Houseboat Helen of Troy

We spent 5 nights at the Club Mahindra associate, “Helen of Troy” houseboat in Dal Lake, Srinagar. The houseboat is accessible by shikara from Ghat-19A (Houseboats accessible from ghats 17 & 19 provide good view of the lake). We had a leisurely shikara ride upto the houseboat enjoying the scenery around. Different vendors came in their shikara to peddle their wares and services. Once we reached the houseboat, Hakim and Imtiyaz helped with the luggage (both of them were very helpful throughout our stay). Ayush was there to welcome us and brief us about the dos and don’ts and other features of the houseboat. We were allotted the first 2 rooms-Tulip and Lily. Both the rooms are neat and spacious with attached toilets. The ACs in both the rooms also acted as heaters. Hot water is available in the toilet from 7 PM to 10 AM the next morning. The houseboat is nicely decorated and carpeted. The view of the lake and the Shankaracharya hill beyond is magical. Food in the houseboat is provided by the owner. So there are limited choices. Another drawback is you have to tell in advance if you are having any meal. Eg. during breakfast you have to select for lunch, during dinner for breakfast next morning, and so on. For local sightseeing, we booked a taxi for the period through Ayush. The driver, Irfan, was ok. Seemed a bit arrogant. On the last day he hurried us to the airport which was not at all necessary. We realized this after reaching the airport. One of the rooms, Lily, can do with some maintenance. The toilet door handle was not working and the flush was leaking quite frequently although Hakim tried to fix it. Later, I fixed it on ***y occasions. Overall it was a good experience. Ayush was very helpful. In my opinion, 3 nights in the houseboat is more than enough to savour the experience.

Location: Dal Lake clean area Boarding Ghat: 19A Cleanliness : outstanding Staff: cooperative and polite Facilities: hot water, classical style Rooms with good size of rooms, Hot AC Welcome drink: Kahwa / Tea Food: Available at reasonable cost. Homestyle food. Special mention: Mr. Javid and Ayush from Club Mahindra and Mr. Shafir, care taker in the boat. It is a houseboat experience. The boat has all the basic amenities and is not like the resorts/ hotels with luxurious facilities. The stay in boat is for an experience of Houseboat stay in Kashmir. The Helen of Troy boat of Club Mahindra is one of the best houseboats in Dal Lake with electricity backup. The majority of the houseboats do not have electricity backup which is a major concern during the stay in houseboat.

The host & owner, Mr. Mubarak makes a big difference. Lovely place! Fantastic host and hospitality! Excellent service, interiors and overall facility. Mr. Mubarak runs this place for decades with warm approach and genuine customer service. Special mention: Take the Shikara ride from Mr. Samir Ali, who is closely associated with this houseboat. This is club mahindra associate property. We booked through ClubM. The host from clubM, Mr. Jawed, is also very helpful and quick. All in all, a great experience!

It was truly a unique experience staying in one of Kashmir's famed houseboats. We are glad we chose Helen of Troy which is docked near Ghat 19-A and offers amazing view of dal Lake. The owner Mr. Mubarak is a wonderful host and treated us like his personal guests. We were a group of 8 people ranging in age from 70 years to 5 years and each one of us enjoyed the stay. The intricate woodwork , the hospitality of Mr. Mubarak and our server Zahoor ***** with the amazing view made it a truly memorable experience.

For a city dweller like me or those who never spent holiday on houseboat, for them spending few days on Helen of Troy was an amazing experience. It's exquisitely Walnut-wood crafted House Boat. Owner is extremely courteous & helpful. With his suggestion, I explored multiple spots and food-joints. Definitely I will revisit Srinagar or Kashmir once more with family or ***y more times in coming years with a hope that I will get a room at Helen of Troy. My 6 days stay and journey to Pahelgam-********-Gulmarg- Dudhpathri and finally city tour got over in blink of an eye.

What an awesome place for a memorable holiday .loved every minute,wish we had more time.the staff is very service oriented , fresh cooked delicious meals weee served and the staff is very service oriented are always available.thank you all for a pleasant stay.

The Helen of Troy is moored far away from the main road, need a Shikara to get to shore and back at all times, a big problem in case of an emergency. The food is mediocre and served in limited quantities. Their electrical system is in immediate need of update or replacement, frequent power trips especially at night is extremely annoying and tend to ruin a much awaited rest after a long day. A couple of the staff are obnoxious and clearly don't want to be there. Plenty of tea and coffee bags but the pot does not work, no power !! They charge big bucks but no courtesy breakfast. Not sure why Club Mahindra continues to associated with this place.

We spent a week on Helen of Troy houseboat and the whole idea was to relax and chill after our trip to ******. We did not do much here except for relaxing and enjoying on thon the the houseboat.we had a great time and sometimes in the evening we would go for a shikara boat trip around the lake which is a a great experience,the shikara boat gently gliding on the dal lake waters.We ordered our food on the houseboat and loved it.My sincerely thanks to the staff especially to the owner Mr.Mubarak who made our stay a wonderful one

It was a very nice experience,the house boat is well maintained and the staff is very cooperative especially the owner of the house boat is very nice person.food was too good ..served by very cordial staff,always attentive and the rooms are very cool and the house boat is very luxury,with all room aminities