Hulivana Resort

Hulivana is truly nestled amidst the Sahyadri forest valley, offering a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.||Pros:| * Location: A perfect getaway surrounded by nature.| * Trekking and Hiking: Great trails for adventure enthusiasts.| * Delicious Food: The meals served were scrumptious.| * Well-Designed Cottages: A thoughtful design complements the natural surroundings.| * Kind Staff: The hospitality was warm and welcoming.||Cons:| * Maintenance Issues: The property is not well-maintained. While it's not expected to be luxurious, basic cleanliness should be ensured. The window panes were broken, curtains didn't provide full coverage (compromising privacy), beds were unmade, and the bathroom was dirty with used shampoo packets, soaps, and plastic glasses strewn around.| * Bathroom Flooring: The bathroom floor was filled with sharp stones, making it uncomfortable to use.| * Electricity Timings: Electricity was available only from 6 PM to 10 PM.|||The primary issue, however, was with Miss Amrutha, Hulivana who coordinated our booking.| 1. Pre-Arrival Communication: She bombarded us with messages. She advised us to bring snacks, so we carried fruits and sweets, only to attract rodents. The rodents bit through our clothes and backpacks, forcing us to spend the night shooing them away. We eventually had to discard everything we brought.| 2. Rude Behavior: Her communication was unprofessional. Despite us informing her that we'd arrive at the parking area by 11:30 AM, she began sending messages as early as 6 AM. At 10 AM, she called and started yelling at us for not replying to her messages or calls, though we hadn't received any calls from her.|When we explained we'd be an hour late due to holiday traffic, she screamed about needing forest department permissions and the driver waiting. However, upon reaching, the driver confirmed that no permissions were required, and he wasn't waiting. Despite this, she continued spamming my inbox with messages.||Her rude and uncouth behavior, especially screaming at clients, is entirely unacceptable. Despite her unprofessionalism, we decided to continue with our stay since we were almost at the location.||While Hulivana offers a beautiful natural escape, the experience was overshadowed by poor maintenance and unprofessional coordination.

Unlike a typical resort or villa, the experience Hulivana team provided was entirely different. It's nestled 3kms deep in the jungle from the closest available road and they arrange a 4x4 jeep to transfer guests from parking spot into the jungle. You can't take suitcases or heavy luggages, just shoulder bags or duffle bags. Once you reach the location after off-roading for 6kms, you can feel the disconnect from the outside world. There is no electricity, phone signal, no shops or roads, no vehicle noise or bright lights, just one resort in the middle of nowhere in a jungle. The staff greeted us with a welcome drink and said lunch was ready for us. But we wanted to fresh-up after our 600km drive, so we requested to guide us to our stay first. The walk to the villa from the drop-off point is a steep 250m climb, which we didn't know. And now we came to know why the staff insisted us to have lunch first. There were two stone villas at the top, well separated with complete privacy. The stone villas were beautifully constructed with large glass panels on all sides as natural light is crucial. The restroom was neat and clean and well ventilated with the floor filled with stones and pebbles for the water to seep through and drain. We went as a couple and we got permission to take our German shepherd with us as the resort is pet friendly. The villa was spacious enough and can easily accommodate around 5 to 7 adults. After we freshened up, we were were beginning to descend down to the dining area (near the drop off point) for our first meal and as we took our first step we saw the senior most staff member carrying a bundle of logs on top of his head to our stay. We were humbled and realised how hard working each staff must be to just maintain our rooms on top of the climb. They provide hot water supply 24 hours a day in our restroom taps, but since there's no electricity, they had to refill the logs all day to provide us with hot water. What's basic amenity in a typical resort becomes a luxury and requires more labour in the jungle. Now this is just for hot water, we can't imagine the amount of work that went behind in maintaining those two stone villas. On the way down to the restaurant, my wife slipped 3 times and fell down as she wore flats with poor grip; lesson learnt. The food was amazing and it's a full course meal. So much variety and each dish tasted yummy! The cooks asked us what we would like for our next meal every time and they can cook every dish we asked to perfection. It's more of a home style preparation than a typical restaurant style. We made sure we had our tummies full on every meal as half of that would get digested on the following climb up to our villa. I would recommend to plan 2 to 3 days of stay here to explore as there are three main hikes as part of the itinerary. One to a private falls, one to a view point and last but not least, the Deepada Kallu trek. Each hike was enjoyable, especially the Deepada Kallu trek was the best of all. It's a mini Kudremukh trek like experience and the view from the top of the peak was stunning. Jenukallu Gudda, Pandavara betta and Ettina Gudda were visible from the top and we spent around half an hour on top of the peak enjoying the views. By golden hour, we were half way down the climb. We were rejoicing our time and experience by the bonfire near by the villa. The team provided us starters by the bonfire which tasted so good after the trek. Electricity is provided for 3 hours through a generator to charge our phones, cameras and power banks from 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Post which they provide a gas lantern and a candle to provide illumination through the night in the Villas. Each of the staff took special care of us and our pet and went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable and memorable. To sum it up, Hulivana resort is easily one of the best stays I've ever been in my life and gets my highest recommendation for anyone who isn't looking for a typical resort in a hill station but appreciates life in the wilderness.

