Don’t you just feel like leaving the bustling city behind and escaping to the serene mountains? Leaving behind pollution and embracing crisp cool mountain air? Well, this is exactly what Sunita and Amarjeet did. The couple spent years working in the hospitality sector, living in big cities like Mumbai and Delhi. With the fast-paced corporate world taking a toll on their personal lives, the couple left their jobs and made a home in Uttarakhand. And it’s not just this. Sunita and Amarjeet transformed a 100-year-old building in Uttarakhand into a homestay, where it’s not just their home but a home away from home for travellers.
Inspiration To Start A Homestay
The inspiration to run a homestay came to Sunita and Amarjeet during a vacation in Uttarakhand’s Landour. The working professionals came across a 100-year-old bungalow. Amarjeet revealed to The Better India that it was love at first sight. The colonial-era bungalow nestled along the slopes was beautiful. Unfortunately, the owners of the bungalow, a missionary trust, didn’t have enough funds to maintain it. Fearing demolition of the beautiful bungalow, Sunita and Amarjeet decided to help maintain it.
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Transforming 100-Year-Old Bungalow Into Homestay
Sunita stated to The Better India that they went back to the owners and asked them to lease them the bungalow. The couple promised to invest the money required and restore the 100-year-old colonial-era bungalow to its former glory. As Amarjeet had travelled abroad plenty of times for work trips, he decided to transform the bungalow into a homestay. They thought the bungalow would be an ideal homestay for travellers as it held aeons of history in its pillars and offers an overall enthralling experience. Sunita and Amarjeet took the property on lease for 33 years, quit their jobs, sold their apartment in Mumbai and shifted to Landour to run a prestigious homestay.
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La Villa Bethany: Home Away From Home
And so, there was no looking back. While they bought the property in 2009, it took time till May 2011, to complete restoration work and finally open doors to guests. They named the property La Villa Bethany. Out of the 9 rooms in the property, 6 were thrown open to guests as accommodation and 3 were kept for the family. While the couple had years of experience in the hospitality industry, it certainly wasn’t easy to run a homestay. They battled cold nights, fought extreme mountain climates and struggled to establish logistics in the remote location.
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Homestay With A Cause
Nevertheless, they never gave up. La Villa Bethany is not just a home, it’s an entire experience with a cause. Sunita and Amarjeet ensures the homestay was eco-friendly by installing solar heaters and rainwater harvesting systems. La Villa Bethany supports various NGOs and local communities. They empower local communities and have even trained and helped locals open homestays of their own in the vicinity. Today, La Villa Bethany welcomes thousands of tourists from across India and the world. The couple left their jobs in big cities to start a homestay, and their homestay today has indeed paved the way for not just them but the entire community in Landour.
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