My review of The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa, Gulmarg

The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa is the most popular hotel in Gulmarg. We stayed in this luxurious property during our recent visit to Gulmarg. Overlooking the Himalayan ranges and the pine trees, the property has a beautiful view and showcases Kashmiri art and culture in its decor. It is very peaceful. The best part is that it is five minutes walking distance from the Gondola office so if you are planning to take a Gondola ride then you can simply walk down. Though while coming back you might feel out of breath and if you have kids then its a good idea to hire a horse. Vehicles are not allowed after a point inside the township.

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Khyber Himalayan resort Gulmarg review

The check-in was fast and hassle free. We were taken to our room in no time. The staff was courteous and helpful. They went out of their way to help the guests. We had booked the Luxury Room with a Balcony. The rooms are spacious with a balcony that opens to the view of Himalayas and pine forest. It is calm and serene. The room is equipped with all necessary arrangements. It looks modern yet has the stamp of the local heritage. Carved wooden study table, wooden inlays, carpets, etc. give the Kashmiri feel to the room. The bathroom has a bathtub along side a large window over-looking the valley. So in case you want to have a warm dip, sipping wine and devouring the beautiful sight, it is very much possible at the Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa. Only flaw is that the bathtub doesn’t have a flexi shower tap so cleaning up the tub after a bath is little difficult. (You can’t call the house keeping staff every time). The bathroom also has a shower area but going from the bathtub to the shower area messes up the floor completely in spite of the rugs. The bathroom hair dryer was just about ok. It stops working if it heats up. (Unfortunately, it heats up just after five minutes of continuous use.) Apart from it we didn’t face any issues in our room. The room service was excellent and in-room dinning had ample of choices. Our tarrif included breakfast which was the regular elaborate affair with dosa and eggs to order counters, juices, bakery, cereals, cheeses, cold cuts, etc. The food was good.

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our room

The hotel has only one restaurant called Cloves (where breakfast was served), one hookah bar called Calabash which serves snacks, a cafe called Chaikash that serves tea, coffee and light snacks and Nouf which is an open deck that serves tea and snacks. Calabash is decorated beautifully in turkish mosaics and lanterns and we loved it. But planning for lunch and dinner became a bit cumbersome knowing that those were our only options to dine. As no cars are allowed in the area so traveling to near by places for food was not possible. We ate lunch at phase one of the Gondola ride, on one of the days. Apart from it, in room dinning and these restaurants were our only grub resorts. At night, there is no life outside the hotel so we never ventured out.

Chaikash, cafe at Khyber Himalayan Resort Gulmarg
Chaikash
Calabash

The temperature maintained swimming pool is great and gives a beautiful view of the forest and the mountains. My daughter and husband had a good time playing in the water. The gymnasium is well-equipped but I didn’t see many patrons there. May be they were busy with activities around the hotel. ATVs, horses are available to go around Gulmarg. People queue up to reach Aparwat, phase 2 of the Gondola ride to see Kargil ranges. We went up to 14000 feet and made a snowman. My daughters wish to build a snowman was fulfilled at phase 2. Many activities like ice skating, skiing, sledging, etc. are available at phase 1. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything on phase 1 as Gulmarg had not experienced heavy snow till then. The hotel also has a world class spa by L’occitane. I did a facial which was rejuvenating. I felt absolutely pampered. A must try if you are staying in the property. The hotel also has a kids room so when my daughter was bored we took her there and she played with the toys. It had carom board, foosball board, electric hockey, and a few video game stations. The lawn area had very few swings. I am sure they can develop it a bit more to accommodate more children.

Khyber Himalmarglayan Resorts Gu
Temperature maintained swimming pool

Over all, we had a pleasant stay and would like to go back to the resort some day. Have you stayed at the Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa in Gulmarg? How was your experience? Do leave your comments below.

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