Thanks for the replies, Ernest.
I have some further observations, if you could please assist.
For point 1 : I tried this with theme twenty nineteen, and still i cannot see the custom field display, so i am assuming that i have not set configuration correctly. The results page is https://staging37.kidwise.in/?s=kidzee
and the admin page where the custom field is set up is : https://staging37.kidwise.in/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=gd_place&page=gd_place-settings
thanks,
Vivek