Mayfair Darjeeling – Charming Royal Heritage Hotel

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Darjeeling is a happening tourist destination in West Bengal since the time the British connected it with the Himalayan Railway. Choosing a nice place to stay in this popular hill station can be challenging as you have all kinds of options. We chose to stay at Mayfair Darjeeling as we had already experienced their hospitality at Gangtok. And we’re happy with the aura of divinity and the aesthetic taste of their property. We were even happier when we checked out of this heritage hill station property.

Table of Contents

Mayfair Darjeeling hotel

Mayfair Darjeeling – Royal Heritage Hotel

Here is why you should choose them for your stay in this popular hill station:

Library Dedicated to Sherpa Tenzing Norgay

Library dedicated to Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
Library dedicated to Sherpa Tenzing Norgay

The bibliophile in me could not have been happier when I saw a library at this heritage luxury hotel inspired by and dedicated to the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Tenzing, as we know, was one of the first people to climb Mount Everest. His Samadhi is not too far from the hotel on the grounds of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.

Sherpa Tenzing Norgay's pictures
Sherpa Tenzing Norgay’s pictures

The beautifully designed library has walls full of Sherpa Tenzing’s pictures. If you spend some time, you can feel his journey through these pictures. There is a frame with newspaper cuttings talking about his unprecedented journey. Another frame contains a stone from Mount Everest that was gifted by his family to Sh Dilip Ray, owner of Mayfair Darjeeling. There is an ice axe in another frame. There are films on mountaineering that you can sit and watch right there with your friends or take them to watch in the comfort of your room.

Tools of Mountaineering
Tools of Mountaineering

I loved the feel of this room, which is so connected to the legendary son of the soil.

Royal Heritage

Walls full of Black & White pictures of Darjeeling
Walls full of Black & White pictures of the hill station

The main building of this hill station luxury hotel used to be the summer house of the Maharaja of Nazargunj. If like me you are wondering where is this Nazargunj – well it would lie in the neighboring state of Bihar. The building still had a very English-style architecture and décor. Linen, curtains, fireplaces, ample use of wood, and walls full of photo frames take you back to the era when it would have been constructed. It does not take much to feel like a royal guest.

Old world charm in the decor
Old world charm in the decor

There is a certain charm that the old world building offer that is simply not replicable. The gardens are impeccably maintained with bright sculptures to add the spark. I remember when I posted the first picture of this hill station luxury hotel on my social media – everyone wanted to know about this bright-looking place.

Aesthetics at Mayfair Darjeeling

Shivalinga at Mayfair Darjeeling
Shivalinga at the hill station luxury hotel

As you go down the path leading to the hotel, the first thing you see is a temple with Shivalinga in black stone. As you reach the landing, you will meet the idol of Ganesha in Saffron color. After you have met the father and son, you get the first real glimpse of the property.

Wooden Staircase with old black & white pictures
Wooden Staircase with old black & white pictures

I was very impressed with the black and white heritage pictures of the popular hill station on a bright pink / red wall. It was like a walk through the history of this hill town. Later when I was talking to the general manager of the hotel, he told me that old pictures of this hill station can be easily sourced from the Das studios. The studio is hardly a stone’s throw away distance from the hotel. It maintains a catalog of old pictures of this picturesque hill station and anyone can buy them for a small price. I wonder if any other town/city in India has similar access to old archives.

Odisha style stone sculptures
Odisha-style stone sculptures

There are stone sculptures from Odisha here and there. The pots full of seasonal flowers add their own vibrancy to the environment.

Location of Mayfair Darjeeling

Bright demeanor of Mayfair Darjeeling
Bright demeanor

Located at one end of the famous mall road, it is perfectly suited to explore this popular hill station on foot. Except for going to the famed sunrise point, we explored the whole of the hill town on foot. We could do this primarily because of the central location of this heritage luxury property.

Manicured Gardens ay Mayfair Darjeeling
Manicured Gardens

On day 1 we walked towards the hill stations zoo and Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, passing by the Raj Bhavan. The next day we walked to the UNESCO world heritage Darjeeling railway station to take a ride on the heritage train. In the evening we walked to the Mahakal temple for another view of the valleys around the hill town.

The Mall road was like a backyard and we took many walks during the day, to enjoy the coffee houses, buy the popular local tea or just stroll along with million other tourists.

Bright Yellow Garden Benches at Mayfair Darjeeling
Bright Yellow Garden Benches

Service and food are good as we expect from a high-end hotel. The staff is friendly.

You must sit out in their gardens or verandahs at sunset time for a lovely view. Of course my favorite time – mornings are also a good time to sit out when the air is so crisp that you want to inhale it all.

I would be happy to go back to this luxury hotel for exploring some more of the charming hill town.

Recommend you to read the following travel blog posts on things to do in this popular hill station.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – A Living Dream

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park – A Photo Essay

7 COMMENTS

  1. How fascinating that Manicured Gardens inside. I’m just wondering, what so special about Darjeeling tea compared with other tea? I admit Darjeeling hotel has full of charm.

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