Norbu The Montanna, Dharamshala- IHCL SeleQtions

I visited Norbu Montana recently, and honestly, the experience was far from what you'd expect from a five-star hotel. To start with, the location itself is a huge letdown. The roads leading up to the property are in terrible condition--bumpy, narrow, and just frustrating to navigate. By the time you reach the hotel, you're already drained. Once inside, I hoped the service and ambiance would make up for the journey, but unfortunately, it only got worse. The service is extremely slow. Even something as basic as a chilled beer took over 30-40 minutes to arrive. That's just unacceptable for any standard, let alone a luxury hotel. It felt like they weren't even prepared or equipped to handle simple orders in a timely manner. Overall, the place feels very overrated. The ambiance is decent, but it doesn't compensate for the poor service, bad location, and the overall lack of efficiency. If you're considering visiting, I'd say lower your expectations--or better yet, explore better alternatives. This one didn't live up to the hype at all.

Serene and lovely. One could sit and stare at the mountains all day! The hotel is comfortable, the staff are most warm and helpful, kind and cheerful. We lovvvvved the food, the personalised attention, the custom cooking some days. We ate Himachali food all meals and we still were not satisfied. The cooking is really good. Special mention of Chef Hatheeswar and Chef Maneesh - very warm souls and their goodness is in their cooking. We were guided and advised by Rajesh Thakur and his team -- a very very good bunch of people, and that really helped us plan our days. A hotel we will definitely go back to.

First, they followed up before reaching the hotel to make sure we were coming. After we arrived at the hotel, they welcomed us with a welcome drink and a cotton shawl. My room was decorated as I had requested for my wife's birthday. Although the hotel doesn't have a hi-tea concept, it was not an issue. We had both the dinner buffet and breakfast buffet, which were up to 5-star standards. The chef inquired about our preferences and prepared the food according to my child's choice. I would like to especially mention the chef(pravesh) and the support staff (nitin , abhinav and ritesh)who made our stay memorable.

Plusses: This hotel is spectacularly sited at the foot of the Himalayas, and is thoughtfully designed to take in the views, such that every room looks out onto the spacious gardens and the mountains. Rooms are spacious, each with a small balcony sitting area. Public spaces are nicely decorated and imaginatively furnished. The pool is heated and lovely for swimming, even if it's chilly outside. The breakfast buffet offers a wide array of both Western and Indian foods; the dinner buffet is primarily comprised of Indian food, and the staff offered pizza and pasta to us, as well. Everything was very, very tasty and well-prepared.||Needs improvement: As a Taj hotel brand, I was expecting the same commitment to sustainability, but this was far from the case. Purified drinking water (produced by Coca Cola) is available only in small 8oz plastic bottles and is provided in the rooms as well as in the restaurant. I drink a lot of water, and went through at least 6-8 of these per day while at the hotel. Wondering if a water purification system could be installed? It would be an industry-leading advance if this were possible. Toiletries are (still) provided in tiny 1 ounce plastic squeeze containers. Although rooms are tastefully furnished, they could use more practicality. For example, there is a paucity of towel racks and no hooks for robes or towels. Towels are artfully rolled, but this lacks utility. Closet hangers are sparsely provided and are inconveniently attached to the rod. (I requested additional hangers, and some conventional hangers were promptly delivered.) There were a couple of shelves in the closet, but no drawers for clothes.|Coffee was awful, and took up to 30 minutes at breakfast time; when we inquired, we were told that each cup was individually made using instant coffee powder.||This is a beautiful hotel that has tremendous potential because of its spectacular setting but it needs improvement to live up to theTaj brand.

Dear Norbu Team,||Greetings from Dubai.||Just a short note from the heart -- we simply felt at home at Norbu.|Thank you for your generous hospitality and excellent service. Every little gesture counted.||A special thanks to Chef Heteshwar ji and the F&B team -- Pankaj, Rajesh and others -- for not just feeding us, but for taking care of us like family. The food was thoughtful, soulful, and tuned to our taste -- and the warmth in your service made all the difference.||We've stayed at many Taj properties and international hotels across the world, but the human touch we experienced at Norbu is truly rare.|From candid conversations to authentic Himachali food made just right, everything had a heart behind it.|Maybe it's the natural sweetness of the Himachali people -- and I'm glad that your team reflects it beautifully.||Ms. Vaishali also deserves appreciation for leading us on a memorable trail -- simple, real, and refreshing. It was good to be guided, not "handled." It felt authentic.||We came looking for a short break and walked away with memories, warmth, and possibly a few friendships.|The food, the care, and the people -- are easily among the best we've experienced anywhere.||Pl see if you can improve the Gym or Yog in open area a bit better. ||I fully understand the balance you need to strike while hosting diverse guests, but I urge you to keep Norbu rooted in Himachal -- and resist the dilution that sometimes comes with corporate templates.|That local soul -- that's your magic.||In closing, I'll just say:|We didn't just stay. We were cared for. We didn't just travel. We felt something.|Thank you to the entire Norbu family.||Highly recommended -- not just to visit, but to pause and live a little.||Warm regards,|Gaurav Agarwal|Dubai

