Having A Great Team – our USP!

“One of the biggest perks to this place was the team of outstanding staff. The caretaker and cook led us on a 7-hour trek one day up a nearby mountain. The next day they helped set up a driver to take us to Bir-Billing for paragliding, a ride on the local toy train and to Andretta Pottery where we bought some beautiful ceramic mugs. On the last day, the caretaker even invited us to his house where his family cooked us a delicious meal.”

A guest from Palampur recently wrote that on TripAdvisor.

Another wrote this :

“A very friendly staff. Special thanks to the cook – whose name I miss. He got us fresh goat’s milk to try from the local shepherds, manage to find nimbooz in a small village and showed us around in the valley. And not to forget, made some killer paranthas for breakfast.”

And this, for the folks at Coorg, Sakleshpur and Balur:

“The caretakers here are very warm and make you feel at home and are ready to help you in any way.”

“The best part of the whole stay is the hospitality, i have never seen other place more friendly and caring as this one.”

“Hospitality: It was at its best. Our hosts – Padmanabh and Rakesh, guys take a bow. Most wonderful hosts I have ever come across.”

“But the best thing of all……..the staff. They are simply amazing and cater to all your needs with a never ending smile on their face.”

“Very courteous staff, amazing food and never heard a no for anything from the staff. This is not a place that is desperate for business, unlike most of them in coorg. The guests are made to feel at home.”

“Food preferences were asked for every day and the hospitality of the caretaking team quickly became one of the highlights of the trip.”

And so also at the campsites:

“The staff were just superb! They couldn’t have been more helpful and obliging. They plied us with delicious food, snacks, fresh juices, and fresh whole fruit.”

We could go on and on πŸ™‚ Just wanted to acknowledge the awesome jobs our teams are doing, and validating that in India, being hospitable to guests at our homes comes naturally. We hire locally as far as possible, and the teams have a lot of freedom in deciding things on the ground, and we’re proud that each one of them is performing at levels way above what even they imagined they are capable of!

5 Must Do things on your vacation! Never miss…

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Everyone’s publishing listicles to help you travel better, smarter, etc. So we thought we should to.

Here’s our list

  1. Do nothing.
  2. Seriously, stop planning so much. You’ll figure it out once there.
  3. Go with the flow. Yeah, you don’t have to do anything specific.
  4. Nope, no must-dos, must-sees, must-trys. It’s a vacation!
  5. Yes, do absolutely nothing. Sit back and relax and take it as it comes.

Hope that helped πŸ˜€

We’re always around to help you do nothing the best you can – call us at +91-959-005-0001 or mail us at stay@linger.in

A Do Nothing Vacation is Just What The Doctor Ordered

Stress is the number one cause of many a thing that’s wrong with our lives today. Our attention spans are low. The mind doesn’t flow freely and as rarely stretches as beautifully, as wide as it can given an unfettered run. Devices and interrupts rule our lives. We sit too long. We get no sun. We don’t play in the mud, or in water. We just do not have unstructured, outdoors time.

It’s just plain terrible – for your health, for your creativity, for deep thought and for your relationships.

Recommended : A dose of do nothing!

Even a quick trip to a quiet place where the cellular networks practically don’t work, but you get the time to reconnect with everything else helps you slow down, think better, breather deep and feel a little fitter.

We recommend a 4-5 day days off at a place like this. Up in the Himalayas, or deep in the coffee hills, or just doing long, leisurely walks on the beach. We’ll even help with a session or two with a masseur (in Kerala/Gokarna), a trek or two, and lots of time around the bonfire.

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Try it – and see how much of a difference it makes to how you feel. How fresh your thoughts are after such a trip. Long, do nothing vacations are very, very therapeutic.

We’re sure your doctor will agree as well!

 

Our Valuation. And We Love It.

The startup world is going crazy. Even in the travel space. Mad growth – often with poor service and no soul, crazy valuations, and increasingly unsustainable models, pricing and discounts to drive numbers that justify this frenzy for a little longer.

Can’t deny the pressure doesn’t get to us, despite all the things we hold dear and believe in. But nope, we’re not changing all that.

So we decided to recount our blessings. And realized our valuation comes from all the trust, love shared and the true value that people see in us. Here’s a short list of some of the stuff that’s happened in the past that gives us courage to hold on to our beliefs in this sea of insanity:

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One of our regulars helped setup rooms and moved furniture with us!

Someone came back to the same place and got gifts for all the staff there.

Another made a lovely painting.

A guest made and sent us a custom-made calendar as a thank you note after the trip. That was super sweet!

A regular and now our art mentor came and painted a wall at Coorg. Plus lots of gifts.

We regularly get loads of books from folks who’ve been to our places – “for your libraries”.

We get lots and lots and lots of used wine bottles in support of our stand of not using plastic bottles for water.

A regular made a poster for us.

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(The awesome capture of what Gokarna is, thanks to Maitri)

Another sends us beautiful poetry regularly.

Folks keep sharing instances of “do nothing” now getting used regularly by others, with a sense of pride about Linger!

We get ideas, connects, advice from all of our guests on a regular basis.

Our guests have been our strongest brand ambassadors, and keep telling other like minded folks they should try out a Linger vacation.

Many, many have become friends now πŸ™‚

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We feel blessed, and highly valued by those that really matter. And that is the single most important thing that keeps us going, sticking to the path we’ve picked.

Thanks, all of you. You know who you are.

 

So what is “Do Nothing”, really?

A lot of folks do a lot of stuff when they visit a Linger location. Hikes, treks, long walks, go see coir-making, spend time on the beach and in the river, even learn surfing. Some chop firewood, others go riding, ad a few have even helped out with farm activities.

So why do we go on about “do nothing”?

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Vacations, not to-do lists.

We realized a long time ago that folks were planning too much – places to see, itineraries, things to do and other details and expectations – into a vacation, and basically getting stressed!

We certainly want you to explore the place, understand and experience the livelihoods, go birding, get a sense of the forest close up, visit old temples and pick up some local history, take in the pretty sights and try the amazing food, and breathe some clean, fresh air while you get some exercise. What we do not want you to do is become slave to a list of things you come prepared with, and must then check off.

Just go with the flow, and you’ll discover so much you can keep doing around these places! At your own pace, when, and to the extent you feel like.

Disconnect, Reconnect.

Another part of “doing nothing” on a vacation is to stay away from an interrupt driven life, that both sucks up time and attention, and prevents you from lingering – over a long conversation, at a roadside spot where the views are stunning, or doing a long walk or spending uninterrupted with those you care about most.

So we strongly suggest you switch those devices off, or at least keep them in a corner someplace.

Slow down. Drop anxiety.

Most of us have learned to “spend time usefully” and while this is great for productivity, unstructured, unplanned time is a healer, and makes for wonderful vacations. So take it one step at a time – the afternoon can be planned once lunch is over πŸ™‚

It does take a half day to slow your mind and thoughts down, but once you do, it’s very rewarding, and you truly have a do-nothing time, even it’s full of treks, barbecues, visits to places around and long mornings watching the birds.