Areca County - Heritage Homestay

We visited on may 22 .this place was too good and clean..full of greenery had good time ..best place to visit with family,kids,friends...food was good and very higine ..vegetarian will love this food...must visit ....many places are near to this property

We stayed in Areca County on April 23. We did share this review with owners privately after our stay and hope they have improved upon the suggestions given by me. I am posting this to provide visibility for fellow travellers. Positives 1) Good aesthetically designed cottages. Antique furniture is nice 2) Cottages are spacious and so is bathroom 3) The sit-out outside the room is nice and spacious 4) It is near the main road. Though the last 300 meters is gravel road it is fine 5) Enough parking Negatives 1) Food is a big letdown. Firstly they charge separately for food and the price does not justify it. The taste, the preparation, and the presentation of food need huge improvement. They have only one cook and I am not sure that will be sufficient. Even coffee was bad! 2) The pricing is high as they don’t even cover breakfast. If they are looking at a premium category of guests then they need to work on food. All homestays today provide costs which include per person and including all meals. Whether to provide meals or not which can be made optional, BF should be complementary. 3) Since you are charging high for rooms, basic stuff like tissue rolls, and two towels - we got only one towel - should be provided. They don’t have to provide stuff like in five-star hotels but a basic minimum should be provided. 4) They have designed a lovely Sitout but there are no chairs to sit!! One can not expect to sit on the stone benches for a long time. Pls provide nice outdoor chairs. 5) Can something be done about hanging wet clothes? Keeping a cloth stand in sit-out defeats the aesthetic of the place. 6) Lokesh, the manager is a good boy and is keen but not trained. The cook unnecessarily comes and talks to guests in a lungi and shirt. We did not mind but many guests do not like it. Also, I feel you need to add staff. We were given a welcome drink and the glasses were not removed from the bench in our sit-out till we left the place the next day!! 7) You have a board which says reception but when I went there there was nothing but dirty clothes and a store room!! Why have a board when it is not meant!! 8) You have a lovely heritage house. It is a pity it is being used as a store room. 9) There is a need for AC in all rooms. Even in Winter, Honnavar can be hot and humid. Overall, they have the potential to succeed as a nice place. They need to promote Honnavar as a destination. There was no information available on what to see and do in Honnavar. Honnavar is not new to us and have explored the place many times. For the first-timer, there is no information. Lokesh should meet the guest and provide all the info. They need to decide on the pricing strategy. Whether one wants to do B&B or all-inclusive. Accordingly, arrive at pricing. You may also look at your target customer base. Whether they are premium tourists or budget tourists. If the target is premium tourists, then there is a need for a lot of improvements in all areas. As I said, there

Lovely old house plus cottages in a traditional style surrounded by trees. I liked the care put into the design and the materials used. Cost place to sit out the rain and relax. Enjoyed the farm walk despite the monsoon. Great traditional veg food and welcoming staff. We visited a waterfall, Honnavar fish market!, and walked ***** a rope bridge. Sadly backwater trips not operating during the monsoon.