Thanks a lot for that personal touch. From the home cooked food, to afternoon chit-chats. Loved every moment of our stay at Oak Grove Inn. – Tina
The Oak Grove Inn promises to provide you with all the little comforts of a homestay during your stay. The warm and friendly staff will help organise anything that you may require and provide information and contacts for any other activities that you may want to undertake – like nature hikes, picnics and road trips.
You’re also welcome to join the hosts, Colonel Bikram Rawat (Retd) and his wife Neelam, for a drink in the evening (BYOB) at their 70-year old family home which is adjacent to the Inn and has been home to their family for three generations.
The land on which the property stands was bought in 1923 for a princely sum of Rs. 230 by the present owner’s father while he was still a student. The bungalow was constructed in 1946 while he was posted at the Garhwal Rifles Centre.
Col Rawat (3rd generation) and his wife Neelam shifted here in 2001, after his retirement from the Indian Army. Their excellent knowledge of the region will provide you with suggestions of the most interesting things to do in and around Jaiharikhal and Lansdowne during your stay.
But for those of you that just want to be left alone (or alone together), we’ll be happy to stay out of the way and ensure your privacy.
For more information on how to book a stay with us please visit the Contact page.
Enjoyed like any thing,
1. Hospitality.
2. Service.
3. Scenic View.
4. Cleanliness of the place.
5. Food.
6. Personal touch in every thing.
7. Guidance & help by Col. Rawat.
Execellent experience!! Wondeful hospitality!! had an amazing time..Just mindblowing!!
We thoroughly enjoyed the stay. My detailed review is available at the following link:
http://www.ghumakkar.com/2009/05/09/oak-grove-inn-lansdowne-review
This is one holiday experience I think everyone deserves to have…
Anyone who wants to just relax, enjoy scenic beauty, breathe and feel nature – they need to be at Lansdowne!!
And those who want to savour the best in hospitality, care, homely touch, need to be at the Oak Grove Inn here.
You’re bound to feel a part of Col Rawat’s family for the personal attention they give you!
Kudos Sir…we never felt more rejuvenated after a holiday before!
I wish you the very best for Oak Grove! 🙂
looking for peace not for pace , then look no further . not for people who make a to do list in the morning and want a mall road and multi cusine restaurants. rest , relax and recuperate should is the philosophy to follow. never experienced such hospitality anywhere.
waiting to go back again
aman
I recently visited Lansdowne with my wife and stayed in Oak Grove Inn. I am not writing just for sake of it but we enjoyed this stay thoroughly. It’s like home away home. Neat and clean rooms, homely food, scenic beauty and on top of everything Col. Rawat and Mrs. Neelam Rawat’s personal care. It was my wife’s birthday during our stay and Mrs. Rawat prepared an awesome cake which is even hard to find in best markets in metros. We relished it and even packed for our return journey only to have a feeling for more. Lansdowne is just perfect desination to relax and unwind from our hectic routine. The road from Kotdwar to Lansdowne ( Both ways towards JaiHariKhal and other which directly takes you to Lansdowne ) are awesome and I loved driving on these roads surrounded by Devdar and Pine trees. Tarkeshwar Temple is a must visit. All in all this was really a trip which we will remember forever and ever.
Lastly Thanks to the Colonel couple for making our stay a beautiful one and will definitely come back soon.
A spontaneous trip that materialized in the wake of a desperate need to be anywhere but Delhi on the birthday weekend and after giving much thought to and exploring the possible options for vacationing elsewhere all of which either didn’t take off or fell through! I had heard of Lansdowne through someone, who also showed me some pics of the place and the Oak Grove Inn. My Brother had come back to Delhi from Pune and we just decided to take off the next day to Lansdowne!
