MAYFAIR Himalayan Spa Resort

In the early days of the last century, the hotel was the family home of David Macdonald. After accompanying the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa in 1904 as interpreter, Macdonald was posted to Tibet as a British Trade Agent, serving in Yatung and Gyantse until his retirement in 1924. Macdonald assisted the 13th Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet in 1910, and he was later invited to Lhasa in 1921. Prior to his retirement he served briefly as Britain's Political Officer in Sikkim, in charge of Britain's relations with Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim.

After he retired, with his large family grown up, Macdonald turned the family home into a Hotel, and it has remained in the Macdonald family ever since. Today it is managed by Nilam and Tim Macdonald, David Macdonald's grandson. They have ensured it remains, in the words of the distinguished travel writer James Cameron, "a collector's piece among hotels"

Accommodation
The Hotel has 16 rooms, most with their own fire-places, attached bathrooms with running hot and cold water, fitted with showers.

Dining
The cuisine is Indian, European with Tibetan and Local Gorkha dishes on request.

Services
Car hire, Local Tours, Safe Deposit, Money Exchange (presently restricted to US Dollars and Sterling Pounds), Laundry Service, Barbecues in Winter for large groups.

Other Facilities
Spacious grounds with front lawn and garden, cars drive to the front door. They also accept payment by Visa, MasterCard and American Express Credit Cards. There is a TV in the lounge and in the new blocks, but no TV in the old blocks. There is an in-house generator in case of power failure. All rooms have telephones.

Nearest Airport
Bagdogra Airport. Bagdogra is 50 minutes flying time from Kolkata (Calcutta), 2 hours flying time from New Delhi and 2 1/2 hours by car from Kalimpong. Darjeeling is 2 1/2 hours by car and Gangtok in Sikkim is 3 hours by car from Kalimpong.