We holidayed in Club Mahindra, Gangtok during mid April 2014, soon after the elections were over in Sikkim. The reservation process was quite smooth, with the transaction being done online in end Jan 2014 itself. The car(booked through the Traveldesk) meant for pickup from Bagdogra airport failed to turn up. We had to call the resort and wait for an alternate cab to pick us up and wasted over half an hour at he airport itself.
The check in process was quite smooth, the rooms were well appointed and the staff were warm and courteous. One can hire cabs for local sightseeing outside the resort or through the Traveldesk. We took both the options for half a day sightseeing tours.
The Gangtok Ropeway is nothing to write home about. All view points that supposedly offer fabulous views of the Himalayan peaks were a disappointment in the summer and are best visited during the winter. The Zoo is quite small with a very limited collection of animals(exotic, though). One should temper one’s expectations accordingly.
A day trip to South Sikkim is in order, but if one were to split the stay between Gangtok and Baiguney, then South Sikkim sightseeing can be done when transiting from one place of stay to another.
To visit Nathula Pass, one needs to get a permit(use government issued ids that also have the address on it). Passes are issued on the day of the visit and solely depend on the weather conditions.The start of the trip was delayed due to the delayed receipt of the permit at the Traveldesk in Club Mahindra. In our case, the Traveldesk could not co-ordinate the process effectively and we had to return after covering almost the entire route without reaching the destination, due to bad weather. The roads are treacherous and the trip is not meant for the faint hearted. This is a key attraction and one needs to plan ahead to ensure that this is covered during the visit.
The food spread in the restaurant leaves a lot to be desired. The live counters during breakfast is restricted to choice of eggs. The breakfast an dinner spread is quite thin and is nowhere near Club Mahindra standards(available in other resorts).
The entire property has only studio units, but the rooms are well appointed and done up well.
The credit card readers at the front office have a tough time connecting to the network - so the billing and payment can be a frustrating experience as well at the time of check out.
The property itself is quite small, with very little scope to spend time outdoors. The staff courtesy and warmth make up for the lack of everything else.