Name: Staycation in the heart of the city
Item: The Elgin Fairlawn, Kolkata
Rating: 4
Author: Arpitakiddoc

16 - 21 of 99 reviews

Lazytraveling

Reviewed 24 March 2022

Wedding party

We had a cross state, cross culture intimate wedding that had to be planned to the last detail. Choosing Elgin Fairlawn for the venue (we had the entire hotel for two days) was the best choice we made. Everything else just fell into place. The venue itself is elegant and full of yesteryear charm, sophisticated yet homely. Subrata from the Elgin team helped me with all the planning. The food was pholenomenal. All the members of the staff were very hands on and eager to help. Both sides of the family were super happy, and will remember the two days spent at Elgin fondly for years to come. The hotel will also be our default choice of accommodation everytime we visit Kolkata.

Date of stay: November 2021

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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Dear Sir/ Madan!

On behalf of the entire team from The Elgin Fairlawn, Kolkata (Calcutta), we thank you for your feedback !

It was indeed very heartfelt of you to give such a warm and genuine detailed review and we are indeed grateful!

Housed in a 1783 building with a colonial-era vibe, this memorabilia-filled, family-run hotel is a minutes' walk from the Indian Museum and a 6-minute stroll from the nearest metro station. It’s also 2.3 km from the landmark Victoria Memorial. The rooms feature free Wi-Fi, plus flat-screen TVs, mini fridges, and tea and coffee making facilities.

Other meals (including afternoon tea) are offered in the Imperial dining room, as well as on a terrace. There's also a relaxed guest lounge and a garden patio. The property has a generator for backup power.

My warmest regards,

Mr Rabindra Nath Pal,
General Manager,
The Elgin Fairlawn, Kolkata
13A, Sudder Street,
Kolkata, West Bengal 700016
Telephone: +91- 033 2252 1510
The Elgin Central Reservations - +91-33-40646300
Email- reservations@elginhotels.com

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Rahul M

Pune District, India

3549

Reviewed 30 December 2021 via mobile

Heritage without maintenance

Heritage property which is extremely poorly maintained. I just love heritage buildings....but this is one which I would avoid and suggest all to avoid. Not one thing was good enough to mention. Location was ok. Rooms were poorly done. Bathrooms were ok but towels were not clean. Staff was good and tried to makeup for the shortfalls but couldn't. Breakfast was average and they served same spread for two consecutive days. Common area were not clean and upholstery was dusty.

It seems the hotel owners /management have not been maintaining the property for quiet some months now. Was amazed how they can allow such a heritage structure to get deteriorated to this level. It painfull to see this happening.

Date of stay: December 2021

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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Dear Sir !

On behalf of the entire team from The Elgin Fairlawn, Kolkata (Calcutta), I sincerely apologise to you for the inconvenience caused to you during your stay with us . I have made a note of your helpful feedback and i have made the necessary corrections so the same mistakes are not repeated for our future guests . My contact details are below for your ready reference.

As you are aware ! The Elgin heritage hotel chain run by the Oberoi family of hoteliers has recently acquired the property and please be rest assured that as this iconic hotel is passed down from the Smith family to the Oberoi family all efforts will be made to restore and refurbish the property with all modern amenities yet keeping in mind the colonial ambience and aesthetics . The idea and aim is to strike the right balance between the yester years and the modern contemporary world, and so we envision to bring back this colonial beauty back to life as a boutique heritage hotel with all its history and glory.

Housed in a 1783 building with a colonial-era vibe, this memorabilia-filled, family-run hotel is a minutes' walk from the Indian Museum and a 6-minute stroll from the nearest metro station. It’s also 2.3 km from the landmark Victoria Memorial. The rooms feature free Wi-Fi, plus flat-screen TVs, mini fridges, and tea and coffee making facilities.Complimentary perks include full English breakfast and parking. Other meals (including afternoon tea) are offered in a dining room, as well as on a terrace. There's also a relaxed guest lounge and a garden patio. The property has a generator for backup power.

My warmest regards,

Mr Rabindra Nath Pal,
General Manager,
The Elgin Fairlawn, Kolkata
13A, Sudder St,
Kolkata, West Bengal 700016
Telephone: +91- 33 2252 1510
The Elgin Central Reservations - +91-33-40646300
Email- reservations@elginhotels.com

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Raghav04

Reviewed 21 December 2021

Not worth the money

We came here to stay for 3 nights and 4 days and were given the “Shashi Kapoor” room. The sheets were dirty on day 1 and we had to get them changed after checking in. Also, there was water shortage and I was made to wait for 15 mins in the middle of a bath as the security guard forgot to pump the water. The bathroom taps seem like they were cleaned ages ago. The disgusting part was that the seat had stains. There is dust on the vintage stuff kept. The carpets are dirty and not dry cleaned since years. On the third day we went for our chores in the morning and returned at 8pm - the room had not been cleaned and was in the same state in which he had left that morning. The restaurant of the hotel shuts at 8.30 pm so if you want to have dinner, you better have it at 7 or have to go out to dine.

