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A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House – reviews, photos

D, 16/28-A | Dasaswamedh, Varanasi 221001, India
Hotel amenities
A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House
Ranked #5 of 49 hotels in Varanasi
4.0 of 5 stars 343 Reviews
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343 reviews from our community

What travellers say about this hotel
  • Very good(11)
  • Old city(10)
  • Top floor(5)
  • River view room(4)
  • Would not recommend(3)
  • Tour guide(3)
Traveller rating
    134
    109
    57
    21
    22
Only show reviews for Family (38) | Couples (144) | Business (8)
Date Rating
Memphis, TN
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
54 helpful votes 54 helpful votes
“Not a Palace, but certainly an Experience!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 February 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Look, it's Varanasi. If you're going to Varanasi and staying on the Ganges you can't expect 5star luxury. BUT do expect to give in to the charm of the Rashmi Guest House - from the winding, monkey-haunted streets to rooftop views of the sacred city. I can't imagine staying anywhere else.
Pros - we were able to snatch a good deal and got a great value. The rooftop restaurant was decently priced relative to quality. From what we saw, this was THE place to stay if you want to stay on the river. Also, the airport transport was timely, and they carried our luggage to the hotel.
Cons: if you do not arrange transport, prepare to carry your luggage about a quarter of a kilometer and you must know where you are going! ALSO, there was quite a bit of pressure from one of the men who picked us up to do a guided boat tour, which of course was about 10x the price you can get from just asking a guide down by the shore. Facilities are what you would expect from a mid-range hotel in India (aka don't expect bath tubs or plus mattresses)

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Nemo513 about A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Pennsylvania
Senior Contributor
25 reviews 25 reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
20 helpful votes 20 helpful votes
“Can't beat the location”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 February 2012

We spent three nights here enjoying the perfect location right on the ghats. We received outstanding customer service from the gentleman at Reception who worked very hard to get us internet access on our PC. He was extremely patient and unfailingly polite.

The service in the restaurant was a bit erratic, but the food was always good. As others have said the rooms are tiny, but my only real complaint is that the air conditioning was incredibly loud.

  • Stayed September 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Reen75 about A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Sydney, Australia
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“An expensive nightmare”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 February 2012
2
people found this review helpful

We booked this place I hesitate to say hotel) from previous reviews. Something must have happened happened to change it.

We traveled extensively in India but this was by far the worst hotel we stayed in.We paid for a hotel pick up and booked supposedly, the best room in the house, all prepaid with PayPal at 125 A$ a night. We prepaid for two nights
The car we were picked up in was filthy. A driver and some other man who just wanted sell his services as a guide.were there to meet us.The smell in the car on the hour trip to town was awful.
We had a deluxe river view room number 302. It was very small for the price and smelled of mould.There were mould patches throughout the bathroom. The bath was chipped and dirty.Towels were stained as were the sheets in the bed. The fridge (tiny) did not work. I must admit the location is good and the view of the Ganges was excellent but this can be seen from the roof top restaurant.

I use the term restaurant loosely at 7:30pm most of the dishes on the large menu were not available which made me question if they were ever available. What was available was uneatable and served by a surely waiter. Breakfast was a joke,cold toast and fried eggs like bullets. BEWARE!!

The reception person was officious almost bossy but other staff members were very accommodating. We would have left and given up our 125 dollar a night room but other accommodation was difficult to get.

  • Stayed January 2012, travelled as a couple
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask codfish369 about A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Melbourne, Australia
1 review
“M”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 30 January 2012

We were staying for 4 nights in Varanasi between cycling trips so we wanted a clean, comfortable hotel where we could relax and still enjoy the chaos of the ghats. The Rashmi Guest House was perfect in every respect. Perfect location- right next to the most exciting ghat, so we could go out for an hour then back to the hotel to read or have a coffee (really good) on the fantastic roof top restaruant. We ate almost all our meals there because it was so good and the terrace had a great view. The room was perfect- on the front of the bldg, 403 I think it was, with a big window out onto the river. The room was very clean, the water was hot, the welcome basket of fruit and complimentary cokes and snacks in the fridge were a nice surprise. After 2 weeks in Rajasthan, we were really pleased by how clean and comfortable the room was. The wifi worked well in the 1st floor computer lounge, not at all in our room but 3 out of the 4 days we had interent access. The staff were very professional and helpful. When I was booking I contemplated staying in "luxury"hotel in the mall area but am SO glad I chose the Rashmi instead. I doubt the other rooms would have been much nicer and you just can't beat the location- for $145/night it's not cheap but as far aw we could see, it is the nicest hotel on the ghats.

  • Stayed January 2012, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask AandAontheroad about A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Bern, Switzerland
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
“Clean but overpriced”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 30 January 2012

I spent the first night at the Rashmi when I arrived late in the evening in Varanasi and was charged 50 USD. The day after I moved to the nearby Ganpati which costed about 20USD (no breakfast). The Rashmi is clean but the room was rather small and without any view. I found it really too expensive. OK location is perfect as you're just beside the main ghats, but the price is still too high for what you get. If you mind the budget then it's not OK, if spending 30-40 USD/day more doens't affect you then go for it.The restaurant on the rooftop was also expensive but the food was good and I went back twice. The Internet access is a joke: minimum charge is 100 rupees even if you have to check your emails for 2 minutes only... clean but overpriced

  • Stayed January 2012, travelled solo
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
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Additional Information about A Palace on the River, Rashmi Guest House

D, 16/28-A | Dasaswamedh, Varanasi 221001, India
Price range (per night):* INR2,500 - 6,000

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