Testimonials

There's a review here, written many moons ago on our visit to Pench. This time around, I am writing yet another review of a property close to the Pench National Park after nearly five years. We stayed in late December 2021 during the Christmas break at Pugdundee Safari's Pench Tree Lodge.
At the outset, the experience was fantastic. I highly recommend this place - not only for the property, but for the terrific hospitality. And that makes all the difference.
We stayed for three nights and four days, at one of the treehouses, which was highly recommended. Indeed it is. The treehouse came with a view from where if you are lucky, you can spot a wild boar or two and multiple birds - which we did. It is wonderfully appointed with all the comforts you seek. It was perfect for us, my wife, son and myself. The treehouse is highly recommended here.
The property is vast, and we explored it entirely, discovering new things around it. Meals are served at the central kitchen/dining area, with a leisure/reading room above and a small swimming pool to the side. It is a nice, warm spot to hang out. Speaking of meals, the food was excellent, and all the meals we had were superb. My son is a fussy eater, and even he enjoyed and each and every meal - that's saying something, for a forest lodge!
The attention to detail and to your requirements by the staff is exceptional. This is what you'd normally get in a five-star hotel. We went on a couple of safaris, and it was well organised by the hotel. I like their style of cleaning up rooms - the moment you have come back from your breakfast and dinner to your room, it's all cleaned and done up! Always! Invisible Santa's elves who are doing good work, I suppose...
Their Naturalist Gaurav from Mumbai accompanied us and we had so many discussions, right down to leaves, plants and insect life, let alone avians and mammals. We also did a spot of star gazing using their telescope.
This was the first time we were staying at a Pugdundee property, and we loved every aspect of it. From Pench, we moved on to their Denwa Backwater Reserve in Satpura - you could read my review of that too. All in all, PTL is an exceptional place, and we really loved it.

Pench had never been a first choice, when it comes to a jungle vacation over past several years. Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Tadoba have always taken precedence over Pench. But then this winter based on some good suggestion, we decided to visit Pench; it offers much more than tiger sighting; in fact provides an experience - flora, fauna, birding and also the property in itself.
The property has two types of rooms - cottages and tree houses. The cottages are more spacious; good for family with grown-up kids. Treehouses are nice and cosy, and is perhaps good for couples or families with younger kids. We stayed in one of the treehouses;the set-up has been impeccable, very cosy and comfortable. You pretty much enjoy almost all the modern luxuries in a jungle set-up. The balcony is simply awesome; when not on safari or not enjoying the property on foot, is a perfect place to unwind - read a book, do birdwatching and/or enjoy your favourite drink in the comforts of your home away from home.
Hospitality has been superb at the lodge. Harish, the manager has been very helpful so as all the other staff (Hemant, chef Pankaj.... can't remember all the names now, but our personal THANKS to each and everyone at the property for taking good care of us. At times they went out of their way to ensure that our special and often unusual asks are catered to - and this is what I call "experience". It is not an ordinary service provided by any other luxury property, but the caring and the attention you get is noteworthy. Our naturalist Gaurav has now become a friend end of 5 days, together we shared so many stories and our experiences in the wild...our jungle safaris have been exciting; sighting a tiger has always been magical, but the pursuit and determination to find another cat or 20 different animal species has always been more entertaining. We had some brilliant sightings over the 3 days - 5 safaris we undertook, birding was fantastic and overall the experience has been truly memorable.
Back at the lodge, the property has a central dining cum lounging set-up. On the top floor of this double-deck set-up, you can relax over a drink, read some of the books (library) or enjoy a video / documentary on the television set. The dining is on the ground floor, food has been simple and homely. If you would like to have something outside the day's menu, you simply ask and it will be catered by one of the staff at the earliest.
The property also has a swimming pool (too cold now to take a dip, but am sure will be a welcome break during summer) and also an organic garden. Mobile connectivity (Airtel) has been patchy at pockets (but then who cares when you are out on a wilderness vacation, However, the Wifi works and that's sufficient enough to stay in touch with the world if you must need to be.
Pugdundee Safaris once more delivered, we had been visiting their properties over the past 10+ years, as I said this has been the first time to Pench - and for sure we are going to be back. We had some excellent memories and made some good friends during our stay.

