Questions about a Stay at The Homestead
Short answers to what guests ask before they come.
Is The Homestead a hotel?
No. It is a family farm of 170 acres on which the family has lived since 1952, with thirteen rooms for guests. Meals are taken together at set hours.
Is The Homestead a resort?
Not in the usual sense. It is a 170-acre family farm near Ramnagar that takes guests in thirteen rooms, though it has what a resort near Jim Corbett would: a pool, a jacuzzi, a hammam, mini golf, pickleball and an observatory. Meals are taken together at set hours, and the family lives in the main house.
Is it a farm stay?
It is a farm stay. The family lives in the main house; guests stay in the Hideaway Rooms, the cottages or the suites. But the farm is the point, and there is a lot of it.
When is check-in?
Check-in is at 2 pm and check-out at 11 am. If you arrive late, you can check in at any hour of the day or night.
How far is Corbett?
The reserve gates are between 6 and 18 km depending on the gate. Safaris are booked by zone and in advance; The Homestead arranges permits.
How do I get there?
By road, Delhi is about 250 km away, five and a half hours by car. The nearest station is Ramnagar, 15 minutes from the farm, and the nearest airport is Pantnagar, about 70 km away.
Is it a good weekend getaway from Delhi or Gurgaon?
Yes. The farm is about 250 km and five and a half hours by road from Delhi, a little more from Gurgaon and Noida, and most guests come for two nights. The overnight train to Ramnagar, fifteen minutes from the farm, is the other way in.
Which safari zone is closest, and can you book Dhikala?
The farm is six kilometres from the park, and the gates are spread around the reserve, so the drive depends on the zone you are booked into. The Homestead books the zones around Ramnagar, Bijrani, Jhirna, Dhela, Garjiya, Durgadevi and Sitabani among them. Dhikala is a different plan, a day trip by canter from Ramnagar or a night inside the park; ask when you send your dates.
What does the safari cost?
What the permit, the jeep and the naturalist guide cost, with nothing added by The Homestead. The fees differ by zone and by season, so ask for the amount when you send your dates.
Can I really fly from the farm?
Yes, weather permitting: in the ultralight with a pilot, or under a paramotor. Flights run early morning and late afternoon, never in the monsoon.
Is it good for couples?
Yes. The Hideaway Rooms are the quiet ones, with a double bed, a private sit-out and the trees at the door, and the two cottages stand on their own. Add a candlelight dinner at a table of your own, or an hour at TARA, the observatory, after dark.
Is it good for children?
Yes. Play area with swings and a tree house, mini golf, the ATV track, the pool, the animals, the stars. Dinner is at the table; children are welcome at it.
What do children cost?
Under five, nothing. From five to eleven, a quarter of the package price. Over eleven, a child counts as an adult.
Is there room service?
Tea and light things, anywhere on the farm. Meals are at the table. The Homestead makes exceptions for small children, anyone unwell, and the two cottages when a dog would otherwise be left alone at dinner.
Do you have mini golf and pickleball?
Yes. Nine holes of mini golf at ₹899 an hour and the farm's own pickleball court at ₹999 an hour, both booked by the hour on top of your stay.
Is there a spa?
Not a spa as such: a massage room, a jacuzzi for up to six and a hammam steam bath in peak winter, each booked through The Homestead on top of your stay.
Is the food only Indian?
The set menus are North Indian home cooking. The à la carte runs wider (Continental, Chinese, a Burmese Khow Suey night) and Glenfern, the restaurant, does pizza, pasta, waffles and burgers for anyone under twelve or over twelve. Lunch is à la carte or a set menu for six or more.
When is the best time?
October to April for the sky and the safaris. Late May and June for the fruit. The monsoon for the green and the quiet.
Is there phone signal and wifi?
Wifi in the house and the rooms; patchy in the cottages, which is rather the point.
Are pets allowed?
Dogs, yes, in both cottages, Kingfisher and Woodpecker, each with its own fenced garden and parking. Dogs come on the farm walk and to the play area and promenade with you. They stay out of Glenfern and the Baradari at meal times; tea and light things can come to the cottage. Not in the rooms or the suites. Tell The Homestead when you book.
What if I need to cancel?
15 or more days before check-in, 80% back the way you paid, or the full amount as a credit note for a later stay. 8 to 14 days, 50% back. Within 7 days, no refund. Festive and peak dates have their own terms, given at booking.
Can we bring drinks?
Yes, alcohol is allowed. There is no bar, so bring your own.
Can we host a birthday or an offsite?
Yes. A team offsite or a family gathering takes the whole farm: thirteen rooms, one long table, the Baradari for the evenings and the lawns by day. For a birthday within a stay, there is a candlelight dinner at a table of your own, a film under the stars and the bonfire.
Do you take weddings?
Small weddings and gatherings, as a buyout of the whole farm. Ask The Homestead.