Norling House

Go there if you want to feel humiliated and called a thief.
We went to stay at the hotel and much liked the ambience. The room was not worth 4000 INR however because of the tranquility of the place we stayed. Post check out they complained about a missing wooden bowl which they claimed was in the room when we checked in (it was not there btw). When we denied, the housekeeping and staff harassed us, kept on calling us thieves and fought with us. We had our 10 month old with us and were getting late for our flight. They searched us, found nothing still demanded the bowl. Post huge ruckus, and our baby fussy and the fear of missing our flight, we paid them a whooping 3500 INR post which we were let to leave.
Terrible management with Tibetan thugs waiting to extort money and ruin your vacation memories.
Horrible and hurtful experience.

Had a wonderful stay. The best part about staying here is the location. The hotel is surrounded by a walled-in garden which you can stroll around, and there's a large temple with some cushions you can meditate on, as well as other interesting things to do like take a course on Tibetan art (but plan ahead if you want to do that) or visit their shop, or eat at their restaurant or cafe.

The rooms themselves are wonderful too. Hot water and nice A/C. I had a small area to sit outside, and my desk looked out a large window. My complaints would be 1) that the window cover was not very thick so some light came in at night. I wore an eye mask and this fixed the problem, and not a ton of light came in, but it would've been nicer to have a thicker window, and 2) the wifi in the rooms was unreliable. I fixed this by walking one minute to the restaurant and using their wifi. They were happy to let me sit there, and it was nice to get out of my room for a while anyways. There is some wifi in the rooms but since it is shared with others it can be slow when others are using it. The restaurant wifi was very fast. The restaurant opens early and closes late, and they may not turn off their wifi if you want to sit outside anyways, so I had plenty of time to access internet.

The best place to stay in and around. It's a totally different experience, you have to live it to know it.

An amazing place. Stay was amazing and staff is really courteous. There is so much peace and inside premises gives you option to explore a lot about Buddhism. Special thanks to Pema for being such a nice host.

Great place to stay on the outskirts of Dharamshala town and also to learn about Tibetan art, craft, weaving and culture.

What I liked: If you are looking to spend a couple of days in the institute (which is a beautiful place) then the location of the guest house and it's convince is great. The have parking, and also the café and restaurant is hardly 2 mins walk away.

The room is modest and clean. Big enough for 2 people. If you are with a child, you may need to take the large room which is double the cost.

What I didn't appreciate:

The bathrooms are a nightmare. Flush won't work. No hygiene shower, so you have to use toilet paper. The shower cubicle was broken so the water was everywhere in the bathroom. No ventilation window in the bathroom, so the bathroom is smelly even when not in use.

Hospitality and service: Pretty poor. You will almost always find nobody at the reception. And when you do come across any staff, do not expect a curious smile or greeting. They almost look like they do not want to be here.
I wasn't told about complementary b'fast so when I asked for it they said "sorry b'fast time is over".

Overall the tranquility of the institute and it's garden and the management of the guest house and café are totally out of sync.

Norling House is open again!
Stay here and cherish Tibetan culture and hospitality.