Visual treats like a hoopoe in the lawn of Morgan House are common. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, April 5: The state government’s decision to develop the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation-owned tourist lodge at Chandralok as a “three-star” facility is expected to give a new lease of life to Morgan House, the popular name for the building from the British era.

The 80-year-old building, 3km from the town, originally formed part of a huge property of a British businessman. But the area has been encroached upon and reduced to nearly 10 acres.

What has not changed is the scenic beauty of the place where the building stands. It should be the most picturesque among the five WBTDC tourist lodges in north Bengal that the government has chosen to upgrade to give a fillip to tourism in the region.

On Saturday, tourism minister Manab Mukherjee announced in Siliguri the government’s plans to convert 10 WBTDC-run lodges in the state into “three-star’ facilities, with five of them in north Bengal. Besides Mainak in Siliguri, the other tourist lodges that will be upgraded are in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Malbazar and Madarihat.

According to the Union tourism ministry, a hotel has to fulfil at least 10 criteria to bag the “three-star” status. Some of the criteria are bilingual staff in the reception, availability of Continental dishes, bar, swimming pool, telephone, Net access in rooms and heating arrangement in washrooms. In fact, renovation of five of the six bedrooms of the Kalimpong lodge has already been completed. Other details of the makeover plan, however, are not available either with the manager of the lodge or with the WBTDC regional office in Siliguri.

“Since the start of the renovation in September we had not had any guest. However, now that the renovation of the rooms has been completed, we have started bookings,” said Kiran Thapa, the manager of Morgan House.

Ensconced in the hills of Durpindara, Morgan House faces the Kanchenjungha range and offers a beautiful view of the valley below. The nicely manicured golf course in front of the lodge, maintained by the nearby army station, provides a visual treat to guests staying at the lodge.

In keeping with Kalimpong’s reputation of being a town rich in floriculture, Morgan House, too, has a wide variety of flowers. The lodge has paved pathways that lead to the gardens with numerous flowers and foliage. “Visitors are mesmerised not just by the sight of Kanchenjungha but by the rich flora that they get to see in our gardens also,” said Thapa.