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.

I stayed at the Radisson Varanasi for two nights in the month of January 2012, and it was a disappointment. I will not be staying there again for the following reasons:
* The rooms are very tired
* The room that I was assigned to smelled like mold/mildew/musty (I couldn't decide which one)
* The bed was uncomfortable
* The bed linens were worn out
* The buffet breakfast was dreadful
* The service during breakfast was very slow and dysfunctional. There were two people working hard, serving coffee and the other one picking up dirty dishes, while the rest of the staff stood around together. The staff that "stood around" only worked to assign seats and take orders/requests. When they did take an order/request from a hotel guest, they turned around to tell the only two hard workers to look after them. It was frustrating to watch while waiting for a cup of coffee.
* The prices for the dinner menu and laundry service were over inflated for a hotel at their level of service and standards (in my opinion).

We found our stay at The Raddison pretty average. We ended up staying here after a massive disappointment with another hotel and came here on a whim. We mainly travel flashpacker style but wanted to splash out after a hectic couple of weeks in India. The room was big and comfortable enough and the bathroom had a tub. The location was pretty poor rickshaws rip you off and alway charge you 150 rupees + just to get into town. We found the service to be WAY over the top (not in a good way!) and whenever we needed help they would confuse everything to the point we stopped asking for help because it was to much effort! Our bar fridge didnt work, it took us calling 5 times to get it fixed (we wanted to cool down white wine which was served to us warm) When we said the wine was warm they did not under stand what the issue was. We ate only at the restaurants in the hotel and i become very ill for 2 days. Not good enough for a hotel we spent over $1000. Dont bother getting your clothes washed here, they charged us $60! I would suggest staying somewhere else but Varanasi doesnt have much to offer when it comes to luxury hotels.

Very well placed in the heart of the city, the Rodasson Hotel Varanasi is just slightly discernible from the buildings around it. The building itself is not too imposing and has a small, non-descriptive entrance. And then you get hit by a wave of people in the lounge, waiting for the 2 odd people at the reception to answer their thousands of questions in their slow slow manner. I mean, if you know it's the tourist season, and if you know it gets this crowded, shouldn't it be obvious that you have atleast 4 or 5 people handling the queries? And if you are having some problem understanding your guests' accents, should it not again be rather obvious to make the staff aware of that? The lounge decor would have been quite cozy and pleasing had 20 people and 50 luggage boxes not been sweating and huffing all over it!

The restaurant was equally crowded but managed to be seated quite quickly and efficiently. Staff in the restaurant were very civil and hospitable. But that's where it ended. The buffet was not much to speak of. And the queue at the fresh food (south Indian delicacies and eggs to order) bar just kept stretching until it went out of the restaurant OUT door! No, I am not going to say that everyone was grumbling and complaining because that would be too obvious! And I love my dippy eggs, but it's not a dippy egg when your egg whites still look like clear jelly. My masala tea was just over 45 minutes late. No, I do not know why!

The loo in the lounge ran out of toilet paper and people were waiting for pretty much the entire duration of our breakfast to have the loo-rolls replaced. And it would suffice to say, the place was not very clean.

You will not go there for the price. Nor for the cleanliness. Not even for speedy service (ha!). You will go there because you are desperate, you have no other place to go, you just want to sleep somewhere, anywhere really, you have enough cash in your pocket AND you have no intention of eating there! Other than that, it's ok really!!