BABLI ~ A Wilderness-Farm - Guest house in Illambazar, Daronda - Birbhum, India

BABLI is a truly unique, special place full of peace and the beauty of nature. I have visited several times since 2014, most recently in the last month, and can honestly say I have not a single complaint. The food is delicious and nourishing, cooked with love and care, and the rooms provide more than enough comfort. The staff are kind, attentive, and a joy to spend time with, and the manager Aaditto is a fascinating man with a wealth of knowledge about the local flora and fauna. One can easily spend days happily wandering around, taking in the beautiful nature and feeling at peace. No problems with transport to/from the station, local buses and totos are readily available. It really is a different league from the characterless, anonymous hotels popping up in the surrounding area. I would not consider staying anywhere else, cannot recommend enough...

Very bad experience! We booked for 1 month and felt us obliged to leave after 2 weeks because of the behaviour of the owner/manager. The kitchen was unhygienic, dirty, and the food was really not ok. One of us get really sick after eating the fish that they served...Also small portions, although expensive in comparison with the food you eat outside. This place was in the past the place to be but now it's dead, negative electricity you feel all over the place. Don't believe what's written in the website. It's still from the time that the first owner(his parents) opened this place with a lot of passion and respect for the local people. Sue, Patrick and 8 other friends, from Belgium

I visited Babli a few weeks ago with a friend from Bangalore. We stayed there for a couple of days at the Mud Hut and had the most glorious experience of warmth and wilderness. I have been coming to Babli every year, sometimes, more than once, since 2000, however, for my friend, it was her first time visiting Bengal and Shantiniketan. In her words, BABLI is a space that breathes the love that is Birbhum. We loved the simple homely food from Shahadev Da's kitchen, the coziness of the mud huts and most importantly the unabashed, untended wilderness of Babli.s being. My friend has become a forever friend of Babli. Best Regards.

Babli used to be a great place with true local flavour and offered this unique experience of rustic living with rudimentary service. But over the years it seems to have lost its farmhouse feel and has become a tad behind the times. With other places offering similar stays with greater amenities, Babli no longer seems to be the best option. The lack of television is welcome, but hot water around the clock is no longer considered luxury. There are other issues, with the need of a less defensive management. The food used to be great, but competition around has grown. The stricture that you must take a meal here is quite outdated, as thenplace no longer seems to function as a hub for tribal employment and upliftment. Times change, and one needs to change with the times too.

It's a 38 BIGHA land - for travellers- not for tourists. To manage and stay with nature but not manage nature for staying. It's a non profitable partnership group who started in 1990 to educate local backwards to live with dignity, with self confidence. They also do some experimental agriculture. Nice engineering to make low cost cottages. Great thinking and effort.

It is a comfy place away from traffic and crowds. Administration is welcoming and helpful. Food is good though not many choices and no drinks. No hot water in the toilets. The campus is very nice. The villages around are serene and quiet.

My wife and I stayed here from 23rd to 25th Jan 2020. Though our overall experience was not too bad, we found many things not meeting our requirements. Before I list them, let me start on a positive note by listing the features we liked : 1) Babli is spread over a huge area and one can go for long walks inside its boundary. 2) Village like ambience. 3) Food (typically Bengali) is nice. The things we didn't like : 1) Room size (we took a 2-bedded 'regular' cottage) is quite small. 2) Furniture, furnishings and fittings in the room are all very basic. The first thing we noticed were the cheap curtains covering half the window height and door curtains ending 15" above ground level. There are no decorative light fittings and illumination is by naked bulbs. There is no airconditioner (though we did not miss it due to cold weather). There is neither running hot water nor geyser in the bathroom -- this was sorely missed as it was quite cold during our stay. Hot water was provided on request but we had to personally carry the buckets of hot water from the cottage entrance to the bathroom, not convenient for elderly people. 3) Beds have thin and hard foam mattresses. The pillows were almost as hard as bricks. The bedsheets were undersized, barely covering the mattress; since it is impossible to tuck in the bedsheets properly due to inadequate width, we woke up in the morning to find ourselves sleeping directly on the dirty mattresses as the sheets had shifted. Cotton quilts were provided. Instead of towels, cheap cotton 'gamchhas' were provided. 4) Since there is no intercom facility, one has to physically go to the Office to request for hot water, tea, etc. There is no reception desk and the Office is the only contact point between guests and administration. Unfortunately, the Office is often unmanned and it is difficult to contact any staff member. 5) There is no gatekeeper or security guard at the main gate. We had gone in our own car and every time we had to enter or exit, my wife had to get down from the car to open / close the gate. 6) The cottages are some distance away from the car parking area and bags have to be lifted and carried because the pathways are unpaved and there are no staff to help, 7) There are far too many 'Rules', some of which are downright illogical. Booking is possible only online and one cannot pay by credit / debit card. After making the payment through NEFT / bank transfer, Babli sends a receipt by email which has to be mandatorily printed by the guest and submitted at the time of checking in. I spoke to the owner after booking and told him that the responsibility of providing a receipt is that of the receiver and Babli should print the receipt themselves. But he replied that the guest HAS TO print the receipt because that is their RULE and if it is unacceptable to me I could cancel the booking! 8) It is obligatory to have one major meal (lunch / dinner) every day. Why should the guest not have the liberty to eat wherever she / he wants? Because this the RULE! To conclude, I wish congratulate the management of Babli for their fantastic business model. They have reduced their expenses to bare bones by hiring negligible staff, providing minimal services, using the cheapest of furniture / fittings / furnishings (I forgot to mention that even their foot mats are marginally bigger than A4 sheets of paper!), making the guests print their own receipts, no reception desk, no gatekeeper, etc, etc, but their tariff is comparable to the other more modern and comfortable resorts in the vicinity. And the master-stroke of Babli's business model is their slogan that "We are not a resort". IMHO, their slogan is a very clever all-encompassing excuse for not providing basic comforts and services and taking away the right of guests to complain about anything by retorting "Didn't I warn you before that it is not a resort"!

It is always a pleasure to stay at Babli. Very homly atmosphere in the middle of the nature. Everywhere people will find touch of innovative ideas. Different types of accomodations available and all are unique in terms of construction and design. Food is an added attraction of Babli in it's unique eatery.