傾城船屋

We spent 5 nights at the Club Mahindra associate, “Helen of Troy” houseboat in Dal Lake, Srinagar. The houseboat is accessible by shikara from Ghat-19A (Houseboats accessible from ghats 17 & 19 provide good view of the lake). We had a leisurely shikara ride upto the houseboat enjoying the scenery around. Different vendors came in their shikara to peddle their wares and services. Once we reached the houseboat, Hakim and Imtiyaz helped with the luggage (both of them were very helpful throughout our stay). Ayush was there to welcome us and brief us about the dos and don’ts and other features of the houseboat. We were allotted the first 2 rooms-Tulip and Lily. Both the rooms are neat and spacious with attached toilets. The ACs in both the rooms also acted as heaters. Hot water is available in the toilet from 7 PM to 10 AM the next morning. The houseboat is nicely decorated and carpeted. The view of the lake and the Shankaracharya hill beyond is magical. Food in the houseboat is provided by the owner. So there are limited choices. Another drawback is you have to tell in advance if you are having any meal. Eg. during breakfast you have to select for lunch, during dinner for breakfast next morning, and so on. For local sightseeing, we booked a taxi for the period through Ayush. The driver, Irfan, was ok. Seemed a bit arrogant. On the last day he hurried us to the airport which was not at all necessary. We realized this after reaching the airport. One of the rooms, Lily, can do with some maintenance. The toilet door handle was not working and the flush was leaking quite frequently although Hakim tried to fix it. Later, I fixed it on many occasions. Overall it was a good experience. Ayush was very helpful. In my opinion, 3 nights in the houseboat is more than enough to savour the experience.

It was truly a unique experience staying in one of Kashmir's famed houseboats. We are glad we chose Helen of Troy which is docked near Ghat 19-A and offers amazing view of dal Lake. The owner Mr. Mubarak is a wonderful host and treated us like his personal guests. We were a group of 8 people ranging in age from 70 years to 5 years and each one of us enjoyed the stay. The intricate woodwork , the hospitality of Mr. Mubarak and our server Zahoor ***** with the amazing view made it a truly memorable experience.

The Helen of Troy is moored far away from the main road, need a Shikara to get to shore and back at all times, a big problem in case of an emergency. The food is mediocre and served in limited quantities. Their electrical system is in immediate need of update or replacement, frequent power trips especially at night is extremely annoying and tend to ruin a much awaited rest after a long day. A couple of the staff are obnoxious and clearly don't want to be there. Plenty of tea and coffee bags but the pot does not work, no power !! They charge big bucks but no courtesy breakfast. Not sure why Club Mahindra continues to associated with this place.