxing by the pool, they were running around the tables and climbing over the rocks right outside whilst shouting loudly. I totally understand that families are very welcome, but would have appreciated the group recognising how disruptive this constantly was, in such a peaceful environment.
We had a wonderful stay, and wouldn't hesitate to return here if we were back in the area.
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Date of stay: April 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled 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.
The Windermere Estate is a peaceful and beautiful place situated not far from Munnar, with incredible views of tea plantations and hills from everywhere. The property is a series of buildings and has nice pool and good restaurant. The staff were exceptionally friendly and we felt really welcomed there. In particular Ansal the hotel’s naturalist- so knowledgable about the local area, tea & birds. We also did the organised walk (led by Ansal) around the estate which was great, and there were great cooking and tea demonstrations. They also helped us organise a 3 hour soft trek around a tea plantation which was a real highlight- we even saw a wild elephant! I would say that although good quality the food in the restaurant was maybe a little plain (especially for vegetarians), and we could have done with a little more choice (as it is a set menu) but we do understand the ethos of it. All in all a memorable stay.
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled 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.
After reading all the wonderful reviews we (my husband, myself and a friend) were really looking forward to our stay here, which was organised through a travel agent. We were quite disappointed. A luke warm welcome on arrival, with very little explanations. They really wanted us to attend a guided walk at 4.00pm but we had a prearranged trek so couldn't make this and we felt like they were not happy about this at all. We felt we were given the worst two rooms on the property, right out the back, with broken floor boards, and a shower that didn't supply enough hot water for even one person. The way dinner is served was not to our liking, with meals just brought out without asking what we would or wouldn't like. With our (western) palettes only managing a small portion of them. We were never made aware of the cost of the meal, was not sure if it was included, not included etc. We felt like there was an air of tension running through the place, with hushed voices all around and everyone being overtly polite - this not being helped by the manager constantly pacing up and down watching over everyone. We decided to skip dinner altogether the second night as we just didn't want to go through the whole awkward process again. The setting is beautiful, and I am sure the newer rooms are nice. The breakfast was great, with choices permitted, although a simple written menu would have helped the poor staff member who has to constantly verbally recite the whole spiel to every guest, and throw in the language difficulties with so many nationalities, I sympathise with him. On our departure we got told off for carrying our own bags up to reception - perhaps they are not used to independent guests? Maybe we just got a bad couple of days, maybe some of it was our ignorant fault as there are so many great reviews, but we really didn't like 'the vibe' of this place at all.
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Date of stay: February 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled 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.
First off what a location!! Well nestled in the midst of tea plantations, secluded from the mainstream tourism, this was a treat of the finest for my parents , wife and myself!
Spacious rooms reminds you of the old bunglow style architecture preserved and manicured to make you feel relaxed taking in that fresh air and walking around with no reservations! Chef Jobi, I wish I could kidnap him :) Tailor made tasty dishes come piping hot served by the most humble and attentive staff at their restaurant. Walk around the property , take a trek with Hansel and enjoy the cardamom plantations around you! Banana fritters with evening tea was the damn best Ive ever had! The pool was perfection to take a dip in after that long trek and then a good pour of rum followed by dinner, takes you back down memory lane. We loved it and we hope to be back soon.
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Date of stay: March 2022
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Service
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.
We can echo the views of others that from our initial welcome through a pleasant few days and on to teh next destination the staff at Windermere did everything possible to mae our stay a pleasure. We loved our room with a very comfortable bed and a view across the valley. The resturant served very nice meals, the afternoon tea was welcome as was the introduction to tea growing etc. The pool was lovely but a tad cold for one of us! We would recommend a climb up the boulder for sunset, spectacular. Probably sunrise too but I couldn't get up that early/ The guided walk was a real bonus too. If you are considering Windermere I really can't tell you anything offputting.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
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.
London, United Kingdom82 contributions24 helpful votes
Trainers are fine - as are walking/hiking/trekking shoes. You need a back to the footwear, and soles that won't slip. Not flip-flops or open back sandals or mules! If you have a walking stick, take it with you!
There are more places to choose from in the Pallivasal area.
PRICE RANGE
₱9,860 - ₱11,914 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
windermere estate munnar, windermere estate hotel munnar
LOCATION
IndiaKeralaIdukki DistrictMunnarPallivasal
NUMBER OF ROOMS
18
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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