This being my first trip to Bangalore in almost 25 years, I was searching the web hard for a hotel that would meet all my requirements on hygiene, decor, price and location. A couple of hotels I identified were booked out.
Unexpectedly, Hotel Bangalore International came up on a renewed search and the inital feel, after seeing their website, prompted me to book it immediately. That done, I went about scouring travel sites for some reviews of this hotel. Placing the cart before the horse, right ? Sure. To my utter discomfort, the initial reviews I read were disappointing. Most were put off by cleanliness, service and noise issues. Well now, what do I do ? Cancel my booking and search again ? I didn’t have the time. So I decided to brave it out and stick to my choice.
That was a good decision. The hotel offers great value for money at Rs.6000/- per night less discount of 40% ! Noisy ? Well, all of India is noisy, yes ? If you are in the heart of a mega Indian city you must expect some noise and this was not too bad.
When I checked in I found one of the towels was dirty. I called up the office and they replaced in under 5 minutes. An electric point was not working and I called them again and they responded fast. An electrician repaired it in 15 minutes. The hot water kettle was dirty. I called the office again and I was sure they would ask me to leave (going by the complaints of rude staff that I had read earlier). But no. In 5 minutes a guy came in with a brand new kettle. Well now, this is service. Very responsive.
Great South Indian breakfast everyday, Idli, Vada, Dosa, Sambar, Chutney, followed by piping hot Coffee. Mmmmmmmm. Cornflakes, toast, juice, for variety. I did them all.
Free internet. I booked my return flight on their internet and the damn thing packed up just after I made my online payment ... Wooooo !! No ticket, no acknowledgement from the airline. And my bank account has been debited!!! Aghast, I asked for help at the front office. One of the executives put through a call to the airline and in 15 minutes my state of alarm was over and problem solved. I got the reply from the call centre that the booking failed and my money would be credited back in 48 hours. At the time of writing those 48 hours have not yet passed.
Thank you, Hotel Bangalore International, for a nice stay. Hope to be back some day.