SaffronStays Gardenia, Alibaug

There were many hidden charges . Bunglow was not properly maintained . Overall experience was very bad . 3000 +gst they were asking for using gas stove. In one room the Ac was making too much on noise . Only the garden area is good . Rest it is not worth for money .

The Villa is good and spacious but the staff and the good is really bad. And the stay becomes useless without good food. The staff tries to save their own money by offering less food until you ask more of it. I find this to be a very very bad practice.

We visited Gardenia for the second time. Our first visit was in September 2021 and one of my earlier reviews has covered our experience. We decided to visit a second time for 3 reasons…a) Excellent well equipped villa b) Outstanding food quality and c) Terrific service by the caretaker team. On our second visit, the quality and upkeep of the villa continues to be excellent but we were disappointed with two of the 3 key reasons for us to visit again, namely a) Food quality and b) Caretaker staff service. I will elaborate on both aspects of our dissatisfaction. a) Food quality We had enjoyed the traditional Maharashtrian dishes on our first trip as chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry and Zunka bhakri. The dishes prepared at that time were extremely tasty and authentic. We ordered the same set of dishes this time around and there was a huge difference in the quality of the preparation of these food items. They were not authentic at all and were hugely disappointing. Also, we were 15 of us visiting the villa. The food at meal time would be set up as a buffet and we would serve ourselves. This was a big letdown… we were a family spending time together and wanted to eat together with food being served. We would expect that with the villa accommodating 15 guests, there should be adequate caretaker staff available to ensure that meals are comfortable sit-down versus a buffet being set up. b) The caretaker staff has changed significantly from the last time. The caretaker staff on our earlier visit were much more customer centric in their approach. This time around, we observed that more staff should have been available to take care of 15 guests. Also, we observed them squabbling amongst themselves. Another limitation is dinner to be served by 9:30 pm or so. It’s too early for those visiting Gardenia for a holiday and there should be availability of the caretaker staff later into the night to manage dinner. Gardenia is one of Saffron Stays Signature property and the charges for stay & food at the villa are steep. Hence, anything less than top notch service & food quality is unacceptable.