When I had seen that Taj has a new property in Dharamshala, I knew I had to visit. The hotel is located slightly on the outskirts of the city but the monasteries are not too far away. The approach road to the property is basically through a village and Taj could try and improve the condition of the roads.||We reached late in the evening from Shimla. We received a somewhat warm welcome. We were taken to our room promptly. They have installed a wonderful heating unit from daikin that works very well. The room was otherwise well appointed. The bathroom was quite large with a wonderful standing bathtub by the large window. The view from our Mountain View room was incredible. The snow capped peaks were in clear view from the bed once we woke up the next morning and we were mesmerised.||The hotel has a multi-cuisine restaurant with nice decor and an outdoor seating space boasting view of the mountains. Food was quite nice during our stay.||Service was just alright. The usual touch of warm hospitality that one expects from Taj was missing to some extent. However, I must say that the team tried to make our stay comfortable.||One negative aspect from our stay was the amount of flies we found in our room when we had checked in late in the evening. Besides the numerous house flies, there was a massive red hornet which was buzzing in the overhead light compartment. The housekeeping staff helped get the hornet out of our room but I had to manage the problem with flies myself. I do not expect to be in a room full of flies while making a reservation with a Taj property. This really spoiled the experience for us.||Otherwise, this is a beautiful property with a great view. They do not market this incredible view enough on their website. I recommend staying at this property and I request the staff members to be more mindful of the insects in the rooms.

The first thing that wows you is the view. And the second thing would be hospitality. |The F&B team is better than even some of the (Taj) palace hotels. One of us has some dietary restrictions and the chef, Mr. Hateshwar worked around those to make sure that this member was well taken care of. From discussing what would she like to eat, to sourcing "safe" options for her, Chef Hateshwar truly went above and beyond. Along with the F&B manager, Mr. Sharma, the entire team is exceptional- attentive to customers, prompt, and extremely courteous and helpful; notably Mr. Rajesh Thakur and Ms. Vaishali who took us for the Nature Walk around the hotel and shared native wisdom about plants with us. They even have a recreation room with a few books and board games. On the flip side though, are:|1/ some design issues. Eg, each room is quite spacious and the bed faces the "view" but this means if you decide to watch some TV, there's no place to sit and watch. It is installed facing the door, and is only slightly tiltable, and there's no chair or sofa either that can be placed in front of TV. Similarly, there is no bin placed in the bathroom, the sink taps are too close to the sink and that's an awkward angle again. The balcony is beautiful but lack of any curtain or screens means lack of privacy, and on hot sunny mornings, it is blazing. |2/ Gym is cramped and yoga mat was dirty. |3/ the hotel is quite far from the main city, so if you don't have your own vehicle like we didn't, it is expensive to hire a cab for every trip unless you are doing a whole day trip. There could easily have been a free hotel shuttle to pick and drop from the city centre at fixed timings. |4/ Last, the checkout staff misinformed us about using our neucoins to settle the bill. Maybe some updated info is required there as well.||Small tweaks is all it would take to make it a truly 5* experience. So pricing wise- a bit overpriced at the moment. But overall, a delightful experience

If you're planning to visit Norbu The Montana for lunch or dinner, I'd strongly advise against it. Despite there being only two families at the restaurant, it took them nearly 45 minutes just to serve beverages--which was extremely disappointing. We ordered food worth around 18,000, yet when we took a walk around their park area and clicked some pictures afterward, we were abruptly told it's only for residents. This was quite surprising, especially considering that even top-tier hotels like Hyatt Regency allow guests to enjoy their surroundings. And if such restrictions do exist, there should at least be clear signboards indicating them. Frankly, no one would visit solely for the food--it's the scenic surroundings that attract people. Unfortunately, even the food wasn't worth the high price. Overall, the experience was underwhelming, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for quality service or value for money.