Arthi Narayanan

Review of Orange County, Coorg

Over-rated, Poor Experience, Evolve Can Do Better!...

Over-rated, Poor Experience, Evolve Can Do Better!
Just checked out from a stay at the Heritage pool villa. The accommodation itself was quite nice - spacious, clean and well maintained. Would suggest improving the lighting in the room as the resort is in the middle of rain forest, which naturally lends darkness. Having dimmer bulbs does not help brighten the rooms especially those tucked away in shade.
Having paid close to 30000 INR, I would have expected breakfast to be included but that was not the case. They charge 1800 INR per head for the bfast buffet, which on top of the pricey room tarriff makes it ridiculously exorbitant. We are US citizens and I travel across the globe, stay in 5-7 star hotels like Ritz, Four Seasons, Fairmont. Never have I come across a luxury hotel or resort that does not offer bfast on the house. When I mentioned it to the sales team/hotel staff, they recommended we take the meal plan option, which is 3000 inr/head/night totaling to an additional 9000 inr for the 3 of us. Again quite ridiculous as we may not want to dine all 3 meals at the resort especially if we are out sightseeing. They box you in with either no meal or all meal option! The only pleasant experience we had was with Chef Hanumanth, staff Pradeesh and Ibrahim, who were attentive to our dietary needs and customized for our breakfast and lunch. On the other hand front office staff service was disappointing as they refused to budge when we asked for them to accommodate some discount for the meal option.
I would recommend Taj or Tamara Coorg anyday over Evolve. Felt like I overpaid and had a disappointing stay overall! Huge Rip-Off for 30000+ per night!
Also, the negative reviews do not show up for this property on Trip Advisor unless you click on Poor, Terrible, Average. All one sees is the positive reviews, so don't get swayed, make sure to click on Poor, Terrible and Average to get the full picture!