Comments:
We had booked a room in Hotel Shan Royal through asiarooms.com which had in turn booked it via Thomas Cook. Charges were USD 49 incl breakfast. I had called the hotel a day before to confirm our reservation and all was OK. First look at the Hotel from the road was not very impressive, but once we came closer, it looked better. Once in the porchway, there was no one to receive us and we had to carry our luggage to the reception . The lobby was reasonably good and well lit. The staff sounded polite and knowledgeable, however, we were informed that their room key mechanism was not working and each time we need to open the room from outside, we have to call the reception. Apart from this check-in was a breeze and quick. The reception person asked a bell boy to carry our luggage to the room.
First look of the room was impressive. The room was nice sized (approximately 16 feet by 12 feet) had clean bed sheets, a comfortable sofa and coffee table, a desk and chair. We opted for a double bed. There was also a small fridge in the room. The bathroom was well stocked with towels and toiletries. Like mentioned in some of the previous reviews, the hotel can benefit from some civil work done with precision. There were places where plasters had come off the walls and in the bathroom and cement patching were prominently visible. But all in all, considering the facilities and cost, the civil work shortcomings can easily be ignored as they do not impact the overall experience. The beds were squeaky though which was a negative.
We decided to have food in the room itself. Hence looking at the room service menu, we found reasonably good variety at reasonable prices. We zeroed in on Adrak Nimbu Mein (Crunchy ginger slices in lemon juice) @ Rs 45, Chicken Manchow Soup @ Rs 80 and Tandoori Aloo Nawabi (Potatoes marinated with exotic spices and skewered) @ Rs 100. The presentation of service was flawless with all food bought in well covered. Also all cutlery and accompanying spices, and Chinese sauces were included correctly. The lemon drink was not liked by my wife, but the other 2 items were great. Overall experience was excellent. Later we ordered one Egg biryani, even that was better than our expectation. We wanted to try an authentic south Indian dish and picked an item from the menu. The room service operator suggested that was not a good match with the biryani and suggested an alternative item. The suggested item was great and displayed knowledge on the part of the room service operator.
The night was peaceful with the central Air Conditioning running all night long. However, it grew a bit chilly after 4 AM and the switch to control the temperature turned out to be malfunctioning. In the morning, there was hot water easily flowing from the shower and taking a hot shower was a pleasure. Off we went for breakfast on the ground floor restaurant. There was a buffet breakfast included in our package. The preparations included boiled eggs, corn flakes, some south Indian preparations, some fruits and cakes and bread. We decided to try south Indian dishes, and in my opinion they were 6 / 10 in terms of taste. Fresh water melon juices were served on the table and we had to ask for toast, which the waiter readily provided. I liked the coffee (8 / 10). The service during breakfast was 8 / 10.
On our way back to the room, we informed the front desk to keep our bills ready for checkout. After about 15 mins we were downstairs for checkout and the process was effortless and took less than 3 mins. As agreed, I was just billed for the room service we consumed the night before. When I asked the bell boy to get a cab, he mentioned there are only rickshaws available and cabs have to be booked in advance. Since it is a good 45 mins ride to the airport, I asked him how much time it will take to get a cab, he mentioned 15 mins. I agreed and the cab showed up in 10 mins. We were loaded up in no time and sent on our way. The cab charged Rs 300 on our return trip.
Write a review about the hotel
4/5
Room
Budget Travelers
Couples/Romantics
Eco Adventure