Highly recommending this property! Pench Tree Logde is a world class property with excellent service. The resort is located on several acres of land which is conserved just like a forest. In the midst of the natural surrounding, their grand cottages and tree houses are built using wood and stone. All the cottages face some kind of a waterbody. The accommodation is simply the best. We stayed in a cottage that has ample space for 5 people. The rooms and common areas of the resort are all eco-friendly and strictly minimize the use of plastic and chemical products. Their central building has a library area which has board games made using cloth! The food is exceptional and I have to mention Chef Pankaj. I have stayed in many properties over the years and also in other properties by Pugdundee Safaris. But the food at Pench Tree Lodge is the best of them all. All ingredients used are organic and the chef creates an amazing blend of local and contemporary food. Even my kids did not fuss at all. Dinners are especially lavish and you can have them outdoors by the poolside or in their magnificent dining room. The jungle safari was managed exceptionally well. We were briefed about which areas we would visit which gives you a good idea about the Pench jungle and which parts you will be visiting exactly. The naturalist Mr. Gaurav who accompanied us on the safari is very knowledgeable. The resort is so large that you can take beautiful walks within the resort. Mr. Gaurav took us on a guided nature walk to the dam and lake on the property which is excellent for birding. Kids also enjoyed cycling and a visit to their organic farm. We spotted many birds, butterflies, insects, fruits and flowers. It was an extremely enriching experience for the kids as well as for us. If you have kids and are fond of exploring, you will never want to leave the resort. There is so much to explore. By the time our stay ended, the staff already knew my kids names and what they liked. Safety protocols were top notch throughout the resort. The resort is simply gorgeous and at par with luxury international Jungle Lodges. Every corner of the resort is stunning and the hospitality is top notch.

We stayed for a couple of nights at the Pench Tree lodge and then 2 more nights at the Kanha Earth Lodge. The entire experience right from the pickup at Nagpur Airport was organised by the Pugdundee team and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
The experience started the night before the trip. I received a call from the manager of the property inviting us to come and also asked us if we had any specific food preferences. We informed him that we were all vegetarians and my father did not like garlic. Every meal across Pench and Kanha, the entire team ensured that there was a seperate meal prepared for my father that was equally fantastic! This kind of service across the board is what makes this property special. All the safaris were made extremely comfortable by the warm rugs and hot water bottles provided. This seems to be a signature Pugdundee service! Do not stock up on any short eats, no food is allowed inside the rooms at both Pench and Kanha.
At Pench, the cottages are massive and very thoughtfully decorated. The balcony in particular is a great place to relax after a safari. The food was also excellent and we had dinner every night by the pool along with a small fire place. Naturalist Shiv accompanied us on both our safari drives at Pench and his enthusiasm and knowledge of the jungle made both the drives an absolute treat. We spotted a leopard and a tigress and her cub at the 2 safari drives here.
Moving on, it was a comfortable 3 hours drive to Kanha and we arrived just in time for lunch. We were welcomed with a drink and tikka by Mr.Harpreet and his team. The rooms at Kanha were a tad bit smaller than the cottages at Pench but equally, if not more luxurious. The entire space has a natural stone look finish and warm lighting provided by lanterns across the property. The cottages are divided into a sleep space and a dressing area. Kanha was much colder than Pench and we really appreciated the room heater as well as the hot water bottles provided by the team at 9 pm every night! The dressing room had 2 WCs and 2 basins. This design helped us get ready quickly for the morning safaris. We even used the Yoga mats provided. The food and service was outstanding here - Coffee with a pug topping, hand churned ice creams with every meal and snacks by the outdoor fire pits! They had also organised for a traditional dinner on one of the nights and the entire setting was simply magical. We took 3 safari drives at Kanha, ànd were accompanied by Rajan and Naturalist Yash. Rajan is a local who seemed so attuned to the sounds of the Jungle. It was his skill and perseverance that helped us spot tigers on all the drives. Yash was a treasure trove of knowledge and kept us entertained with his stories.
Kudos to the team for the fantastic service and overall experience! We cannot wait to try the other properties or even go back to this one!