A Wonderful Stay at Bamboo Retreat Boutique Hotel, Rumtek, Sikkim

An Eco-friendly boutique hotel, located in the midst of greenery, in the lap of mountains with a beautiful organic farmland outside. A Tibetan inspired architecture with wonderful Tibetan decor and handicrafts inside, will win your heart.

STAY:

Bamboo Retreat offers a range of themed rooms and suites to suit an adroit traveler. There is also an apartment called Emerald apartment for a family or long-term guests. We stayed in the Emerald apartment. The apartment has one big hall with living and dining area, a kitchen, three rooms have private balconies with lush green mountain view and the best part is the corner of apartment with a swing where you can sip your coffee and enjoy gazing at mesmerizing nature. Rooms are well-equipped with comfortable double beds, luxurious toiletries, Jacuzzis, wifi and cupboards. If you cherish your privacy and dislike busy breakfast buffets, then there’s a good news for you, it can be arranged in your balcony or garden. This place is ideal for travelers who look forward for peace of mind and want to enjoy the charm of nature.

MEDITATION HALL, COMMON SPACE AND LIBRARY

The highlight of a stay at this place is its eco-friendly atmosphere and Meditation Hall where they arrange Mediation and yoga classes and introduction to Buddhism on special request, one can also sit there, pray or meditate. They also have common space and a small library. The hotel’s walls are adorned with mandala paintings and Tibetan artefacts. I found its corridors thoroughly appealing and couldn’t shake off the feeling of being in a Tibetan ambiance. Ravi also spent hours poring over the Tibetan artefacts, handicrafts and books. We would strongly recommend checking them out if you have a keen interest in knowing about Tibetan culture and Buddhism.

FOOD

The eco freindly enviroment, organic farming and usage fresh herbs made the food highlight of this place. The hotel has a restaurant and bar where they offer an expansive multi-cuisine buffet and drinks. They serve ethnic cuisine like Sikkimism Lepcha, Bhutia, Nepali and North Indian. Chinese can also be served on special request.
But if you do have some time at hand we’d recommend sampling the pizzas there which is made in the traditional way with fresh organic herbs and takes around 3 hrs to bake.

SPECIAL SERVICES

Who doesn’t like to get pampered ?? Here, you can also get refreshed and rejuvenated with the spa treats they offer like Herbal bath, Yoga, Massages and Hot stone bath. They also provide ethnic cuisines classes and honeymoon packages.

You can also check activities offered at Bamboo Retreat Hotel by the in-house travel agency, such as.

– Day Trip to Tsomgo Lake & Nathula

– Day Trek Fambong Lho

– Lepcha Cultural Experience & Village Walk

– Monastery Tour

OUR EXPERIENCE

DAY 1: We were greeted by Mr. Suraj (Manager), we reached in the evening around 4 pm. He sat with us made us comfortable, we had coffee and went to our room..oh sorry….Emerald Apartment….!! We loved our apartment and the hotel interior, after gazing at the mesmerizing view from our apartment and artefacts there, we were being called for Herbal bath. We headed to Herbal bathroom where the tub was full of enriched water with an infusion of fresh herbs, leaves and flowers. The beautiful flowers, candle light and aroma made the ambiance so romantic, we enjoyed sipping our herbal tea and bath together. The bath was so refreshing and regenerating that we forgot we were so tired after a long travel. After visiting the beautiful property, North- Indian dinner was waiting for us. We don’t even remember when we had eaten such sumptuous food. The food was delicious and mouth-watering. A special thanks to chef (Ramu) who cooked such lip smacking food for us.

DAY 2: Waking up to the breathtaking mountain view was the treat to eyes !! After beholding the nature for few minutes, we got ready early morning around 7 am as we had to rush for Nathula pass and other sight seeing places in Gangtok and our private breakfast was ready in the balcony. We enjoyed having breakfast with the beautiful view and left. Unfortunately, we were able to visit only Rumtek Monastery and Bhanjhakri falls as the roads to Nathula and Tsomgo lake got closed just one day before because of heavy snowfall. Our mood got spoiled and felt like a wasted day/ trip and we returned back to hotel around 2 pm. But, our day was made worth it by the warm hospitality of Bamboo Retreat. We visited organic farms, got some stunning photos clicked and got pampered with Open Air Hot Stone bath in the evening. The wooden tub was being filled with fresh spring water. Meanwhile stones were heated in the fire. When the stones were hot, they were added to the water. These stones released their heat and minerals to the spring water. Various herbs and the bark of a certain tree was also added to the warm water for additional medicinal benefits. A traditional vegetable or ‘Kowri’ soup was also served during the bath. The bath was soothing and relaxing, that was the one thing we experienced for the first time and will forever cherish. On our request, Sikkimese dinner was served in the apartment hall where we sat by the bonfire, had some wine and dinner.

DAY 3: Again, we had to get up early as we had to leave for Lachen, on this day our breakfast was arranged in the open garden, we enjoyed fresh food with fresh cold breeze and the view of course and after that left for Lachen.

Thank you so much Bamboo Retreat for treating us with such amazing hospitality and making our visit worth even-though we wouldn’t visit the lake and Nathula pass. The staffs were generous and we loved staying here and highly recommend you all to visit this place and experience the culture and nature.