Name: Soulkiss Group of Houseboats
Address: Opposite Hotel New Park, Gate No .9, Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190001, Srinagar, Srinagar, Srinagar, 190001, India
Rating: 3.4

Location

Srinagar International Airport

Soulkiss Group of Houseboats

I have got very good time here, it is safe and super-nice plac with a wonderful people who are always around, they are really helpful and polite! Good intrnet connection, very tasty food and unlimited tea! All rooms are clean and cozy so you can feel like at home! More important is connection between these nice people who works here and honestly wish to help in any situacion also respects everyone and works with open hearts! I honestly recommend this place as a wonderful opportunity to feel the real beauty of Kashmir!

Srinagar

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Lovely place!

Room - Deluxe room was pretty small. Since all house boats are very old they need periodic maintenance which was missing in the room. Dusting must be done at all corners. TV was not working. Room heater was not available which was extremely required as we visited on Oct end. The good thing was beds were having heated mattress. So sleep was very comfortable. No view possible from window as all houseboats are floating side by side. This is applicable to all houseboats. Super deluxe rooms are better and bigger well decorated.  3/5

Toilet - Surpisingly toilet was great which i did not expect. Big enough, all modern amenities, 50L geazer, 24/ 7 hot water, soft floor and a big bath tub. Just fantastic. 5/ 5

Wifi - Very good. 5/ 5

View from room - No view possible from any of the houseboats rooms as all are placed side by side. You have to enjoy from the common deck which was awesome. Shankarcharya mandir hill was visible in front of you. Having tea or Kawaha in the lazy morning or evening will make your day. 3/ 5

Food - Very good veg or non veg foods. They serve you in a majestic dining hall with hot freshly cooked food. Enjoy food like a king. Taste is also awesome.  5/ 5

Hotel location - You will get free picknup from Ghat no 9 by their own Shikara. Call them before reaching the ghat. They will wait for transfers. It will feel like venice. An entire world on the water. Wish if the lake would have been maintained by govt. Though you will miss the illuminated roads view from this houseboat deck as this houseboat is at third row. But peace and hill view belongs here. 4/ 5

Staff behaviour - A bit unprofessional as houseboats are run by families who stays behind the boats. But they try their best to make sure you will enjoy the stay. A phone call was enough to get services. But over the water infra is limited. 4/ 5

Any other - Houseboat is a tick mark activity in Srinagar which is unique. But staying there for more than 1 night should be avoided. But if you want to really enjoy houseboat you can select Shreen Super deluxe rooms not deluxe. 4/ 5

Good but huge scope of improvements are there

Pressured by a man we met on the bus to follow him, he took us to his friends houseboat by Shikara. There was quite a lot of pressurising tactics but luckily we were there in low season and made it very clear we willing to move on if nessacary. We got the price down from 1600rs per night to 1300rs including heating, free use of their shikara, tea and food. The wifi worked well, although the power often turned off. 
It is not a peaceful place to stay as morning prayer started at 6am and they had  loud conversations on the decking just outside our window. There were three rooms on the houseboat and the walls are paper thin, so if the other people staying have young children don't bother staying here (it's like they're crying in the room with you)
Towels and toilet roll were also provided. The meals were good and we were given refills. The TV in the room didn't work despite them promising us it did before we payed. Getting to land could also be a bit annoying as you have to wait for the free shikara to turn up.

Traditional Kashmiri houseboat

To all the guest who have been given this houseboat by your travel agent or if you have booked the room on your own, please do not get trapped here upon your arrival! Look for alternate houseboat options and book it..
Here I stayed on 20 Jan 2023 and check out on 21 Jan 2023, had an horrible experience as the heating blanket wasn’t working, they won’t switch on gas heater nor they put firewood heater though the weather outside was -2 degrees also the hot water facility was extremely bad!
Bed sheets were dirty and blankets too..
Do not get cheated readers 


Horrible experience at this houseboat

I came to Srinagar with full expectations to enjoy the such wonderful place in India but when I came out from the Srinagar Airport many many people offered taxi then houseboats finally the boy Umer came and took help of tourist police as recommending him & his place at the end I agreed to go with the boy Umer as I reached to his Shireen houseboat I felt no so special, the rooms and the environment then the Yousef came into existence by bargaining to much with me in which he promised me to serving good food which wasn't good finally. The sheet's of the rooms were very old , somewhere torn , I found there wasn't hygienic anything which I can now appreciate a bit here . All the time they are busy to offer handicraft, carpets and much more which totally sign of getting commission from the hackers {running by small peddling boats} on the lake dal. Very rude behaviour from the owner instead respecting their customers I were shocked. Also there was some indian people staying they were also fedup with the services and words of Yousef &  Umer  same complaints they had. I would to say here save yourself before visiting Shireen houseboat . Disappointly I would say this place isn't worthy 

Very poor ,very unprofessional

Yousef makes a point of telling you over and over again how honest and nice he is. He even pulls out a book of hand-written reviews from people who have visited him. He then spends the rest of the trip pressuring you into buying things, including clothes and tour packages. The clothes his friends come to sell are extremely overprices, as are the packages he tries to sell. He continuously pressures you the entire trip. I must've said no to him a hundred times. 

