Come see our resorts called Teanest in Kotagiri & Ooty said Sanjay an old friend and resort owner. This is not a brand new resort but resorts where we have refurbished old colonial homes and turned them into homestays in the tea gardens. So we decided, spur of the moment to go to see them, quickly packing overnight cases and jumping into our drag queen of a chevy with her busted silencer. It made me laugh looking at people in cars alongside us staring as we sounded like we were on some racing track with every acceleration!
So the first place we went to was Teanest, Kotagiri. That had four rooms and was in the heart of tea country. We also had a manager who told us all about the best teas one could get and when and how they had to be picked. Kotagiri is much nicer than Ooty as it is still untouched by a surfeit of resorts and domestic tourists. It still is green and clean and the sides of the roads have flowers growing everywhere, planted by the CM of TN as she owns huge tracts of tea gardens.
We loved the trip and thats where we got hooked on masala chai.
Then we went to visit Teanest Annexe in Ooty. That was formerly the managers bungalow in the Singara tea estate and overlooked the 1800 acres of the Singara tea gardens. The owners lived in Kenya we were told and only an old matriarch lived in the family home on the estate with her servants. Our little homestay just had two rooms and was lovely and peaceful to enjoy without the normal gaggle of other families in the place. The garden was full of flowers and we loved every minute of our stay there.
Google the names if you would like to make a booking and go visit, especially check on Trip Advisor for good deals.