Not many would know it, Lansdowne is the nearest hill station from Delhi. Being someone who’d stay away from the idea of holidaying in touristy hill stations from the likes of Mussorie, Shimla etc, what i particularly liked about the place is the fact that unlike the former, for reasons of being a cantonment town, it isn’t an exploited and over-explored hill station-turned-concrete jungle. One actually gets to see green mountains all around! Also, the military presence in the town would ensure that it never becomes one! Thank God for it! Colonel and Mrs. Rawat are a lovely couple. Staying at the Oak grove Inn was a wonderful experience . The bungalow is beautifully located and is a brilliant initiative by the couple to preserve the ‘Inn’ culture amidst the usual ‘hotel’ experiences one normally gets in most travel destinations across the country. Of course, home-made food and lovely conversations with the couple added that personal touch- a concept totally alien to touristy trips.
One must check out the ‘How about a Hang-out’ Zone at the Inn. Its a super cool idea! One can just sit and enjoy the breath-taking view to the valley, spend time reading a book, and if one gets lucky, like we did, then even have a wonderful chance to enjoy pakodas and drinks and chit-chat with the Rawats 😉
Fresh Air, reading, taking nice walks, going hiking in the rain, meeting up with interesting and happy people in the hamlets, being invited to chai and homegrown ‘bhuttas’, being treated to a lovely birthday dinner by the Rawats, out in the open with a beautiful view to the valley and discussing national politics, and turning 25, the trip to Lansdowne and Jaikarikhal was all this and more!
It was a great experience. Excellent hospitality, a very good break from the routine of Corporate life. Very relaxing, a quite place helps to rewind yourself.
Col & Mrs. Rawat are wondeful hosts. Hope them all the best in life. Love to visit again sometime during the monsoons. The drive to Lansdowne is really very good specially after Meerut.
Just came back to Delhi from a wonderful trip of Lansdowne and Jaiharikhal….! We really couldnt believe that a hill station can be so calm, clean in this season… but to our surprise and joy…Lansdowne is a place which I fell in love with….I never thought of comming across such a nice place.
Oak Grove Inn at Jaiharikhal is another wonderful experience of this tour. Mr. and Mrs. Rawat are very good hosts….very nice and cordial…make you fell like at home. The staff, catering is also good. The location of this place is very nice. You get a very scenic view of pine and deodar forests and beautiful hills just in front of view…its amazing. Rooms are well maintained…full of amenities…nicely decorated.
After driving for 5 hours from Delhi to Jaiharikhal… staying at Oak Grove Inn really make you feel very relaxed….and the overall experience of Lansdowne was really gr8..We are planning a long holiday there very soon.
We reached there on my birthday eve and was surprised by the unspoilt natural beauty of the place.Oak grove iin is certainly the place to spend a relaxing holiday away in the lap of nature.Col.Bikram Rawat and his wife Neelam are great people..very warm and cordial and very friendly.The atmosphere they maintain there is like..’a home away from home’.They had baked a delicious cake for my birthday and decorated it beautifully as well.Importantly all the visitors there as well as the col. and his wife celebrated my birthday as if i was family.They also have a beautiful dog archie…for pet lovers he is a bundle of joy.rooms are tidy ,well maintained and cosy.Bathrooms are clean and have running hot & cold water 24hrs.The valley view is great…they have a hanging balcony sort of Hangout place which is fabulous and unique.Food is not al-a-carte but healthy,tasty and wholesome home cooked food.In sort best place for a short relaxing trip with girlfriend,or family .
Angels stays in Oak grove Inn .Coming to Sir and Mam house and staying there for 6 days has made me so stress free.We stayed and they welcomed us with so much of love and positivity.Well before leavning me and my husband decided that we we will do everything to make the trip exciting like walks, trekking everything one can do in the mountains .We did not leave the place at all.Hanging out in the hang out area i use to just sit and look at the mountains n relax.Evening were always nice , next to the born fire with sir and mam were full of energy.Sir ‘s rum and soda combination is a must try.Staying with them has made me more strongheaded in so many things and more clear.And Mam bindass nature is superb.Looking at both of them feels life is so simple and we just need to relax.Sir told “Never do anything under stress and pressure and Mam i am strong .I slept so well in last 6 days , room decor is very warm, cozy and full of natural light.Food is amazning , you name it n they cook it for you.Staff is great from raja, balbir,manoj everyone beautifull and pure from heart.With all this view from Oak Grove Inn cherry on the top.Place one must go .Just 5-6 hrs from delhi trip to heaven .Thanks you for everything .See you soon
Great place , Great view , Great food , Great Hospitality by the most Awesome couple Mr and Mrs Rawat , Archie the hunter dog !
