Camp Potter’s Hill Shimla : Quick Review

Overall – A pleasant trip where we had fun.  But seriously the place lacks value for money.

Accessibility – From the summers hill railway station in Shimla the place is about 2.5 kms ahead with nearly 1 km covered tar road and another about 1.5 kms road as a dirt track.  Need to be extremely careful during monsoons / summers with the dirt track.  Small vehicles are easy to get-in and get-out.   We visited the place on 16 June 2011 and it was pouring in Shimla – pre-monsoon showers. The dirt track was slippery as we left and the car tends to slip or maybe I admit it was my in-experience in driving on a dirt track.

All sightseeing points for Shimla tend to be at a distance of 5-6 kms.  There is no other mode of travel except taxi – which if you request the property people, they need to call from Shimla itself.  So you need to be in your own car.  You cannot imagine travelling out at / in beyond 8 or 9 as it tends to be very risky on the dirt track.

Accommodation – We had booked a tent for 2 adults and 1 kid.  I had my father who was 68 years old.  The disadvantage of the tents was that they are way down / below on the hill from the main reception area.  While you can take your car up to the tents, there is a fencing all around the tents and hence getting in is difficult as there is no proper entrance.   There are 7 tents some with an attached WC and bath and some without.  They are overcrowded and you tend to bump into each other.  For meals one needs to go the cottages area where they have a cemented area / dining area to hold a large group of close to 100/ 150 people.

I had shifted from tents to cottages which are close to the dining area as I needed space for my kid to play and going up and down via the “kacha raod / pug-dandi” was not advisable at night even though they have electric lights on the way. The night we slept in cottages, there was no electricity – so do carry your own torch.   Further, all the staff sleep in the reception area or near the dining area – so at night in the tent colony you are left all alone.  While the staff were ready to share their cell phone numbers with us, had we stayed in tents, since we were the only people in the tent area, I felt a bit insecure.

Bedsheets were clean, beds were neat – carry your own towels (as I tend to do).

Bathrooms in the cottages had Western WC, showers, hot water and soap for hand wash (small pieces).

Meals – are good and homely.  Pls let the staff know what you need.  They tried to cater to all my requests. Mineral water bottles are available on extra payment while the rooms had 2 one liter water bottles.

Other things – as is usual with all camps in hilly area, pls carry your stock of insect repellents, an electric mosquito machine like good knight / all out (they provided the usual kachua-chap), Soap for bathing.   

Overall a rating of 3 or 3.25 for this property.