Donna's Homestay

We were able to try Tibetan butter milk tea and Tibetan pancakes which we had never tried before. The lady was very nice, and she gave us a packed breakfast because we were leaving early on our last day

N/A

Facilities inside of the room was good. Ower behaviour was good.

Room was not cleaned properly, carpets was not cleaned long time and behind head board of the bed there was plenty of packets of belongings and most problematic was bathroom was not attached to the room.

Everything excellent

Attached washroom

The hosts were exceptionally sweet and helpful. They took care of all our needs. Scrumptious food served every day. Rooms were nice and clean. Darjeeling is cold but we were provided with room heaters and additional blankets. In my opinion the homestay was worthy of a 10/10 rating. Darjeeling is a cold place but all the people here and the service at Donna’s homestay made it a warm experience for us.

The location is good. Donna was very nice and arranged my pick-up from the Toy Train in Ghum. Breakfast was also good.

I was really looking forward to a "Two bedroom apartment with balcony" for my stay with a couple of married friends whom I hadn't seen for years. It sounded so good: the description included "Balcony, Garden view, Sofa, tile/marble floor, Desk, Seating area, Microwave, Kitchenware, Dining area, Dining table, Heating. First of all, the place was a chain of 4 rooms, one behind the other. The first bedroom opens directly onto the street and has a window. Access from the first bedroom to the (windowless) kitchen and bathroom was through the middle room (a windowless bedroom). The bathroom was the fourth room in the chain, but accessible only by going outdoors onto a "balcony" of less than one square meter, taken up partially by the stair to the bathroom. Not a nice place to stand (there was no place to sit), as it always smelled of the bathroom, where the drain had no siphon. Definitely not wheelchair accessible as advertised! And the "garden view" included where trash was dumped. There was no sofa, no desk, no dining table, no kitchenware except for a few glasses. There were 2 chairs and a low table in the kitchen, but no place for 3 people to sit and eat. The kitchen also did not smell very good. It was 4 degrees C at night outside, and about the same indoors. An electric heater was supplied, but I only left it on for an hour before going to sleep. At the end, I was charged USD 2.50/day for its use, though the description included heating. The floors were old carpet and linoleum in the bedrooms and kitchen. The bathroom had tile. Finally, no credit card was accepted (though the description said Visa or Mastercard), and I had to go through a huge process to pay via Wise and the owner's bank account. In the end, after my friends (who arrived first) explained that the room arrangement would not be appropriate for non-family members to share, they got a room in the unit next door, but it cost extra.

Donna and her family are a great host, and great cooks! Ghoom is a nice little town better to be in than Darjeeling which is not very far. Excellent breakfast and a great Tibetan meal!

It was cold. A little heater helped and some extra blankets.