Finally we agreed to a trip to a glacier for 4000 rupees. We were told it was 3 hours each way and included everything. Since the drive was so long we were asked to tip their driver. I asked what a normal tip would be and was told 500 rupees. In retrospect, that is far too much, but not knowing this at the time, I agreed. The trip only ended up taking 2 hours, and the driver didn't talk to us at all or tell us anything about the surrounding area, its culture and history, or anything like that. I think he spoke less than a dozen words to us the entire way there, despite us continuously trying to engage with him. Once we got to the top, we were then told it'd be 2400 rupees more to rent 2 donkeys and go to the place where we could take pictures. I was shocked. I had agreed and paid 4000 rupees thinking it was all inclusive, and now I was in a parking lot on the side of a mountain and being told it was 2400 rupees more. A total scam.

After we came back, Yousef was continously pestering us to leave a review in his book, as well as one online. I told him I felt uncomfortable with the amount of pressure and sales tactics, and was also upset because I paid for the trip with incomplete/incorrect information about what I'd get. He acted completely offended and angry, and tried to pressure me into saying what a great guy he was and to stop inferring anything wrong had happened. He said he never forced us to do anything. I calmly explained to him the difference between pressuring and forcing, and let him know that I stood by what I'd said.

They tried to have us leave an online review whilst we were still there - whilst they were watching. This would have been extremely awkward, as we were stranded on a houseboat and the only way for us to get to the airport was for them to get us to land on a boat and then drive us. I said I'd leave a review online after the entire experience was over in order to write about the whole thing. I wrote something nice in their book (that it was calm, peaceful, quiet, and as much as I could think of that was good without mentioning the bad stuff), and then we left. I promised I'd leave a review online, and here it is. 

Avoid this place at all costs. You will spend far too much and you'll feel super uncomfortable in the process. This place is not worth the money. Yousef will continuously tell you he normally sells rooms for $100/night. They are worth closer to $5/night. Of the goods that are brought to you, they are priced upwards of 20x more than you can get elsewhere. We were brought scarves which we knew we could get for 100 rupees, and the guy tried to charge us 2200 rupees. I just laughed, said no thank you, I don't want to negotiate, and went back to my room. 

Speaking of the room, it was super cold. There was an electric blanked, but then you're just sort of confined to the bed for the entirety of the say. There was no heater on the boat for us, even though I was promised that from the place I booked the accom with. The bathroom had a toilet that dind't flush properly, which resulted in feces just floating in the bowl all the time. There was no bum gun, and the only "toilet paper" they provided were cheap, plastic-y napkins. The food served was extremely basic, although portions were good. We were pressured into having the veg option each night, and I did so to try and be nice. In retrospect I should've said we wanted non-veg more forcefully.

In summary, these guys are TOTAL SCAMMERS. In the end I think they made about $285 from me over the course of 3 nights - $40/night for the accom/food, $100 for the glacier trip, and $65 for a jacket, gloves, hat, and some trinkets. The owners are not looking out for your best interest or trying to be good guides and get you decent deals on stuff. Their interest is solely in getting the most money possible from you without outright stealing it. Never ever go here. There are much better places that are 10x cheaper in the surrounding area.

Pressure Sales Tactics - Avoid At All Costs

Never ever board to this houseboat..It is clearly a trap, a cage, once you are booked, you are cracked..The owner named Yousuf alltime tries to prove that how good,honest and friendly he is..Which is actually not at all..The BIGGEST BLUNDER is -- This Crooke is patched up with JKTDC..I wonder why JKTDC like govt. organisation is insisting the worst houseboat for package which I was offered straight from Shrinagar Airport..
This houseboat is located farthest from boulevard road and doesn't have any window view..You open the window, will see another housboat..Located in a congested area in backwater..surrounded by lazy houseboats..
My suggestion is, don't opt for package from JKTDC..Choose from many apps and obviously tripadvisor.

A CLAUSTOPHOBIC EXPERIENCE!!! 

Bad condition of houseboat, terrible hospitality, rude behaviour of staff and owner, poor room heating, dirty rooms, unwanted charges, mediocre food, scam on tour packages and terrible room service. NOT RECCOMEND ANYONE TO STAY HERE.

Soulkiss Group of Houseboats

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