Experiance worth repeating again and Again !
Wonderful Experienece……………had great time and thanks to Mrs. & Mr. Rawat for great hospitality………………..will love to traesure that moment, worth reapeating this experience again again……………………
🙂
Our second visit to the warm hospitality of Col. Bikram and Mrs. Rawat in as many years. We had a great time, the kids made lifelong friends with the irrepressible Archie and as usual the four days buzzed past even as we caught many a lazy moment chatting or reading at “The Hangout”. The biggest compliment came from Monica post return, “Feels like we are back from a visit to close relatives’ place. We miss Col. Rawat, Neelam Ma’am, and of course Archie as much as we miss being in the cocoon of hospitality of their home.”
Thank you Sir and Ma’am for welcoming us to your home, we shall certainly return to create more memories to cherish. I’m sure it will be worth the wait.
Thanks a lot for all that personal touch. From the home cooked food to after noon chit-chats, loved every moment of stay at Oak Grove Inn.
The Hang-Out & the Hide Out … loved them. And to top it all the concept of rain water harvesting… best out of waste gardening & decor ideas… etc., worth an appreciation.
Thank you !!
Great place , Great view ,Great food ,Great Hospitality by the Great people Mr. and Mrs Rawat and adorable Archie and Fife the cute dogs !
Let me do a booking once again.. Experience worth repeating again and Again !
Excellent people, excellent place, excellent views, excellent food, excellent staff, excellent local tips from Colonel Saab & an excellent mutt called “Archie” …..what more do you guys want just barge into Oak Grove Inn, Jaiharikhal, Lansdowne ….. Voila!!!!
Just to add to the ever growing list of appreciations for the Oak Grove Inn and the Rawat’s,I would like to add that if you are in Lansdowne and you haven’t stayed with Rawat’s the trip is incomplete.The inn and the hosts add to the grandeur and also the simplicity of the place.They are the perfect hosts and also have a persona that will blow your mind away.Since me and my two friends were the only occupants at that time we were treated to a fine dinner with the hosts along with Drinks(You have to take your own quota of drinks though).An excellent experience and I wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
Cheers!!!
My wife and I stayed with the Colonel for 2 days over the Good Friday weekend. It was an extremely fulfilling experience. The rooms are cozy and place feels like an old British era cottage with picture perfect courtyards straight out of an Enid Blyton book. The food is amazing. Completely home cooked at decent rates with both veg and non-veg (pre-ordered) options. We didn’t need to try out any restaurants in Lansdowne. The Colonel and his wife are an awesome company and it felt like we were at one of our relative’s place and not a guest house in far away Lansdowne. Colonel is also great with directions and knows the Garhwal area like the back of his hand.
Do not miss the trek to the village and do try out the food prepared by the wife of the excellent Arjun Singh of Talli Holli. Since Oak Grove is about 5 kms away from the Lansdowne its best suited for folks with their own transport.
Home away from Home…really loved this place….lovely food….lovely people…best place to stay when you visit Lansdowne.
Came back from this beautiful place yesterday with memories unlimited! However, i have left some treks and day trips from this place undone so that i have an excuse to be back again 😉 It was a pleasure staying at this place. The staff, people around and most importantly, Neelam Aunty and Colonel Sir are awsome!
Peace it was 🙂
Cheers!
