Gulmarg Hotel

Up here in Shimla, being near The Mall is pretty important. Gulmarg Hotel sits in a spot where you can see a lot of people walking by every day. It’s an old building, so you might hear the floorboards creak a little when you walk down the hall. We spend a lot of time just keeping up with the maintenance because the mountain weather can be quite tough on the paint and the wood. When the snow starts falling, things get a bit slower, and we spend more time making sure the heaters are working right. It’s a family-run kind of thing, so you might see the same faces every time you visit. We don't have those big elevators or glass walls like the newer places further down the road. It’s more about being close to the shops and the main center of town. Sometimes the monkeys on the roof make a lot of noise, but that’s just how it is here. Most of our guests are families who have been coming to this part of Himachal for years. They like that they can just step out and be in the middle of everything in a few minutes. We keep the tea hot and the blankets thick. It’s not a five-star place, just a regular hotel for people who want to be in the heart of Shimla without spending too much. We do our own laundry most days and keep the lobby open for people to sit and chat.