We stayed here for six nights during the Jaipur Literature Festival 2012, and it was a really, really good experience. I will definitely come back here again, and again, and I know I don't ever need to hunt for a hotel later during the Jaipur Lit Fests in the coming years. The service, rooms, ambiance, location, and quality of food was excellent, and I highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Jaipur. For the price (of approximately Rs 1600 inclusive of taxes per night in a double AC room), I don't think you'll find any match to Hotel Savoy.
The location is absolutely awesome: it is on MI Road, and very much in the center of the city. It's inside a little lane on the busy market road, and is therefore both calm and buzzy. You don't feel lonely and stuffed away, and it's not very noisy either at all. The hotel was also just a great stone's throw away from Diggi Palace too (1/2 a kilometer away), where we spent all our time at the festival, and the staff at Savoy was decent, hospitable, intelligent, professional, and extremely warm to say the least. The food was exceptional. The tea was extremely, extremely delicious and refreshing, and I would recommend everything that they serve on the menu at The Grill restaurant! It is homely, well cooked, tasty, and appetising. Three cheers to the cooks for that.
The staff is extremely helpful and cooperative and very responsive to improvisations and suggestions. They were always eager to change whatever we needed in line with our needs and requirements, and were available at all times. The bathroom was really comfortable, spacious, well-designed, and clean.
The decor and the ambiance of the hotel is simple and spotlessly clean in general too, and has a very earthy, local touch - which makes you feel at home, and also truly makes you feel that you are in Rajasthan / Jaipur.
The WIFI connectivity is excellent in the rooms, though I only wish they wouldn't switch it off after midnight, because sometimes something urgent can come up. However, I believe that if requested to the staff, it can be activated without any problem. Our room had running hot and cold water at all times, as well as a heater. Coming home in the evening after an entire day felt cozy and heavenly. The room was also very well ventilated and airy and had a perfectly pleasant amount of sunlight streaming in during the afternoons and evenings. I especially liked the way the windows were designed.
My only two suggestions to the staff would be (which I mentioned while checking out of the hotel too): that firstly, the hotel cab fare is a bit expensive - we paid Rs 560 from the airport to the hotel, and Rs 300 from the hotel to the bus stand while leaving, and this can feel heavy. It really is a bit expensive, and though the service is very dependable, I think the hotel taxi price could be reduced a bit.
Secondly, there is a very dangerously placed step near the entrance of room number 206 where we stayed, and anyone can trip there and fall down and break their head if they don't watch out. The tiles of the higher floor and the lower floor are identical, and it is very difficult to notice the difference and see that there is a step that needs to be stepped down on. My mother almost tripped (though saved), and it can be very dangerous if someone doesn't notice it in a hurry. Some warning or coloured sign to alert people walking there is extremely crucial. The person at the reception told us that it was a valid suggestion and that they will look into it pronto, so we are confident this will be changed soon.
Priti (who helped us through the online booking back from Bombay), Mr BK Verma (hope I have his name / spelling correct) on the reception and Rakesh, our waiter, who served us food in our room - all made our stay very happy and warm and welcome. They were all friendly and professional both, which is a pretty rare find. Keep up the good work, Hotel Savoy, and please maintain this quality for ever! I'm really pleased that I managed to book this hotel in time before our trip.
I would 100% recommend it to anyone staying in Jaipur at any time of the year. This is really a great place. Please stay here.
