We chose this hotel mainly because of the great reviews it got on tripadvisor. I do think they are tampering with the ratings. It was an okay place, but found it definitely too expensive for what you get. True, it is an old palace and quite nice. However, it is not that well kept. The rooms are very spacious, but have a bit of a musty smell. The balcony in front of our rooms did have some chairs, but mixed wicker and plastic and no table with it. We had booked two rooms for two parents and six children aged 3, 7, 10 and 12. Upon arrival, we were told that although mentioned in the booking, an extra bed would have to be paid for. After I expressed my surprise about this, the manager agreed to provide it for free, however, it didn´t appear and I was too tired to go and ask again. There was seemingly only one other family in the hotel when we were there. The first breakfast was a catasptrophe. Bascially everyone who stays there goes to visit Hampi, which is more than one hour drive away. It is mandatory to leave early, as it gets too hot for sightseeing otherwise. When we appeared for a quick breakfast, however, it turned out there was not buffet, but a menu to choose from. The staff only spoke limited English and it took ages for some food to arrive.
After we returned from Hampi, obviously a superior manager had been informed that we had been quite unhappy. He tried his best to make our stay more enjoyable. The second day there was a proper breakfast buffet and tables set outside instead of inside in a stuffy small room. He even provided us some sandwiches and snacks for our drive, which was really nice.
The pool is quite nice and we enjoyed it. The surroundings were totally dry and yellow when we were there, so not such a great atmosphere. Also, they burnt some grass/fields near our side of the hotel, so there was a constant smell of smoke outside.
All over, the place is okay. However, it was the most expensive place we stayed in during our whole trip and by far not the best. Looking back, for visiting Hampi I would also have chosen a location closer to Hampi itself, as the drive is more than one hour and exhausting, especially in the dark if you want to see the sunset in Hampi.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.