The ancient city of Varanasi is located on the banks of the River Ganges is north eastern India. Also known as Benaras, it is over 3000 years old, one of the oldest continually inhanbited cities in the world. It is also one of the holiest sites for Hindus as it is believed that Varanasi was the home to the God, Krishna. The River Ganges, which flows through the city, is believed to have the power to wash away all sin and it is said that those who pass away and are cremated here will be able to break the cycle of birth and rebirth. Varanasi is also one of the four major pilgrimage sites for Buddhists, as the suburb of Sarnath is said to be the place where Buddha gave his first sermon about the principles of Buddhism.
Attracting millions of pilgrims every year, it is also draws over a million international tourists every year. For the visitor, there are a number of hotels to choose from; the four-star Radisson offers a balance of price and international comfort.
Arrival I had arranged for a car to meet me at the airport and found the driver without any trouble. The drive into the city, though, was hair-raising. We seemed to spend most of the time on the wrong side of the road, overtaking ox carts or rickshaws, with large trucks and buses bearing down on us, horns blaring, and my driver seeming not to notice! We were in a small, compact, local car which would not have stood a chance against a large, overladed truck; the driver seemed unphased but I was getting increasingly nervous.
I almost didn't notice when we turned into the hotel as the entrance off the street is barely indicated, there is just a small sign on a large road next to a rather run-down parade of shops. But when the car stopped and the doorman opened the car do, I almost fell into his arms with relief!
The lobby is small but seems quite grand, two storeys high with a second floor balcony looking down on all four sides . It seemed very crowed, though, in the mornings as evenings as the various tour groups assembled. Reception is to the left, next to a Concierge's desk; elevators are straight ahead and there is a lounge area in the middle. There were two, small gift shops. I noticed that, beyond these, there was an area boarded off for renovation.
Reception Check in was slow and quite infuriating. The girl checking me in had a name badge reading "Lovely", but lovely she was not. She kept breaking off from me to do other things, answering the phones, talking to other people and at one point wandered off with a tray to meet someone arriving at the door. There was only one other person at the desk and they seemed to multi-tasking too. Lovely took my passport to photocopy and said she would return to the room, but I said that I would wait; it took a full five minutes to get the one photocopy. She refused to note my Radisson card number, though, as she said I was not paying the full tariff (who does??).
Not long after Lovely started on me, I noticed a waiter deliver a tray with four cocktails to the Concierge desk, where they sat for an age. It was as I was almost finished that, finally, someone picked them up and delivered them to a group of people in the lounge. I made a mental note not to order drinks from the lounge!
When I got up to my room, I found that it was not ready. I returned to the desk where the unlovely Lovely, after five minutes and countless interruptions, diversions and sidetracks, gave me the key to another room. When I got back up, I could hear loud banging and scraping - I seemed to be over the renovation. I called the front desk, where I was told that they would finish by 6pm. At 6.30pm I called to complain; at 6.50pm, after two more phone calls, they finally stopped.
The Room After the small car from the airport, the small lobby, the small attention span of Lovely, I did not have high hopes for the room but I was pleasantly surprised.
My first impression going into the room (both the first uncleaned one and the second noisy one) was of a bright green marble floor, but that was just for the hall. It then opened out into a carpeted room that was large, spacious and comfortable.
The curtains, thick and heavy blackout curtains, were drawn so the room was quite dark. I peeked out but the view was very uninspiring so I left them closed.
The bed was a very large double which later proved to be very comfortable and I slept soundly. There was also a large, wide armchair with a footstool and, next to it, a small, round marble topped coffee table. For work, there was a desk with chairs on both sides, I guess so one can choose whether to stare at the wall or the door while thinking.
The room was equipped with a TV which had many channels in Hindi, but I found BBC World and CNN. Under the TV was a minibar. Two large bottles of water were placed in the room and there was a kettle with tea and coffee. Inside the cupboard I found an iron and ironing board and also a secure safe.
The bathroom, unlike the room, was not so spacious. The toilet, instead of facing into the bathroom, was turned sideways facing the wall so it was very cramped. Thankfully my stomach was behaving! The bath was full sized and, most importantly, the shower was good, with regular pressure and a stable temperature, and the towels were large, soft and fluffy. The shampoo and shower gel bottles, though, were small and hard, and their contents very solid so I could barely get anything out of them!
Restaurant and Bar Yes that's right, single, there was just the one restaurant. Despite being in a holy city, I really did not feel very inspired to wander out at night, explore, and sample an unknown restaurant so I ate in the hotel.
Dinner was a typical uninspired small hotel buffet. Almost all of the dishes were Indian, though thankfully not very spicy. There was a limited selection of basic salads, one dish each of chicken, lamb and fish, one paneer, one pasta, one rice and two vegetables. Even the deserts failed to tempt me - chocolate mousse, fruit salad, that kind of thing.
In the corner there was a TV showing a cricket match. As I sat there, the restaurant started to fill up with tour groups; I could hear British, American and Spanish voices. At one end there was a small, raised stage and, part way through the evening, some musicians appeared, squatted on the stage and began playing, apparently for one particular group at a large table next to the stage.
The following morning, as I waited for the lift to bring me to breakfast, two American girls in their late teens were discussing breakfast. "Breakfast is disgusting!" one exclaimed, so I didn't have high hopes. However, it was a big improvement on dinner! There were omelettes or eggs made to order, cereals. yoghurt, cheese, a few cold meats, pancakes, boiled eggs, salads, pastries and muffins and of course some Indian. It was certainly to international standard, so I don't know what Missy thought was lacking, perhaps oatmeal muesli, or maybe Cap'n Crunch and waffles.
The bar, on the other hand, was lacking. Located on the second floor, off the balcony, it appeared to be three small rooms knocked together, with some tables and chairs thrown in. Walking past after my dull dinner, I looked in; the people in there looked so bored that I was not even inspired to try it.
Hotel Services and Facilities There is a small business centre, some meeting rooms, and an outdoor pool. The pool is very small - just over 3 feet deep in the shallow end and four and half feet at the deep end - so no diving! The information spoke of a fitness room; I didn't see it but, to be described as a room, it is probably small!
Price The rack rate for the hotel is US$140 but they have deals available on their website for US$90. Expedia has it listed for roughly the same in Pounds.
Summary The hotel seems to be catering mostly to tour groups and business travellers, both of whom are probably there for just one or two nights and doubtless are out all day. For both, the room and breakfast are probably the most important things and they have got these right. However they really need to sort out the hopeless Reception and the boring dinner.
Recommended? Almost a no, but the room and breakfast make it a yes!
