I stayed just one night in Palace on Ganges during x-mas 2006 after positive review by lonely planet guide.
The hotel is located near the banks with decent view of the ganges from
the balcony, but not from my room. Its ideal if you want to be in the
centre of the historic city and useful to explore the temple and ghats
by walk.
This hotel is unique as each of the 40+ rooms are decorated
individually with different themes. eg tamilnadu, rajasthan, goa,
orissa etc. Though the concept is interesting, I felt it was hyped up
too much. May be more interesting for a foreigner. But what I did like
was the paintings in the corridor and the history of both ancient and
colonial india.
The staff were very polite, friendly, not intrusive and helpful when you approach them.
Though I phoned them to book a room, on arrival they couldn’t find my
name in the reservation list. But they had no problems in finding one
for me. I wonder what they would have done if they were full.
The food was good and no subsequent bowel upset. Food price is
reasonable but one might want to explore the city and dine outside.
But the room rates( Rs 3500)appeared BIT TOO MUCH to me. Though the
interior decor was nice, the room size is fairly small with no balcony
or ganges view. I can only presume that the high price is due to its
popularity among foreigners.
In summary, if you dont mind pay slightly more, this is a very
conveniently located, safe, clean, uniquely decorated hotel, albeit
small rooms, with friendly staff.
By paying slightly more, you have the luxurios option of TAJ hotel which gets fullly booked very quickly.