Athithi Homestay

*NOT RECOMMENDED* We visited Athithi Homestay based on a colleague's recommendation, expecting basic hospitality, especially since I was traveling with elderly parents. What we encountered was an unmitigated disaster and nothing short of a nightmare. 1. The room allocated to us was filthy, with layers of dust, cobwebs, and termite-infested cupboards that we had to clean ourselves! 2. The main door would not lock, and my father had to fix the latch using a pestle and knife the night we arrived. 3. The regulator of the fan was not working and the fan only worked at high speed. We were in distress all night and my mother had taken sick the next morning. When informed, the land lady called Sudha showed no empathy said "this is how things are everywhere" 5. They promised 24 hours of hot water and power back up, sanitized washrooms and bonfire at the time of booking but none of that was offered to us. The bathroom geyser didn't work, forcing us to use another room's bathroom. They'd turn the electricity off when we left for sightseeing leaving our senior Pug to fend in the heat without a fan till we arrived. Their entire act from the beginning was a blatant misrepresentation to desperately solicit customers without any intention of honouring commitments. 6. The final straw was when we decided to check out a day sooner due to the deplorable conditions that fell woefully short of commitments made by the Management. Sudha charged us the full amount for the meal we did not even take (we had informed them well in advance that we will leave after breakfast and not take lunch) and refused to even listen. Truth is, her daughter in law had committed at the time of booking that they will reimburse excess payments for meals we don't take. The greedy management's behaviour is in blatant disregard for customer experience and basic hygiene standards. The only good part about our stay was Krishna Anna and Geetha Akka, whose pleasant demeanor, helpful nature and good cooking salvaged our brief stay. They are the people who are running the show. Leave it to the management, and this place is headed for its doomsday. Our extensive travel across India has taught us better of what is decent hospitality. This review serves as a warning to others, sparing them the misery we endured.

Location is wonderful but room are unhygienic. Dampness smell all over the place. Cancelled my booking after seeing the rooms and toilet and moved to another home stay. Rooms are not even close to what is shown in the picture. Except location, nothing is great.

We had visited the place during last week of July. The property is bit interior amidst farm but tranquil. Visiting this property post rainy season would be great if u are not comfortable with leech bites. The main house has 2 rooms and behind main house they have 3 rooms. Outside rooms were allocated for us. The inner rooms are cozier than outer. Bathroom was good but didn't had required toiletries. Got hot water throughout the day coz of geyser. Food was simple and cook Krishna's hospitality was great. If u don't have high expectations for a home stay its a value for money deal.

I stayed here 3 nights and it is an amazing experience. The coffee estate of 120 acres located closed to famous hills which are host to varieties of birds and animals. The place is real quiet and I loved the tranquility with fresh air and water. It is totally relaxing with amenities of high international standard. ||Food served is very delicious and prepared fresh each time. I am still relishing the delicacies like Fish curry, NeerDosa, rice noodles with chicken curry and local desserts. The property is maintained very clean comparable to any international home stay. The service is superb. Provides 24 hour hot water with high quality toiletries.||It is a great place to visit alone, with friends or families. It provides something for each one.||I am an American Citizen and have traveled all over the world and I would certainly rate Athithi Home Stay at the top of my list.

Good: A well maintained place. Best suitable for kids as there is ample place for them to play and is safe. The food is simple and delicious. Deep into the woods, it is a very quiet place and good for walk into the coffee plantation. Our kids enjoyed a lot. Bad: there are many stray malnutrinioned cats and dogs around who are constantly coming to you begging for food. If your an animal lover it is a heartbreaking sight. We feel uncomfortable to eat when they are constantly begging. Either the property needs to feed them or make other arrangements. Secondly there was no provision of hot water. The staff used plastic to start campfire. The smoke was burning eyes and was not a pleasant experience.

Nice Place, but little inside. Good place for kids as there is enough place to play/run. Now on bad part Owner will meet you only to collect the cash Many stray dogs and cats roaming around the home-stay, Rooms and even in dinning area There is no hot water available, if needed we need to ask them 2 hr. in advance Bathrooms are average and bathroom windows are like normal room windows and with large plane glasses

We,a group of 16 stayed at Athithi homestay. To view this location in google maps, you would have to type Sanehadlu estate and not athithi homestay.||Pros:|1. Food was awesome. Krishna rocked with his cooking and hospitality|2. Rooms were well maintained. The bungalow and the surrounding areas were also good.|3. Surrounded by coffee plantation and a 3 km trek would take you to Hirekolale lake, another beautiful spot.||Cons:|1. Owner is too money minded and was only concerned about the payment, did not even have the courtesy to check how we were doing.|2. Because of the owner's personal requirement, we were asked to pay the amount (only in cash) a day prior to our checkout date. Moreover we were asked to come near the owner's place to make the payment. It cost us quality time.|The homestay is good, food and hospitality of Krishna deserves a mention,but if you would want to stay there peacefully, you would have to clearly set the terms with the owner much before checking in.||On our last day, Krishna asked us about our stay and told us that he wished we returned, whereas the owner was eager to check when we would checkout so as to let the next group check in||Would have given a three star if not for Krishna and his team.

I visited the place for the second time recently; my previous visit was in 2012. Nothing much has changed since then. The usual cook was on leave, and the others who took up the job during our stay weren't that good with cooking. The coffee, however, was excellent. But it was served with no accompaniment like biscuits or fritters. The reason we decided to stay here was because of its proximity to the lake. When it was time for campfire, the hosts kept giving excuses about timber being not available. The same went for heating water for bath. But luckily, we called the owner and she made the arrangements immediately. As it was time for dinner, they served us fritters, which would be far better if served with coffee. We had low expectations on the food as we had already tasted it once in the noon. Only the chicken kebabs tasted perfect. When it was time to sleep, we noticed that no changes had been made there either, despite the feedback all the way from 2015! The same problems existed- the beds were hard, the blankets were or the cheap kind, the charging sockets were placed so high making them impractical. Apart from that, a simple change like using warm lights instead of daylight LEDs could make a tremendous change in ambience. The hall has several lighting fixtures, but bulbs have been removed from them as well. Overall, it was an experience that wasn't really worth the price paid.