[arin_12]

Remember to take the diversin near the Indian Petrol pump near nelamangala. Last time we crossed and reached till the tool gate. There is no sign.

[wildon]

Thanks for the route and Tips. Planning a trip on this 20th

[mohan41]

Can anyone help me with information on good hotels to stay in Chikmagalore? Planning to go there and visit Kemmannugundi and other places in one of the coming weekends. I will be going with my wife and 2 year old kid.

[ampere]

If you don't mind the price, Taj is an amazing place. Check out they may have Monsoon offers till 30th of Sep.
I also remember there is a diversion before Hassan toward Chikmagalur. You dont have to go with the Hassan town.

[neo45007]

Hi,

I completed Bangalore - Halebidu - Chikmaglur - Bangalore Journey on 18th Dec'11.

Route info : Bangalore - Neelamangla - Left @ Mangalore deviation - C'patna - Hassan - Halebidu - Belur - Chikmaglur.

Road condition :

Bangalore to C'patna (4 lane road for initial 120+ kms and then patchy but smooth road till C'patna)
C'ptna to Hassan : Good 2 lane road
Hassan to Halebidu : Took deviation for Halebidu before Belur (This 10 kms road is pathetic; better to go to Belur & then to Halebidu). Belur - Halebidu road is okay.
Belur to Chikmaglur : 2 lane good road, but very bad road around Chikmaglur (For 3-4 kms).
Chikmaglur & Around : Roads in moderate condition (mostly good, somewhere okay).

Also, Within Hassan & Chikmaglur city - Roads are bad. (Total 4-5 kms)

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you don't mind the price, Taj is an amazing place. .

Taj Gateway at CKM is one of the worst places to stay . Mr.Ravi Kandige who claims to be the manager in charge is one of the most useless and shameless people I have come across !

Their reception goofed up and change our accomodation to a later date and we didnt know till we landed in the hotel after driving all the way from bangalore! They did accept their mistake ,for which they didnt have any valid answer .They even had the audacity to offer us some other cheap resort to make up for their mistake and the way they behaved ,it was as if they were doing a favor on us .We just refused this offer and drove back immediately to Bangalore .

Later on ,I hear from someone in the marketing team from bangalore ,who says they want to make up for this by offering us free lunch /dinner at the Taj in Bangalore .

I asked him to treat his family to that free lunch .


To sum it up ,stay away for Taj Gateway ,Chikamagalur

[ampere]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Later on ,I hear from someone in the marketing team from bangalore ,who says they want to make up for this by offering us free lunch /dinner at the Taj in Bangalore .

That was real bad. However I have had very good experiences (Been there for about 3-4 times).
But I must confess, service has gone down.

As regards to goof-up in booking.,I am sure such things should not happen. As a precaution, after confirmation from the cenrral booking desk
I confirm with hotel guys once after the booking and once at least 2-3 days before start of the journey.

But still such goof-ups you mentioned are not expected by 5-Star chain.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by ampere

But still such goof-ups you mentioned are not expected by 5-Star chain.

I had checked with them after booking .The person on the so called Customer Care doesnt even understand english properly ! I had asked them on what is the procedure to postpone bookings .When they said ,they would forefeit one day's booking ,I didnt postpone .I re confirmed with them and they said ,changes if any would be intimidated through email.

We did have lunch there while waiting for this to get sorted ,I must confess ,even the Shanti Sagar full meals you get would be better .Morever it was the attitude of this Ravi Kandige that pissed me off .

I wouldnt recommend anyone to stay there for sure .

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by ampere

That was real bad. However I have had very good experiences (Been there for about 3-4 times).
But I must confess, service has gone down.

Agreed, Ampere. We too had pleasant experince earlier. The service in Taj seems to have gone down. We experienced it in Varanasi and had to move out of the place after two hours - we did not pay - and got into Ganges View. The GM of the property was apolegetic. On the other hand we had excellent stay in Khajuraho. May be beacuse of severe competion among numerous star hotels there.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

We did have lunch there while waiting for this to get sorted ,I must confess ,even the Shanti Sagar full meals you get would be better .Morever it was the attitude of this Ravi Kandige that pissed me off .

I wouldnt recommend anyone to stay there for sure .

Well said Satya. I think, these guys seems to have taken the individual customers for granted given the kind of Corporate bookings they must be getting from Bangalore.

[sureshurs]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

To sum it up ,stay away for Taj Gateway ,Chikamagalur

I stayed in Taj Gateway, Chikamagalur abt 4 times since 2005. The quality of the service has been coming down over the years. We now stay at Serai even though it's on costlier side to Taj. I would recommend considering other options in Chikamagalur.

[smsrini]

What are the options for Breakfast / food on NH48 ? between Nelamangala and Hassan ?

thanks
Srini

[ampere]

Originally Posted by smsrini

What are the options for Breakfast / food on NH48 ? between Nelamangala and Hassan ?

thanks
Srini

- There is a Mayura and a Kamat.
- There are two Cafe Coffee Day outlers (One is adjacent to Kamat and the other at Belur Cross).

[root]

Originally Posted by neo45007

Hi,

Bangalore to C'patna (4 lane road for initial 120+ kms and then patchy but smooth road till C'patna)
C'ptna to Hassan : Good 2 lane road
Hassan to Halebidu : Took deviation for Halebidu before Belur (This 10 kms road is pathetic; better to go to Belur & then to Halebidu). Belur - Halebidu road is okay.
Belur to Chikmaglur : 2 lane good road, but very bad road around Chikmaglur (For 3-4 kms).
Chikmaglur & Around : Roads in moderate condition (mostly good, somewhere okay).
Also, Within Hassan & Chikmaglur city - Roads are bad. (Total 4-5 kms)

Dear Bhpians

Any recent trips to Chikmagalur. Planning to leave Bangalore in the evening around 4 PM on Friday and will be back on Sunday. Has the 4 laning to Hassan got completed. What about the Hassan-Chikmagalur route? It has been a few years since I last traveled this route and hence request for an update on current conditions

Regards
Vijay

[zoombiee]

Originally Posted by root

Dear Bhpians

Any recent trips to Chikmagalur. Planning to leave Bangalore in the evening around 4 PM on Friday and will be back on Sunday. Has the 4 laning to Hassan got completed. What about the Hassan-Chikmagalur route? It has been a few years since I last traveled this route and hence request for an update on current conditions

Regards
Vijay

I used it 3 months back and it was 4 laned till Kunigal. After that it wasnt. The road is pretty nice to drive. Make sure you are back in Bangalore before 5PM, else there will be very bad traffic all the way from Hasan. All feeding stations on the way will be full and stinky.

[JVH]

I drove to Chikmagalur last weekend.

Bangalore (Nelamangala) to Kunigal is the usual 4 lane. After that you will encounter 2 lane all the way upto Hasan with a few diversions in lieu with the 4 lane about to be constructed. Drive through Hasan is a little rough. Hasan to Belur is a fantastic stretch, one of the best I've driven in a long time (discounting the NH4 or NH7 4 lane). Belur to Chikmagalur is decent with odd patches and a fair amount of broken roads.