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The Sana Beach : Cottages. Courtesy:- The Sana Beach Resort, Mandarmoni
Rs 1000 (And Free Breakfast) for a room in Rose Valley, Digha
15% Discount in Rose Valley Resort, Mandarmani / Dooars
Sana Beach Photo Album - Landscape
Sana Beach Photo Album - Restaurant and Food
Sreenanda from Kolkata writes (in TripAdvisor.in on 23 Jun 2010):
"Sana Beach Resort is the best place to stay if you are looking for a quiet weekend at Mandarmani, a 6 hrs drive from Kolkata towards Digha, West Bengal, India. However, never take your own vehicle if you don't want its shockers to get damaged. The end part towards the destination has hideous roads-muddy with pot holes of all sizes... so avoid the rains. We did not make any bookings but I would suggest a booking from their Kolkata office during peak season. We went for a not-so-peak weekend but still had issues in finding economical cottages. We were told there are no empty cottages and were forced to take the most expensive lodging option which was an AC tent! (Though on our round the Sana trip we found two- three cottages empty and locked yet the manager argued that they were booked and the guests may arrive anytime- we went for a night walk at 3pm and still found them locked and empty. We did not appreciate their manipulation just to extract some extra bucks by offering us an expensive alternative).
Sana has acres of sand with trees and cottages of varying sizes and categories. You will love a lazy walk along the narrow paths at night. Almost an eco resort and very romantic at night. However, honestly I guess the tent stay was worth it. It was an awesome experience as we were very close to the beach, in fact closest as the cottages are at the end, and you can't see the sea at all from them. The AC tent had a wonderful toilet as well. However, the AC went zombie and we had to call the techies every time we had to switch it off as it had a direct line. Four of us shared the tent as it was Rs. 4800/- per night. We stayed for a night only! Food at Sana was expensive...but I loved their bakery sandwich and cakes. For lunch and dinner try eating elsewhere. There are loads of shanties and cheaper hotels with restaurants. Pre-book yourself as food cooked is limited and as per pre-order.
Alternatively, you could try some adventure eating like we did the next morning for 'brunch'. We went early morning to the 'mohona', the confluence of the river and bought some prawns, crabs and fish. We managed to get them fried at a shanty near Sana. It was fun to eat at the beach the crude way.
Try leaving the place before the high tide and also ensure you get in before the tide. We left early morning on Saturday and reached by noon and on Sunday left around 3pm after a long- long bath. Also, do have coconut water and crabs.
Sana also has a gym...loaded with prehistoric equipment. But I loved lazing in hammocks. All in all, it was worth the visit and stay...though it was expensive! I loved it."
The Sana Beach: Straw and bamboo gazebos.
Photograph: Courtesy:- The Sana Beach Resort, Mandarmoni
The Sana Beach: Sports lounge, Kolahal.
Photograph: Courtesy:- The Sana Beach Resort, Mandarmoni
Reviews
My husband and I visited the Sana Beach Resort last weekend with seven of our friends. We chose this hotel since we had an impression that this was the “best in Mandarmani”. I wish we had researched more before finalising. We had booked one 4-bed cottage for 5450/- and two 2-bed rooms for 4050/- each from the Kolkata office with half the total amount as an advance payment. We were even offered a 30% discount, which made us all excited about the hotel. Little did we know then what awaited us at the resort. Here goes the list of the horrendous experiences we had while staying at Sana for less than a day:
1. To start off, the reception appointed us three 2-bed rooms instead of a 4-bed cottage as well. Finally, when we checked into the correct rooms, they were extremely mediocre and not at all worth 4K-5K in rural Bengal.
2. Since it was raining the entire weekend, we got to experience more flaws, which I believe are not evident during dry months. The roofs of all three rooms were leaking and water was dripping down the walls and wetting the entire floor. It was a mess! To top this, almost all the pathways across the resort premises were water logged. We had to walk in ankle deep muddy water to move around the property.
3. Only two towels were provided in the 4-bed cottage. When we asked for two more, the reception refused and told us to “share” the towels! After innumerable chase ups and altercations, we finally got the towels.
4. The room service was appalling. They needed several reminders before they finally got us what we had ordered for.
5. The food was average yet highly overpriced. Absolutely not worth the price.
6. All three rooms had faulty AC. The hotel fixed two when we complained. For the third one, the switch was loose. I had to place two filled bottles of water to keep the switch in place and the AC working.
7. There is a table tennis board present in the reception area, but the TT bats that the hotel provided were broken with the rubber coming off on one side and no rubber at all on the other! Even the TT ball was punctured!
8. Even though the hotel has flaunted a big signboard at the reception claiming that the breakfast timings are from 8am to 10am, breakfast was not served before 8:30 am. I wish they were this lenient with the check out timing (of 11 am) as well!
9. There was a lounge, which had a bar (serving over-priced drinks) and a pool table. No points for guessing we had to pay (50/- per game) to play pool!
I can hardly think of anything good about the hotel since we were so disgusted with their service and complete lack of maintenance. I guess the only good thing about it would be its location – at the far end of the beach where it is a lot less crowded. Also, I guess the resort was designed to be this rustic with the purpose of an artistic touch and I completely appreciate the designers/artists’ intentions. However, I do wish they had put in a bit more thought and effort in making the place sturdier with proper drainage, etc so that the straw roofs didn’t leak and the pathways didn’t get waterlogged. Trust me, nobody wants to experience rural life so literally when they are paying 5K a night! If you are planning to visit Mandarmani any time, please please please do not even consider this hotel!
The Sana Beach Management's Response
At first I agree that there may be some unforeseen problems faced by the guests. I do apologise for the same. But in many cases I have seen that the complaints are baseless and motivated. After enquiry, surprisingly we have seen some of the complainants have not visited us even.
Just yesterday, an unknown hacker tried to destroy our web site. If you go through the web site you will find many data files have been destroyed.
Our sports lounge bar, Kolahal, gift shop Baz..aar and some of the rooms & cottages are of international standard. We have 65 rooms spread over twelve acres of land containing no less than 5000 big trees.
Our multi-cuisine restaurant serves good food (best in Mandarmoni and comparable with Kolkata). We have our own bakery of very high standard. We provide linen and towels of very high standard. We supply very high standard toiletries comparable with 4/5 Star hotels. We have an amphitheater along with a big lawn. The entire resort has been constructed with an ethnic look.
A huge party zone along with a modern swimming pool and an Ayurvedic treatment center with Keralite massage center are coming up within September, 2010. On a regular basis we try our best to develop new facilities for the guests.
Still if you have any doubt I can give some references. Our list of satisfied guests includes Mr. Ganesh Pyne - a noted painter of India, Mr. P C Sorcar - world famous magician, Mr. Pawan Ruia - an industrialist (the owner of Dunlop, Jessop etc.), Ms Rituparna Sengupta, Ms Swastika Mukherjee - actresses, Mr. Preetam Jalan of Josh Johor Group (flim maker).
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The Sana Beach Resort, Mandarmani Tariff (September 1, 2011)
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Weather permitting torch-lit barbecues are also organized in the garden.
The Sana Beach hotel guests appreciate the landscaping
Photograph: Courtesy:- The Sana Beach Resort, Mandarmoni
My Page: Sandipan Biswas
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Mandarmani is on my Mind