Amazing place…. great view and warm hospitality, its a home away from home… I will recommend it to all my acquaintances visiting Lansdowne [only problem is the more the people know it, less are our chances of getting a room next time ..LOL].. Col. Rawat, the owner and his wife will take all efforts to make your stay comfortable..hats off to them…
If you are looking for peace not for pace then “Oak Grove Inn” is a paradise or a beautiful home stay place surrounded with natural beauty. The valley view is too beautiful n calm. There is hanging balcony which is very unique, everything is so organized n beautiful really I love the place and moreover Rawat Sir n Ma’am both are beautiful humans with wide smiles on the face all the time and yes food is awesome.Thank you for everything. Thanks a lot for all that personal touch.
Oak Grove Inn, a place with happiness, Nature and great Hospitality. A place you will fall in love at first sight. We went there without prior reservation, but got lucky to find place for 4days. The long conversations with uncle (Colonel Rawat) and aunty (Mrs. Rawat), sitting in the balcony which is perfectly named as ‘Gods Own Window’ is something I m missing already! The home cooked food and simplicity of the place, also the friendly staff will confuse you if you are at home or a guest house. To have the the local touch added to your trip, you can have breakfast in a village called Talli Holli (a small trek from uncle’s place). I would suggest, just pack your bags, inform Colonel Rawat about your trip and reach there, Oak Grove Inn will make your trip a magical and memorable one :).
home away from home …. true for this place ……. really enjoyed the stay with colonel and mrs rawat …..fallen in love with the place …… love the warmth …… will visting back really soon
regards
vaid family
It was a first-of-it’s-kind experience at Oak Grove Inn with warmth and great hospitality in the air! Colonel uncle and aunty are so charming and high in spirit that their presence will make the stay even more pleasant. If peace, beauty, simple food & lively people is what you are looking for, this is the perfect destination for you! We’ll definitely make another visit soon!
Serendipity = something pleasantly surprising, discovered accidentally.
Maiden bike trip, don’t know where to go. Google Maps, blogs and travel sites say head to Lansdowne. So, Lansdowne it is.
After 7 hours of exciting ride came our destination but our hearts said move on, this is not where you belong. It was getting dark, after 2-3 km we chanced upon another hotel, yet our hearts yearned for something more, something different, so we moved on without even stopping there. Then came the small Jaiharikhal market, and a few hundred yards down, saw a board “Oak Grove Inn”. We went downstairs to check if there was a room available. “Oh there are rooms and rooms, don’t worry son” came a reply. It was Mrs. Rawat attending to her garden. Met with Col. Rawat and the four of us chatted for over an hour, didn’t realise we were tired after the long ride and had to head to our room to freshen up. Well !! who cares about the room when you have such great people to talk to with such a great view of the vale. Our hearts said “That’s more like it”.
Since the time we stepped into the pretty and quaint Inn till we said our goodbyes, even the time chose to stand still for us to soak in the beauty of the mountains and the warmth & hospitality of the hosts.
Rest assured, the rooms are very cosy, the food offered is homely, but at the end of the day, it’s the people that make the place special, the gregarious Col. and his genial better half.
This time and onwards..
Serendipity = Oak Grove Inn @ Lansdowne
I stayed at Oak Grove Inn on 28th June 2016 along with my family. I had zeroed in on this hotel after some research on the web on sites like trip advisor and also their own webpage. It did not disappoint us at all. We reached the hotel a bit tired but exhilarated around 2:30 pm in the afternoon. Colonel Rawat had called up while we were on the way to check where we were. Later I found it was to make sure there was lunch available for us when we reached. As soon as we reached, we sat down to eat and were pleasantly surprised to have the owner and his wife join us. They had been waiting patiently for us all the while. Jaiharikhal is a small place and I did not see any restaurants there. So remember to share your travel plans with the owners and let them know if you need food because really they serve to us whatever they themselves are going to have. The food was so delicious that it was easy for us to decide not to search for another place to eat. After a filling and delicious home made meal (just what you need after a long drive) we checked into our rooms. The rooms are very clean and well maintained. And the view from the rooms is equally amazing (we stayed at ground level rooms). In the daytime, the property is really quiet and you can have a very nice rest if you want to. In the early morning one can hear lot of birds chirping away merrily. That was a nice experience in itself, what with it becoming really difficult to spot or hear birds in cities.
