Long Weekend Coming Up? Stay At This Gorgeous Bungalow

Located close to the Sonajhuri forest, this place has jaw-dropping rooms filled with Belgian glass mirrors, spiral staircases, gardens, and sun-soaked verandahs.

Antique mirrors and dressers, four-poster beds, designer garden benches, wooden trunks, louvred windows, a sprawling garden — the Garden Bungalow will give you major throwbacks to another era. Designed by sculptor, a painter and a gardening enthusiast, the place has four rooms distributed across two floors.

You can choose the Painter’s Retreat on the first floor which has a four-poster double bed and a single bed or the cosy Poet’s Recluse for its lovely rocking chair. Try the King’s Chamber for a touch of luxury. Choose the Bahaar Hall {named after the raag Bahaar} infused with sound, good views, and fragrance of the rustling and whistling of trees. All rooms have air conditioning and free Wi-Fi, seating and dining area, and some come with a balcony/patio.

We love that this place has no television. It is perfect for relaxing with music and books. If you haven’t got yours along, pick from the many books which are strewn around the bungalow. Settle down on the covered patio or balcony facing the garden with a cup of fragrant tea and a plate of cutlets.

Or walk around admiring the many antique items here — mirrors with Belgian glass, the spiral staircases, furniture — sourced from old, aristocratic homes.

The property also houses the Mud Bungalow surrounded by trees like jackfruit, including mango, and chikoo. With its whitewashed mud walls and red-tiled roofs, decorated wooden windows, and red flooring serves as the veranda and a lookout.

Tariffs are between INR 6,500 to INR 7,500 — you may find a deal on a site somewhere like this one here. Check-in is at 2pm and check-out is at 12 noon. They offer free private parking and arrange for an extra bed at an extra charge per bed, per night. You can actually book the whole bungalow as well.

Check out their website here. And the Facebook page for more info.

There’s lots to do here — starting with a tour of Shantiniketan and the university set up by Rabindranath Tagore. A Saonthali village is close by — you can walk down. Popular activities in the area include fishing, hiking along the undulating ravines of the Kopai river, river trekking and nature walks.

You can hire a car here and drive around the area. You can pick up  homemade local foods, jewellery, local textiles and handicrafts from the weekend village haat {market} in the Sonajhuri forest. The Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary is less than a kilometre away — in the winter, you can spot a number of migratory birds at the lake.

The nearest railway station is Bolpur — take a train from Howrah, and you will get here in just three hours. Bolpur is just 5 km away from the bungalow.