Hotel Shire in Gangtok

Hotel Shire is more like a big family house which is gradually being converted into a Hotel. The Kitchen very well looks like a big home kitchen and the lady of the house-cum-hotel runs the kitchen.

Its not a best located property for an average tourist since you would need to take a steep walk for reaching market or to go to M G Road, which is like Mall Road at any hill station, but if you would like a place which is quiet, has great views and is simply cool then the location turns out to be of great advantage.

Food is simple and clean. If you tell them in advance then that helps since they have to source things. You dont get a mutli page menu to choose your cuisine but you do get good decent food.

Rooms are of all kinds with all of them fitted with hot-n-cold running water supplies, TV, nice cosy beds, wooden flooring, sitting space in bigger rooms and very very clean loos. The dining area is just few tables big which sort of suffices since there aren’t too many rooms.

There is a big prayer room, a kitchen garden, few ducks, parking space, tress and lots of fresh and clean air. You don’t feel like being fitted in a small hotel room, rather it gives you a feeling of a mini resort. The air is pretty casual and you can walk up to Tempa (the man who runs it) for anything and everything. Tempa’s dad and mom, both had a very illustrious career with government of Sikkim and if you are lucky then you can get to see all those old photographs and award plaques of his father.

All in all, a very good, nice, hygienic and cool place to stay in Gangtok, away from the mindless hustle bustle of market. The prices are not prohibitive, you can get a suite for about Rs 1500 which is really lovely.

Highly Recommended if you don’t mind the steep walk :). http://www.theshiresikkim.com/
This website doesn’t have too great pics so dont get disheartened, its just bad pics, the place is pretty decent.