The staircase at Sha Ri Loum, seen from the ground floor, rising toward a wall of pine-facing windows

Stay — A House in the Hills

"We didn't build a hotel. We kept adding rooms to a house we loved, until there was space enough to share it."

The House

Built slowly, by hand, over years.

Sha Ri Loum sits above Shillong in a fold of pine and cloud, a house that grew room by room as the family that keeps it grew too. The bones are local — brick fired nearby, timber cut and turned by hand, a staircase that climbs in a slow curve toward the light.

Inside, the house keeps its own weather. Rain moves down the tall windows while the wood-panelled ceiling holds the warmth of a fire lit two floors below. Nothing here was chosen to impress. It was chosen because it belonged.

Four roomsEach different, none identical
One familyLiving on the property, always reachable
Common fireplaceShared living room and library
Private gardensBordered by pine and bamboo
Staircase handrail detail, brick wall and hanging woven lamp
Sheer leaf-patterned curtains, a writing desk and cane armchair catching morning light
A windowsill lined with potted succulents beside a brick wall

The Rooms

Pine room with a coral accent wall, a large green painted fan, and a private balcony beyond sheer curtains
Pine room seen toward the balcony, with rattan chairs and teal cushions catching the morning light

01 — PINE

A room that opens outward.

Warm walls, and a balcony of its own.

Named for the trees just beyond the curtains, Pine is the most sociable of the rooms — a private balcony with rattan seating, sheer curtains that soften the morning sun, and a hand-painted fan standing in for a headboard.

Discover
Areca room with sage green walls, botanical prints and a white iron bed with wooden posts
Areca room seen closer, with palm-print art, green cushions and floral curtains

02 — ARECA

Pale walls, a quiet corner.

Named for the palms along the path outside.

The palest and quietest of the rooms — sage walls, a slim iron-and-timber bed, and a small run of framed prints gathered over the years. A window catches the first light before the rest of the house wakes.

Discover
Bamboo room with a four-poster bamboo bed, sheer white canopy curtains and duck-egg blue walls
Bamboo room seen closer, with a painted fan, teal cushions and tasselled curtain ties

03 — BAMBOO

A bed built from the hillside.

The frame is bamboo, grown a short walk away.

The room's namesake stands at its centre — a four-poster frame cut from local bamboo, wrapped in sheer curtains tied with tasselled rope. Duck-egg walls and a painted fan keep the room cool and quiet through the day.

Discover
Orchid room with dusty blue walls, a dark wood bed and a large pink blossom-painted fan
Orchid room's ensuite bathroom, tiled in warm brown and cream with a wall-hung basin

04 — ORCHID

Old wood, painted blossom.

Soft pink against dusted blue.

A hand-painted fan in blossom pink hangs above a headboard carved from a single piece of local timber. Blue walls, warm wood and a well-kept ensuite bath make Orchid the roomiest of the four.

Discover

Find the house

On New VIP Road, above Shillong.

Sha Ri Loum is on New VIP Road, on the way to Shillong Golf Course. From ISBT, take the left towards New VIP Road.

Open in Google Maps

Ready to discover Shillong?