We visited this place during monsoon where there was too many leeches which made is very much disappointing. On the day of arrival we loved the jeep ride from pick up location to the resort the off-road drive was real worth. After entering the jungle surrounded dining area was good and simple but not well facilitated. Staffs are real hard working and very helpful. The most worst thing was rooms the bed , curtains, mosquito net , blanket it was very very dirty and smells bad. Bathroom flooring is filled with small crackle stones which keeps pricking your foot every time when you enter. No hot water , bathroom fittings are spoilt. Food was ok not that Great. Overall experience is just ok not worth to stay...

We stayed in Hulivana Nature stay for 2 nights in October ( post monsoon). The property is deep inside the jungles of western ghats, and you have to prepared for adventures. Though the property is remote in rainforest, the management provided us the best possible facilities during our stay. If you are true nature lover, this place is must visit. Makes you completely forget the urban life and connects you to pure nature. 3 days in the property was fantastic. Moreover, the staffs are amazing! They were available all the time for assistance right from you pick up from parking, staffs caring nature and hospitality everything was perfect. Really appreciate them. Also Amrutha's communication and guidance made us prepared throughly before reaching property. 3 days we were completely disconnected from social life and involved in nature and peace. We really had a great stay. We will definitely visit again. Thank You

One of the best place to chill with your friends and family away from the city and people,deep inside the forest. Food was ultimate, lunch, dinner and breakfast everything was perfect. Rooms were neat clean Must visit

Right from the time we were picked for a jeep ride to enter the jungle, the experience remains surreal and adventurous. Amidst the western ghat mountains Hulivana stands humble at serving the nature enthusiasts with heartwarming hospitality and delicious food. Dense forest, trek, sunrises and sunsets with birds chirping,leaves rustling, a go to place for tranquil.This nature nest isn't a cup of tea for everyone for sure as there are minor discomforts faced which is already mentioned on their website. |Trek experience-We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days in villa with good ambiance and basic facilities. First day trek was rather a small and easy compared to next day,it was a playful walk through the bushes and small water ways to enjoy sunset from the top of hill. |Second day, we trekked into the sholas (dense forest of western ghats)to reach deepatkal(one of the peak views for sunrise/ sunset). Breathtaking view from the top. Third trek on day 3 was amidst the jungle which was one of its unique and finest experiences. |Extra points for the team member's(Mr.Vinu and others) interests and warmth at providing services. |Be prepared to share your space with insects, bugs and birds. Ever wondered that you may have to hike(7-10 mins by walk)from dining area to your room would exist? Well, here it is. View from the villa room, the hammock resting and star gazing, isolated and away from busy civilisation.. |I'm sure we will be visiting this place time and again with same zeal.

A perfect place to cut off from hassles of city and relax in the lap of nature, Hulivana is as ethereal as heavens itself. The stay is comforted by extremely helpful staff, and good food. The air is as refreshing as it ever can be, and the greenery is of another level. The accommodation is comfortable, without disturbing the sanctity of nature.

An un imaginable offbeat location with absolute disconnect from outside world. Remember this is an eco resort and an adventure enthusiast and nature admirer should surely not miss it.