Resort Review-Club Mahindra Coorg (Kodagu Valley)

This post is a quick review of Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Pvt Limited (MHRIL)’s Coorg facility, known by the name: Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley, located 5 kms off Madikeri (Mercara) Karnataka. Quick Jump: Resort*Food *Facilities* Price* Pros *Cons & Scope for Improvement* How to go there? *Summary & Verdict 

Resort: Set up in a spacious 32 acres location amidst natural beauty of Coorg, the ambiance of the resort and the nature around it complement each other. CM's Coorg resort is one of the few RCI Gold Crowned resorts and one of the best among Club Mahindra properties. Some constructions were going on and few open spaces were marked for construction, most probably to add extra rooms. [More photos of Club Mahindra Coorg Resort can be found here] 

Food: TOP Food is excellent- at par with any of the five star hotels I’d been to. No complains on that front. I was expecting them to serve some local food, on banana leaves, but the menu is standard one that can be found in any buffet. Unknowingly I asked for an item which was not there in the menu, they still arranged it. 

Facilities: TOP Resort has all basic and modern facilities- Pool, Gym, Ayurvedic Center, An adventure Zone, Indoor Games center, Beauty Parlor, Coffee Powder shop etc. Musical equipments were arranged on request. There is a golf club some 2 kms from resort where you can go by paying extra. (Rs. 900 per session I guess) There was no wi-fi for laptops but internet center is available at Rs 60 per hour plus tax. Image: Donald Duck entertains kids on Saturday night... Bhagyada Balegaara Hogi baa nan tavarige-Cultural dance by Nisha and team  Several activities are conducted as per schedule-Refer image for activity chart.  (You may not be able to read the text properly. I should have taken this image with my digicam instead of mobile cam. Sorry for that) 

Price: TOP If you don’t have a membership accommodation per day costs between 4k to 7.5k plus tax. Please check Club Mahindra website here for current prevailing prices for non members.Refer this chart for Fun dining pricing. Activities: Many of them are free, some are billable. For detailed pricing of Club Mahindra timeshare membership, click here 

Pros: TOP 1. I could notice that staff are from various parts of India. Usually hotels hire local staff as it is economical. (Outstation staff demand higher salary and will need accommodation and occasional long leaves). CMKV has staff from all over India speaking different languages. Because of this, chances are high that you’ll find someone speaking your mother tongue. This diversity should also help CM understanding custom needs of guests based on their local preferences. 2. Space is the basic difference between a five star hotel and a resort. You might get similar food and similar room for cheaper rate elsewhere but here you’ll pay premium because of location. 3. Several creative initiatives could be seen in most of their services.4. Staff were friendly and helpful. There weren’t any reasons to complain. Our guide, Mr. Joy was extremely joyous-He kept his smile throughout the day till late night, hiding his tiredness. Quite knowledgeable on local geography, language, history and the science of coffee plantations.  5. Using electric vehicles is a good idea. 6. Besides basic items like bath soap and shampoo a set of other herbal and ayurvedic products were provided in the bathrooms, in relatively bigger bottles. 

 Cons and Scope for improvement TOP Finding fault with CM is not my intention here. Personal observations/suggestions only. Listing possible improvements as guests will have very high expectations. 

 1. Mobile Signal (Airtel and few other service providers) was very weak. I appreciate the idea of staying disconnected from the world and enjoying the holiday but occasionally one needs connectivity. We could catch signal at open areas. Reliance mobiles were working indoors as well. 

 2. Serve Local Food. I personally feel it will be good if Cm can give its guests a taste of local food. That will be a very good value addition in my view. 

 3. Water heater: Since rooms are built in independent buildings, there’s no centralized hot water supply facility and hot water comes from geysers assigned for each room. As you know geysers take their own time to heat the water and can supply only a limited quantity of hot water at a time. Well, this serves the purpose but if you want to spend long time under shower you’ll run out of hot water soon. Same when more than one family member wants to take bath quickly. Most of the star hotels do not rely on geysers and will have centralized heaters which can supply unlimited hot water almost instantly.

4. Continuous Power socket: This one applies to all hotels. As a power saving feature, electric supply to all ports inside the room will be cut off once you remove the key card and lock the door. Because of this, you wont be able to charge your laptop or ipod or mobile or other device when you are not in room. What I suggest is to have one socket in each room which will have continuous power supply. 

 5. Temperature controlled pool: Since temperature in Coorg is already chilling, I feel it will be a good idea to provide warm water in the pool. 

 6. Provide Wi-Fi hotspot 

 7. Some guests may wish to use bath tubs. 

Verdict: Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley is well designed, spacious and fully equipped to provide best possible service to guests. But if you're extremely sensitive about price and all you need is basic stay to sleep away the night, this resort can be expensive for you. If you prefer a spacious room in the middle of nature with lots of activities and facilities to keep you engaged and don't mind paying a premium for these services, then go for it. 

How to reach there? Mangalore is the nearest airport (around 150 kms) but road from Mangalore to Coorg is very bad. Bangalore is the next nearest Airport (270kms)-Road from Bangalore to Mysore is excellent and from Mysore to Madikeri is good enough excluding few stretches. Bangalore-Mangalore railway route will be opened today-I need to check what will be the nearest railway station. 

Places of tourist interest in and around Coorg: Omkareshwara Temple*Abbi FallsTalakaveri Bhagamandala Dubare Elephant Camp Raja Seat Places within 150 km radius: Mysore Mangalore Coorg Resort Details on CM Website *TOP *Know about Club Mahindra's lifetime membership * Resort Review: Club Mahindra Binsar * Club Mahindra's Binsar trip for travel bloggers Other posts on travel:Karkala Photos* Golconda *Manipal Endpoint*SkandaGiri Bangalore* Anantagiri, Hyderabad* Bekal Fort * Bad Experience at Hotel Honeymoon Inn Mussoorie * Wayanad Travelogue