We booked 3 nights in a royal room with a view and reconfirmed the day before by email. When we got to hotel alka, we were told our reconfirmation email had a later date statwd on it and they had released our room and were now fully booked. They could only offer us a room in their sister hotel called teerath guesthouse which was we were told by a rather sweet talking hotel employee not only much cheaper but also much better. We had just arrived from a 13hour sleepless train ride so didn't fancy trying our luck with another place. The sister hotel was awful with dirty bedsheets and a shell of a room. It was hidden away down a series of tiny streets in the old town and very confusing to get to. When we got there we found there were at least 5 other guests from hotel alka which had been doubled booked and offered this guesthouse instead. Really disappointing, we're just glad we only stayed in Varansi for 2 nights.

This hotel had a great location. The view was beautiful (same as all the hotels along the river). The restaurant was nice, but then one of our travel mates got very sick after eating there and had to go to the hospital. They arranged a car for him at a very high cost. We had to stay an extra night because of our friend's sickness and they allowed us to stay in the same room and asked about him a lot. When he was released, they gave us a room after we checked out for him to rest in until our night train. That was a nice gesture. The 1000rupee day tour is not worth it, so steer clear of that and beware of the food! Also, no free wifi was annoying, but there were 4 computers you could rent for 35rs an hour. Overall, a good place for the price.

Spent a couple of good nights at the Alka. Staff very friendly and helpful, (although they did try to charge extra for a heater with a cheeky smile). We paid extra for a private balcony which was actually the end of a path so anyone could wander up for the view, whilst other private balconies appeared to be caged in, so maybe ours was preferable. This was a good basic room, clean with plenty of hot water. What food we had was good, and there was a nice area to relax over chai or beer, (although we really liked our dinners next door at the Gambati). We got a pick-up from the airport and were pleased we had given the long walk through narrow winding streets too small for cars or even tuk-tuks - we would have struggled without the hotel staff there to carry our heavy bags, not knowing where we were going.

A week before our arrival we emailed confirmation with Alka hotel for a room with balcony for 650RPS and private bathroom. We confirmed that we DID NOT need an airport pick up.
When we turned up at the airport there was a guy waiting from the hotel wanting an extortionate amount for the transfer. We refused and made our way there recognising the scam. When we arrived they admitted that they didn't have a room for us as a guest was sick. (this age old lie we have been given many times). Instead they put us in the smallest room we had ever seen with no bathroom. Instead we had to walk through the restaurant to use filthy squat toilets. We asked for blankets and were told they were coming but they never did. We were caught in an awkward situation of arriving late at night. Otherwise we never would have stayed. As two young women travelling together we were horrified to be treating with no respect and yelled at by abusive staff that tried to intimidate us to make money. Very disappointed in lonely planet guide for recommending such an awful place.