The Scotland of East is what they also call this place but then I haven’t been to Scotland so I wouldnt know but hey they are the only ones to have successfully cracked home stay formula !!  where one can go and stay with a family and have a chilled out experience than in a cold hotel where everybody has a fake smile !!

So couple of my cousins and their better halves and a couple we folks who are still single decided to go homestay in Coorg last weekend. Having hit upon the plan just a day in advance and it being a long weekend dint help. needless to say most places were booked !! So with Google to the rescue.. tried a coupla sites and finally found this place which was available called ‘Angle’s Nest’

We landed there in the evening only to have the shock of our lives !! Deep in the Coffee estate was this dingy looking place and with nowhere else to go we were stuck ! With toilets that couldn’t be used, a kitchen that wasn’t functional, the bedrooms all dark and I wonder when was the bed linen last changed !! It looked like dungeon. The food is usually great in homestays but here we when we were served dinner and wondered whats what !! only to be told by the owner that the ‘cook’ is just learning how to cook, so kindly adjust !! And the owner himself perpetually drunk looked like a Demon’s pest !! Thank god for the wine we had carried and with generous quantities of it that we were able to somehow scrape through the night before we fled from ‘Angle’s Nest’ in the morning. And it sure dint help to find out later that this placehad 2 robberies recently !! Wondering how to avoid such places in the future ?? sure sure.. there are ways.. but lemme share with you the best part of our Coorg Experience first

We hit Orange County the next day, this mind blowing 5 star resort is nestled in a 300 acre Coffee Estate and everything to this place is just Wow !! Right form the narrow roads in between to estate which lead to this place to the warm staff out there who are always willing to help and hey their Welcome drink, an amazing Cold Coffee and you know where these coffee beans come from We had booked for an Ayurvedic massage (make sure you book a day in advance) there and the next 1 odd hour was an out of the world experience in their spa, right from the ambiance where your room is beautifully done up and decorated with fresh flowers and the entire place opens up to a garden. The soothing music and the exhilarating body massage makes you forget everything and you get into a state of trance !! If you ever get a chance. Dont miss it. Its heavenly  !! The entire Massage unit at Orange County is maintained by IVAC, Mysore ,A World Class Spa Resort.Now that I know I can get an experience right here in Mysore I plan to go visit them once in 6 months from now on to detox and pamper myself Its worth the rejuvenation !!!

the cousins

On request you will be taken on a resort tour in their buggy (this place is too big to walk , even for a Walking Tour Guide , It has its own private lake in there where one can go boating and the resort offers a wide range of activities from cycling, swimming to plantation trails. It sure is worth exploring..Once the massage was over we were sooper hunger so we dutifully attacked the restaurant for their lunch buffet, I have had lunch buffets is quite a few good places but this easily topped my list. The spread was huge (like in most places) but every dish (tasted by folks on our table) lived up to it its taste, including the deserts which was not just colorful (like in most places again) but each of those items were truly well done !! full marks to the chef and also the ones at the spa who got us ready for such an appetite. I somewhere think that thanks to the Angle’s Nest experience that we enjoyed our Orange county experience so much

That evening we moved to another home stay called Bright Spot in Sidapur close to Orange County, One of my cousins had stayed here previously and had had a great experience but since it was booked the previous night we couldn’t get there. This place was very well kept, independent rooms, clean toilets, an open air dining area and a play area with accessories for kids. The host was a gracious lady, her food was amazing and her hospitality top notch. We sure did have a good time here.

So, how to choose the right home stay ?

>> Always go for a homestay which is recommended to you by someone who has stayed their previously.

>> Check if home stay is registered, Out of 600 only 150 are registered, So 3 out 4 home stay are illegal !!

>> Do not go by the websites, there are a lot of dubious ones.the pics are all nice and rosy but the reality is like Angle’s Nest !!

>> This http://coorghomestaysregd.com is a website by Association of registered home stays. Fairly reliable but then word of mouth would be my first option. This site was down when we were hunting !

>> Would highly recommend Bright Spot , Siddapur, Contact person Mrs Ramaa Ponappa, 99023 12911

>> Aviod Angle’s Nest in Siddapur like Plague !!

And hey another place you must try in Coorg is the East End Restaurant in Madikeri, The food is fantastic and thanks to some formula 1 driving efforts by my cousin we could get there by lunch time to throughly enjoy their food !! And we all felt that the 30 kms detours just for lunch was well worth it

So a good home stay in Coorg is sure a great way to relax !! but then choose the right home to stay !!