Coniferous Home Stay - Hotel in Shillong - East Khasi Hills, India

Coniferous, in my native tongue, means a tree that produces cones, and it's leaves do not fall off in winter. It implies an earthly and welcoming art of nature one expects when going abroad to expand one's horizons, and rest for a night's sojourn. My stay at the property was not close to that ideal, but adequate, needing some minor improvements in the future. I shall start with the positives: - The place is spacious as are the rooms, the room I stayed in had a sizeable bathroom and a small veranda overlooking the neighbour's homes. - Breakfast is served punctually at 7:00-7:30AM and is complimentary. If it is within remit, special breakfast requests can be made. - The bed was European style, and as such soft mattress enabled a peaceful sleep, with the added convenience and bonus of power sockets being close to the bed for ease of electronics. Lastly, the owner of the property prides oneself on their bar, and having sampled their wares, I can attest that his taste in liquor, spirits, and beer is one of travelled and knowledgeable and as such deserves my commendation. The negatives I have noted: -When I stayed at the property, I noticed the bathroom was lacking an individual geyser, and shared its heat from an adjoining bathroom, the owner's in particular. As such, I was not able to have a decent hot shower despite waiting for ample time to allow heat to build, rather rely on my native genes to brace the utter cold waters that flowed from the shower. - The wi-fi, though complimentary, was very spotty, as the family tended to use it as well as a guest. I would advise to use your own mobile network, hotspot wi-fi, or use it in hours not in heavy usage. - In my tenure of stay, I quickly found out that the difference of a home stay and a guest house is that with the latter, one is able to have the freedoms of a guest to come and go at one's leisure. This allows one to spend time exploring, enjoying Shillong for what this city offers, and in my case spend time with loved ones. The former, on the other hand, one is bound to the whims and rules of the house and the owner's wishes, ergo restrictive. As such I advise caution to those who would stay, to be on best behaviour and give advanced notice to the owner for any plans that involve late night proclivities. Lastly, my experience with the owner can be best described as luke-brusque. He does have a penchant for engaging with the flair for the histrionics when it comes to self promotion, and to be fair, he does deserve praise for running a business as he does, as mentioned in my aforementioned positives. However, I am of a sort that when I wish to have breakfast, it must be in quiet solitude, and my affairs, if they do not pertain to my staying of the property, must be private and be respectfully kept that way. The owner was a bit intrusive against this, keeping watch as I ate, and prodded so, but cordially diplomatic minds tend to fare better than aggression. I hope the good owner takes heart to what I say to improve the experience for future guests, and look forward to seeing it thrive where able.

It's a cosy and warm homestay. We were well attended by the host- Vivek. The rooms are cosy and window opens to long big pines of shillong ,which itself is an experience. We were a group of friends so we didn't had any issues with comman washroom for two rooms, as I was little cautious after reading reviews. Also about the host, very warm and welcoming, helped us to create our itinerary and introduced us to yummy shillong oranges and strawberries. The house is very well kept and full of souvenirs and I believe every souvenir tells a story, so everyday we used to listen some amazing story of their travel. Do visit this place,the photos doesn't do the justice. Also, they make very good veg momo!! Happy travelling! This homestay made our trip to Meghalaya a memorable one! Thank you!

* Unlaundered quilts. * No hand faucet in the washroom. * Cramped Room. * A common bathroom for two rooms. * Highly overpriced. Not worth more than Rs2,000/night. We were charged Rs4,600 a night. * The place is situated in a secluded area away from the city centre.

I had a pleasant stay. The environment was peaceful. The host was wonderful and very warm.

Nice hospitality of Mr and Mrs Vivek. Really enjoyed the bar collection they have. Overall worth staying .

The hosts were very friendly, food was good! Room was good! Enjoyed the stay

Its like staying at home...so nice and serene and fresh...

Hospitality was awesome, should work on the parking, room service was good but can still do better