I grew up in Coorg and therefore, share a very special attachment with that region. So when we were planning a short break earlier this year, we chose Coorg as the destination.

Any visit to Coorg will be incomplete without experiencing its coffee plantations, specially if your better half is a huge coffee fan. Having lived all through my childhood in an area surrounded by vast coffee estates, I started looking for a place that could give us this experience.

Tatas own one of the largest coffee plantations in the region, so why not try their hospitality? We chose Tata Coffee's Plantation Trails and booked a room in their Thaneerhulla Cottage located near Pollibetta, right in the heart of coffee country (They have a few more properties in the vicinity and one in Glenlorna Tea Estate too, which is about 30-40 km away too).

You need to drive through kilometers of coffee plantations on your way to reach Thaneerhulla Cottage, and the greenery makes you feel better even before reaching the cottage. The route is fairly simple, and the roads were quite OK too. Friendly staff from Plantation Trails called us well in advance and spoke in detail about the stay, which was pretty useful too.


Check-in was pretty quick, and by the time we freshened up, lunch was ready at the Thaneerhulla Bungalow (just a few steps away from the cottage). Area around the Bungalow and Cottage has been maintained decently and has a lot of flowering plants - typical of any estate residence in Coorg. Previous guests (I think) were generous in leaving plastics and cigarette butts near the gate and that was the only eyesore.


After relaxing for a while, it was time for a drive through the plantation in the safari jeep. It was quite interesting to learn about how Tatas manage their huge plantations. However, the biggest plus point of the drive was the rain. Yes, unexpectedly, it rained so much that evening that I had fond memories of the 90's where we saw such rains every year.


Due to the rains, the open air barbecue and camp fire idea had to be cancelled so the staff arranged for the barbecue to be setup in the veranda of Thaneerhulla Bungalow. The food was okay (very expensive given the quality and variety), and we enjoyed few more hours of rain before heading back to the cottage. The staff helped us with umbrellas etc, but not before some scampering.


The weather was very pleasant the next morning, so we decided to be a bit lazy and skip the bird watching walk at Tata Coffee's golf course in Pollibetta. We visited the place later, and I found it a bit out of place amidst the natural greenery of Coorg. Plantation Trails expects the guests to check out before 11 am (check in time is 1 pm), and we did too. Driving through Nagarahole National Park a second time in as many days, we got back with some nice and fresh memories of Coorg!


My review of Thaneerhulla Cottage:

• Location - GREAT
• Sleep Quality - GREAT
• Room / Cleanliness - GOOD
• Service - GOOD
• Food - AVERAGE
• Value for money - AVERAGE

Traveled in: January 2017
Approx. Expenses: Rs 5000 for stay and breakfast (1N), Rs 3000 for food (lunch and dinner for 2)
More information about the property: Click HERE