If you want to see Sai Baba in Shirdi, I suggest u sleep on the streets (the lord might be pleased by your ascetic style) - but don’t ever think of staying at Neeta International (the con starts with the name) The guy who sold my bus ticket to Shirdi said that Neeta was the ‘place’ to stay as it was a gr8 hotel with a capsule lift. I didin’t know wot that meant cos I don’t sleep in a lift. But I didn’t know much abt Shirdi, and since I was going there along with my family, I took his word and paid 1000 bucks for a dble bed non AC room at Neeta.
That’s steep since I learnt later that an AC room at mtdc inn costs 700. Since the company that owns the Volvo to Shirdi owns the hotel, I thought it would be ok. As soon as I got into the stinking room I realized that it didn’t have room service cos the intercom service had ‘burnt down”. The telephone was a useless toy for my 11 month old to play with. So whether I needed a bar of soap or a cup of tea I had to holler for a waiter or hobble down ( I had an injured knee) two floors. Hmm that’s another thing - there were no soap or towels in the hotel… The unpleasant surprises continued…the bathroom was stinking of (well let me not gross you out)…the windows had no lock… And the worst was yet to come. We returned from the visit to the temple. Happy and tired.
I flopped down on the bed only to discover a red stain on the pillow. Was it blood? The horror continued, I pulled the rug away and saw that the sheet covering the bed was TORN RIGHT THRU THE CENTRE. I lost it, ran down, told the manager that a beggar received better treatment, and they should charge 100 bucks for the room…when the attendant assured me that the stain on the pillow wasn’t blood…it was the bindi of a woman. Those guys had not bothered to change the bed linen after the previous guests had vacated the room. After my volatile reaction…they did give us a pair of towels and cleaner sheets. The next morning there was no hot water…no water actually.
I was told that pipe mein hawa jam gaya…well well well… Don’t even consider this hell hole. I am sure that there are many cheap guest houses which offer better service. All in all I liked my trip to Shirdi. After all, my purpose was to see the Lord…not to pamper myself at a luxurious hotel. But the least I expect are some neatness and basic services.