... What would it be like? Shabby, rundown, tatty? I knew that there were no large hotel chains still in Iran, so I was not expecting Hyatt or Sheraton standards!
The first impression of the Esteghlal Grand hotel was not encouraging. For a start, how do you pronounce the name? Secondly, the ... Read review
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Advantages: Well furnished, busy, popular, friendly Disadvantages: No choice of food, getting tatty
ESTEGHLAL GRAND HOTEL
Tehran, Iran
This was my first visit to Tehran, Iran and I really had no idea what to expect from the country, the city or the hotel. What would it be like? Shabby, rundown, tatty? I knew that there were no large hotel chains still in Iran, so I was not expecting Hyatt or Sheraton standards!
The first impression of the Esteghlal Grand hotel was not encouraging. For a start, how do you ... ...looked far from grand. It looked remarkably Soviet, as if it had come from the Stalin school of architecture and design and could have been transplanted from some industrial city in southern Russia.
There were one or two men stranding around at the entrance, I?m not sure if they were porters or security guards as they made no attempt to either take my baggage or ask for identification. I espied a sign to one side of the door, requesting ... more
ESTEGHLAL GRAND HOTEL Tehran, Iran
This was my first visit to Tehran, Iran and I really had no idea what to expect from the country, the city or the hotel. What would it be like? Shabby, rundown, tatty? I knew that there were no large hotel chains still in Iran, so I was not expecting Hyatt or Sheraton standards!
The first impression of the Esteghlal Grand hotel was not encouraging. For a start, how do you pronounce the name? Secondly, the eighteen plus storey concrete building looked far from grand. It looked remarkably Soviet, as if it had come from the Stalin school of architecture and design and could have been transplanted from some industrial city in southern Russia.
There were one or two men stranding around at the entrance, I?m not sure if they were porters or security guards as they made no attempt to either take my baggage or ask for identification. I espied a sign to one side of the door, requesting that women entering the hotel respect the islamic dress code, so maybe they were religious police.
LOBBY The lobby is a wide expanse that stretches out in both directions, ending at a trio of lifts on each side. To the right, facing the far wall, is the reception desk and, beyond that, one of the restaurants. Behind a pillar you will find a small concierge desk. At the far side of the lobby is a corridor leading off to the right; from there you can see the empty swimming pool at the back, the abandoned pool terrace around it. Leading off the corridor is another restaurant.
The main part of the lobby, wall to wall, is a lounge, armchairs and two seat sofas clustered around tables, back to back and, in the centre, was a counter serving pastries, cakes and teas. Just about every single table was occupied by groups of men, of women, couples, groups. It had the feel of a busy, popular cafe. It was one of the busiest lobby bars I have ever seen! As a lot of Iranians smoke, it was a bit smokey in there too.
A sign in the lobby mentioned a "carpet exhibition" on floor down, so I went to have a look. It turned out to be just a carpet shop, selling Persian carpets. Some were in the traditional style, others depicted pictures, scenes of village life, quite beautiful but not for me on this visit! Next to the carpet shop was another typical hotel shop, selling papers, camera film, gifts etc
I noticed, on one wall of the lobby, a world map with many cities listed in the Americas, the far East and Europe. It looked like a map of locations that had hotels from a particular chain, or offices of a company, but the name had been erased. It struck me that this might be the international chain that this hotel was once part of. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out which hotel chain it was, but then realised that there might be better things to do in Tehran!ROOM My room was on a middle floor of the hotel, half way down the corridor from the elevator.
My first impression, as I walked in, was that it was clean, tidy, in good condition. On the floor was a nice, thick green carpet. The bed was a comfortable king size, covered with a red bedspread. Underneath the bedding was clean, crisp and the bed was very comfortable.
The furniture was wooden; an attractive wood cabinet contained a large screen TV which had about twenty channels on offer including BBC World. Under the television was a fridge that once contained the minibar but was now empty. The writing desk was also wood and to its credit there was both an electricity power socked and a telephone socked within easy reach - many top name hotels can?t manage that! On the wall was a green and gold framed mirror.