I also need to put down a few words about the exquisite plants and flowers on display all around the property. The owners have taken very good care of these plants and it shows. We spent quite some time seeing the different varieties and soaking in their beauty. They also have a nice sit out with a couple of swings and we were lucky enough to have our breakfast on the day of our departure there.
The only problem I faced during my stay was that during the night I could hear a noise because of the fan in adjacent room. Since my parents were in that room, it was easily sorted out by asking them to switch off the fan. So maybe some kind of sound proofing will help. But this I count as a small niggle in my otherwise wondrous stay. I will definitely visit again if the opportunity arises and stay for a bit more to soak in the peace and quiet and natural beauty of this wonderful hotel.
We had a memorable stay with the Rawats at their home stay resort. Personalised attention and care were the hallmark of our stay. Col Bikram and Mrs Neelam Rawat ensured that “we stayed at home in their home”. My wife Suniti and I spent our evenings sitting on the lawn enjoying the picturesque beauty while sipping our coffee, our hosts gave us company with local folklore. The homely,delicious food added to the enjoyment . We intend to return soon to relive the experience. Thank You Col and Mrs Neelam Rawat for an enjoyable stay. —Naveen Seth
Visited from April 13-15 with family. Oak Grove Inn is an absolute gem. Nice rooms with stunning sunset views. Col Bikram Rawat and Ma’am Neelam left no stone unturned to make our stay comfortable. I truly appreciate the exceptions they made for my father who has a problem getting around. In that sense, I would certainly mark Oak Grove Inn as friendly for the differently-abled and aged. Plus, the home-cooked food was simply amazing. Honestly, I would return just for the food and Col Rawat’s and Ma’am Neelam’s hospitality. Thank you so much for making our stay memorable.
Dear Mrs Neelam and Col. Bikram Rawat,
First of all, thank you for making our stay from 5th to 10th July, 2018 with my family (5 persons) and my dog Casper, comfortable, pleasant and never ending warmness.
The food was homely and enjoyed it greatly and we are already missing the tarka of bhaang seeds in the dishes and the crispy bhindi and the breakfast of special roti we had in your own dining hall.
More so we enjoyed your company and the chit-chat we had with you both.
Your support staff were also equally responsive and helping nature.
With kind regards,
Satyajeet
Nestled in the Garhwal foothills, Landsdowne is a truly remarkable place – and in that place, Oak Grove Inn stands out as an idyllic haven, a home away from home for weary townsfolk and intrepid adventurers alike. The hospitality extended during our stay by Col. Rawat and Ma’am was excellent – but I was also deeply touched by their warmth and affection. I never got the feeling that I was a guest there – indeed it seemed that I had always known the place, and was greeted like an old friend. No sooner than I write this I have a yearning to go there again – and I am certain that I am not the only one who feels that way. Highly recommended.
We recently stayed at Oak Grove for two days and it was an absolutely wonderful stay. The rooms were cozy, clean and gave us the view of the valley. The lawns and hideouts have been meticulously maintained and the effort shows. We loved sitting in hideout, sipping tea and enjoying hot pakodas. The food is the winner – simple, tasty and you’ll always eat more than you want to. The hosts attended us personally and offered us suggestions on places to visit and shop. For all the trips we make to Lansdowne in future – one thing will be fixed – the place we choose to stay at! Thanks, Mrs Neelam and Col Rawat for your hospitality.
The most memorable occasions in your life are best spent with your loved ones and in jaiharikhal, Oak Grove Inn my holiday evolved into something irrevocably magical. why head to oak grove inn, you ask? well for the amazing sunset with a plethora of colors and our magnificent host, Col. Bikram Rawat and Ms. Neelam Rawat and the spectacular food along with the scenery make a great start, not to mention i took my three pets to the property and they enjoyed themselves and the host family looked after them very well too. the place is a home away from home and for this i cant thank our host and hostess enough. i would highly recommend this place to anybody looking for a quiet and relaxed holiday with good food and a great company.