Arshinagar Shilpogram

Great Place... off the beaten track. But own car required. Parking is on main road and then they take you by a three wheeler inside. SERENE and quiet provided picnic seasons are avoided. Good food too. The open air bath is a nice touch.

We were four adults from two families and had booked three cottages. It was under an hours drive from where we stay. However, the roads were narrow and congested and it wasn't an enjoyable drive. The parking spot was on the main road and properly signposted. A Toto (large autorickshaw) came to pick us up and drove us down a narrow brick road to the Resort proper. |It is a beautiful, love- at- first- sight kind of place with the ambiance broadcasting gram Bangla (rural Bengal) vibes in ALL CAPS!| Lotus/water lilies blooming, birds and colourful paintings on thr walls of the reception...very, very charming indeed.|The rooms are well- furnished with a double bed, couple of chairs and a table, cupboard, mini fridge, TV, attached bathroom suite (Bathroom has 2 parts, the proper room with aroof and a door that locks. Plus an open to the sky area). Bathroom is equipped with basin, shower, geyser, western style toilet, bum-gun, bucket and mug. The bum gun leaks, wasting water and leading to small puddles on the floor...the staff kindly placed the mug underneath...but that had to be emptied periodically. The linen was clean though I had (as always) carried my own sheets. The quilt was comfortable and felt new. Good to snuggle under on a winter night.|Bottled drinking water is provided. Interestingly, not much of a mosquito issue. Very pleasantly surprised.|The verandah had 2 chairs to sit outside and enjoy the view. |The dining hall is just across the row of mud cottages and the small breakfast kitchen adjoins it. |Quiet and serenity is the USP. So, if tranquility is not what floats your boat-think again. There is nothing to see outside the resort (unless like me you like chasing butterflies and birds). There is nothing much to do in the resort either once you have finished checkng out its poultry (ducks, hens, turkeys, guinea fowls, quails etc.). Once you see them, I doubt you can order their slaughter for dinner! They also grow lots of veggies such as cabbages, aubergines and fruits such as dragon fruit and banana. There are a couple of ponds too. |Kids have a swing, a slide, a merry go round sort of thingy, a carrom board, an aquarium and some sadly- caged finches to entertain them. |We were given to understand that we could pick up clarified butter/ghee made on the resort and eggs etc. The gardener even said he would arrange for the sale of a plant in a pot for INR 150...but come the day...there was nothing. No ghee. No eggs. No plants...nothing. Very disappointing. The term Shilpogram which translates roughly into Crafts village is also a trifle misleading...but perhaps we expected a bit too much from a 2 year old enterprise.|It is an OK place to savour the calm, rest frazzled nerves or for a get- together of the elderly. Like one of us said, Great place for a digital detox. Truly. |However, there are some areas where this resort needs to pull up its socks if it is serious about becoming a must-visit destination.|The Room|Since they have only double beds, sharing with friend is not possible. Perhaps one or two cottages could have two single beds? Just a thought.|The electric lights are weak and do NOT provide enough illumination...PLUS the UNLABELLED switches are HIDDEN iside boxes...it never occurred to me that switches could be hidden inside boxes. Imagine waking up in a dark and unfamiliar room, tugging open the box on the wall to to get to the switch...thank God, I had my torch. Could not get the geyser to work. Did not need the TV, so did not try. Not sure if it is a voltage issue. We had asked and been allowed to carry our own electric kettle but that did NOT work either. This is a shame because service is so slow that the tea served was often sherbet by the time it got to us. Which brings us to the main problem as I see it.|The Kitchen. |This is a serious issue. The main kitchen is apparently not on site. So you have to order beforehand and it arrives by Toto. Now, there is no way to know how large the servings are and no way to repeat an order if the food tickles the tastebuds. They have two of these faraway-kitchens...the first that served us lunch cooked the Bengali way, was adequate. However Indian food such as dal fry and seasonal vegetables and potato-cauliflower (which apparently came from the Chinese kitchen) was eminently forgetable masala-mush. Considering that the rates match those of good restaurants in Kolkata, this kitchen has to serve better fare and go easy on pressure cooking everything to mush..|Breakfast menu is meh though they do make eggs to order and serve luchi/puri.|Simple stuff such as salt takes a long time to come to the table. Surely providing salt and pepper cellers on each table is no big deal. The staff are polite, ready with a smile and happy to help. Also, since service is slow, why not provide electric kettles and outsource the making of tea/coffee to the guests?|Bottom line: I was happy to stay overnight and see the birds (Ashy woodswallows for example) and hear the fox concert. Could go back for more. But I find it difficult to convince myself to revisit a place where the wake-up morning tea (I am a coffee person) is tepid at best and the food not up to the mark. (Remember, there is NOTHING else...NOTHING at all nearby. So you cannot stroll out and catch a bite.).

We visited your resort from 21.12.2024 - 22.12.2024.We booked two mud rooms. The rooms were well furnished. The service was very good. The foods were all very delicious and tasty. The baul singer Subrata Ch. Sharma was of very good voice tone. We also delighted to see there various organic farming & hen, swan, emu, cows etc.

Unexpectedly worst experience the location is 25 km apprx from taratala. The road condition is horrible except samprity flyover via budg budge else quite ok via thakurpukur. The property is a new branch of Bawali farmhouse but rooms doesn't the price charged. They dont have own kitchen you have to order the lunch one day prior and the snacks needs to be ordered in the morning and dinner by afternoon. The food will come from some other kitchen and if you want to order any extra item after that is not possible. The food price are extremly high with average taste also in conplementary breakfast the items available are puri,bread butter and egg. The only attraction is there farm with poutry and birds, and cow. No othet activity they have a small ground where you can play badminton but not enough for cricket or football. Overall 2 out of 5 not at all worth visiting.

Poor catering services. They served lunch at 3:30 which is not at all acceptable. Really disappointed with the services they provide. Went with elderly people and everyone suffered because of food services. Not enough staffs are there to deal tourists. Management is very bad. Not recommended for old people and patients.

Have to walk from the main road.... Tiny lane only for rickshaw... Few cottages... Small place.... No restaurant.... No coffee house.... I mean no kitchen....... All the food come from outside....NOTHING EXCITING.... Not worth the price.....

. ' 1.5 . . . . . . . . . . , . . , . .

The place has no kitchen of its own and serves food made a day before. There is no way to get to the place via car. The water stinks of chlorine. The room is well maintained and the beds are nice. All in all a very bad experience.