The room looked comfortable, clean and in reasonable condition. On closer examination there was some telling signs of age or disrepair. The upholstery on the armchair turned out to be peeling off on one side. When I tried to open the bedside drawer it stuck and, when I pulled harder, the whole table shook and the light almost fell over. So there were signs of ageing, signs that the hotel needed some investment, but overall the room was comfortable and clean, which is what matters.
The bathroom was similarly clean, well kept but needed some maintenance. The tiled cupboard above the toilet didn?t quite close properly. The little basket by the sink, containing the condiments was crammed full but turned out to comprise three shower caps, two sanitary bags and eight bars of soap. Apparently quantity was to make up for..... what? Not quality, as it was all perfectly good. Perhaps generosity was to make up for things not being in quite tip top condition.
There was no hotel guide, or list of services. A folder on the desk contained the room service menu which, on closer examination, turned out to be identical to the menu from one of the restaurants downstairs.
FACILITIES The outdoor pool is disused, as is the surrounding poolside area. There is a fitness centre one floor below the lobby, offering a sauna and gym, but it is segregated between men and women. I went downstairs to have a look and found out that it is available for men from 9.00am to 8.30pm on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and for women from 10am to 7.30pm on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays. I remain unsure why women get to use it an hour earlier; maybe they need to be home in time to prepare dinner, while men get to sleep in. Who knows.... Anyway, I was there on a Monday, women?s day, so I didn?t get to see the gym or the sauna.
In the lobby, next to the main doorway, was an internet room offering use of computer and internet access. I am sure that they had use of photocopier etc as well, so basic business facilities. If there was much more than that, I don?t know as I didn?t get in to see it and there was no hotel guide listing other services or rooms available.
RESTAURANTS There were three options for eating in the hotel, all offering very much the same menus.
The "Firouzeh" restaurant was on the ground floor, beyond reception. At first glance it looks like a banquet room, rather grand and comfortable. This is also where they serve the breakfast buffet. The evening menu was rather basic, offering mainly shrimp cocktail, soup or salad starters, and main courses of kebabs, some seafood, steaks or burgers. The breakfast buffet was also rather limited, cheese, yoghurts, salad, some cold meats and sausages.
At the opposite end of the lobby, around the corner to the right, the other restaurant, Neophele le Chateau, looked like it might offer something different, but sadly not. The menu was almost the same as the "Firouzeh", minus a few items. There were three starters - cold meat, chef salad, or shrimp cocktail. I went for the chef salad and got a selection of cold chicken, lamb, beef, cheese and lettuce. In other words, four meats, so I wondered what the "cold meat" starter was! For a main course I opted for a Pepper steak and was pleasantly surprised, it was very tender and juicy, quite delicious, and the pepper sauce was rich and spicy. It was very food indeed. Unlike the Firouzeh at breakfast, though, none of the waiters speak any English other than the choices from the menu, but I managed to get by.
The third option for eating in was the room service, but the menu appeared to have been lifted straight from the other two restaurants so, really, the choice is less what you want to eat and more where you want to eat, in what surroundings.
SERVICE The people I met were almost all exceptionally friendly, pleasant, warm, hospitable and eager to please, limited only by the language barrier. One or two of them looked a but like bandits from a spaghetti western, but they too were pleasant and friendly. Where there was a language barrier, such as in the restaurant, having established that I was an English speaker they got the solitary English speaking waiter to come over and check on me every few minutes so I felt looked after and welcomed.
SUMMARY The hotel had the feel of a former Sheraton or Hyatt, I fairly sure that it was one of these in a former life, before the revolution. Overall it is comfortable, clean, getting on a bit but still perfectly acceptable.
If you want to know more, the website is www.esteghlalhotel.com
PS Ignore the stuff underneath - type of travel, shopping, etc. For some reason the hotel has been listed under travel destinations, not hotels, so it insists I tell you about the size of my group, the scenery and the type of travel. In cae you are interested, I went on business, for one night, on my own...now ignore the rest!
