Darjeeling stays
A Darjeeling room can give you the mountain from your bed, or a water tank. Here is how the houses differ, the ones we use, and the questions we ask before we book any of them.
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The town problem
Above the Mall the ridge is built out to the road, so a town window often looks onto rooftops, wires and a water tank rather than the tea gardens you came for.
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Below the town
We often base guests at Glenburn, an estate founded in 1859, 75 minutes from town, with eight suites in two bungalows. Ask for the Water Lily Bungalow: all four of its suites face the mountains.
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Old Darjeeling
Windamere, built as Ada Villa in 1841, is a short walk from Chowrasta, with afternoon tea by the fire at 16:30. The Elgin, built in 1887 and first owned by the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, with hot water bottles at night.
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For families
MAYFAIR Hill Resort, opposite Raj Bhawan, has 53 rooms, a spa, a library and a doctor on call. Ask for a Heritage Room: it is the category the hotel lists with a fireplace.
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December
Nights average about 3.5 °C (38 °F) in December, and many older buildings have no central heating. We book fireplace rooms, ask for the fire to be laid before you return, and check heaters, hot water and quilts ahead.
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How we choose
What you see from the bed, how quiet the nights are, and who runs the place. Then we choose the room rather than the house, because one category faces the range and another faces the yard.
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The catch
Windamere's 2026 restoration runs from 10:00 to 18:00, so we book a room on the far side of it. Glenburn's Singalila Suite is down stone steps, and Wi-Fi reaches only parts of the bungalows. A fault you read about costs you nothing.
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Planning it
A view from the bed, a fire, an elevator, a quiet room: name the one that matters most, and we will ask the houses in writing before we quote.
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