We bought the “Winter Package,” a special deal that included breakfast and dinner, a half-day tour, and an airport pickup. We booked the Radisson Varanasi without too much concern having just stayed at the Radisson Agra (a far superior hotel) and the modern Country Inn and Suites in Delhi (a new hotel with some minor start-up problems but still better). Based on our previous two experiences with the Radisson in India, we were expecting a first-class superior hotel, a bit of luxury and lots of comfort.
Unfortunately we were sadly disappointed by our visit. To their credit, the hotel staff did try to resolve most of these issues without much success. Also, I should point out that Radisson has a 100% satisfaction policy, and because of our complaints they fully refunded the cost of our stay.
The main problems were the following:
1. The hotel is about 12 kilometres from the ghats in the old part of Varanasi. It takes a good half hour to drive down to the old town and then it’s still quite a long walk to the ghats. Being this far removed from the “real” Varanasi and staying in a 4* hotel, you might as well be at home in Michigan eating Indian takeout. The only advantage is that you are closer to the airport, which is quite a ways outside the city.
2. The food was substandard by Radisson standards and not 4* at all. The meals at the buffet were cold two days in a row. Overall the food was bland, unappetizing and didn’t look good.
The desserts were good looking, but bland and boring – not sweet enough. Except for the profiteroles at one dinner, which were quite good. Melting ice cream was sitting in an unchilled bucket on the buffet table.
Breakfast was no better.
3. In November, construction was going on right on top of us and the banging made for less than a pleasant evening. I hope it has been completed by now.
The regular restaurant was closed on the second day for lunch and dinner due to a wedding and we were all moved over to the bar lounge area. It was crowded and chaotic. Waiters could not keep orders straight and staff and managers were running around trying to seat people in a smaller space. The next day we were moved back to the regular restaurant. Very confusing! If I understand correctly, the real restaurant on the second floor is being renovated and this may account for the poor food and the chaos around where to eat.
This same renovation resulted in almost constant annoying banging and noise from the floor below our room. The first night it went on until around 9 p.m., but they did stop as soon as we complained to the front desk. It continued during the daytime on our other three days, which was distracting while we were trying to work in our room.
4. The wifi connection was only good for 24 hours. Nobody told us this upon our arrival and we kept losing our connection in the middle of our work. We finally realized that we had to ask for a new card each day. They should have explained that at the outset. Or come up with a better wifi system!
5. Our electronic door keys kept failing, forcing us to go down to the front desk to get new ones. This also happened repeatedly at both of the other two hotels. Could this be a company-wide system glitch?
6. Staff and management are disorganized and need a better way to communicate. For example: One waiter will take a food order and then pass it on to a second person, who then passes it on to a third.
Even though most of our meals were buffet, the service was still very slow, yet there were lots of waitstaff on duty. For example, how long should it take to deliver a bottle of wine? We waited 15 minutes on two separate occasions, by which time our meals had already arrived and were getting cold. The staff were always friendly and congenial, but we often had to flag a manager to get our order moving.
Check before booking here to ensure that construction has been completed. Also be prepared for a long drive into the actual city of Varanasi.
- Radisson Varanasi
- Varanasi Radisson