For the price they charge for a room, the experience is simply unacceptable. It would have been fine had they been charging 2-3k per night (incl. tax). You get way better hotels (5 stars) in the region of 5-6k. I have stayed in various heritage hotels but this was just not upto the mark. The only saving grace is the garden restaurant that too just for the ambience. The staff is polite though. All in all, a very disappointing experience. Wouldn’t recommend this hotel at all. Shell out a bit more and stay in a nice orthodox hotel.

Date of stay: December 2021

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ik07

Reviewed 10 December 2021

Hell no......

We booked this property in hurry as we had business in near by location. Let me list out things which made me give this property low rating (trip advisor doesn't have minus ratings, w which this property fully deserves)
1. Inept staff who will loose your booking and on your arrival will question you , what are you doing here ? On quick calls to booking portal will blame the booking agent and reluctantly offer you his best rooms....wait it gets better from here ...
2. The room dont have anything to offer for the price they ask (images attached, which is the real image not the photoshopped one)
3. Floor creeks, Staff is rude , kitchen seems likes working out of neighbourhood shop as each order takes centuries to arrive. Its better to eat outside rather then wait for this avg food.
4. They don't put anything in your room -TILL YOU ASK ? Things which are routine like your towel or hand soap for instance.
5. For the price you pay here you can get better places in the area.
Dont forget to check the real images ...along with this review ...to all unsuspecting foreigners coming to city - BEWARE of this place.

Room tip: Only tip is to avoid this place

Date of stay: December 2021

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Avijit_Mohapatra

Reviewed 24 November 2021

Don't get fooled by their claim of a 4 Star Hotel

I booked the hotel after hearing a lot of positive reviews and claim that it's a 4 star property. Though there were few negative reviews I decided to ignore it. But it was certainly not a hotel that can be called 4 star. Before I go to what didn't work in the hotel let's talk about whatever the good things it had:

Location - Convenient Location. About 15-20 mins from Howrah station. 5-7 mins distance from Park street, New market.
Heritage Look - They tried hard to give it a heritage look by putting framed old newspaper cuttings, paintings, etc. If you can't just stay in a hotel that doesn't use Heritage then you can opt for it.
Polite Staff - All the staffs were very polite except the Manager.

Let me now talk about why this hotel is not a 4-star hotel:

Unhygienic - The hotel certainly doesn't have good housekeeping. When I checked in my bed and room had hairs of the previous guest. When I asked them the guy who came to clean said the previous guy didn't change the bedsheet in hurry. The toilets were pathetic and same, it wasn't cleaned after the previous guest left.
Below Standard facilities - Be it toiletries, Tea/coffee maker in the room were of poor quality, more of what a Lodge will have.
Bed - This is the highlight. Don't get fooled by their claim of King bed. If you are a couple or have a kid along with you trust me this is not the bed you would like to sleep on. They have merged 2 single beds and that even doesn't make a queen bed. and the best part is there will be always a gap between both the beds and which will keep increasing, so if you are making your child sleep in between then do it at your risk.
Housekeeping - In name of Heritage they don't do housekeeping at the place at all. Everywhere you will find dust. starting from sofas in the waiting area to carpets to curtains in the room.
House rules: I got a call at 6.15 pm in the evening that I will have to place my order for dinner, If i want to have it because the restaurant closes at 8. Really who places dinner order at 6.15 pm when you are on a trip. They didn't even allow 30 mins late check out, a first for me for all these years of traveling. I lost the key (was my mistake), they asked me to pay Rs. 350 to make a duplicate key. Only after highlighting the fool they have made out of me in name of a 4 star hotel they waived it off. But to do that I had to encounter one of the most unprofessional managers working in the hospitality industry. They only give 2, 500 ml water bottles. You can't get even one single bottle additional.
Breakfast - Don't expect a lavish 4-star hotel buffet breakfast. They have a very very limited choice of ala-carte. The food served would be fresh but not hot. Tastes good (a good point). But please keep at least 45-60 mins to have your breakfast because that will be time taken to serve.

I normally don't write reviews and that to such a detailed one was forced to write, just to share how you get fooled. I am happy to bet if anyone can prove me wrong on the points that I have put will be glad to sponsor a night for them in this so-called Heritage, luxurious, 4 start Hotel.

P.S. - I didn't speak about the actual look of the hotel against the pictures put in various sites, I hope all of you know the pictures are clicked on a particular day by a professional who can make anything look good on a photo. The reality is very far from the truth.

Room tip: The only tip to get a good room is to avoid booking this hotel.

Date of stay: November 2021