Don’t make the mistake we made, of deciding to spend our holiday in Sterling resorts, Fernhill, Ooty. This is the fifth day of our seven-day RCI holiday and we are leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We stayed on so long only because it was a birthday gift to my wife, and today is her birthday.
Reviews on the net had warned of poor infrastructure & service, but we pressed on regardless as we wanted to visit Ooty. We were foolhardy. On arrival, we were greeted by a pile of soiled linen outside our apartment door. The state of the kitchenette is to be seen to be believed, with a dirty gas burner to encrusted, cracked rolling pin & plate and a handle-less saucepan.
The lino on the floor is scratched & dirty looking and the stained bedroom carpet has never been acquainted with a vacuum-cleaner. One of the bedside lamps tilts alarmingly and the very poor reception of the TV & the channels on offer(no national news channel) ensures that it is merely ornamental. The remote, which we received after a day, on request, worked fitfully & threatened to come apart in our hands.
To be fair, the property, though slightly isolated, is well located with good views. Lack of maintenance has reduced this well planned and built resort to this state. The people managing the place are either financially or conceptually unable to do justice to it.
To add insult to injury, every activity, e.g. even a game of carrom or TT is charged. They even have the temerity to notify that if their meter fails to work, the guest will be charged between Rs.400 & 750 per day, depending on the room type. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
The worst aspect of this place is the service, or the lack of it. Our stained & well-worn bed-sheets have not been changed since our arrival & the towels have been changed once, on request. The staff are unfriendly & unhelpful with very poor attitude and anyone not adept at the local lingo will find it impossible to be understood. We have never been served before 40 minutes after ordering, (even when only one other table is occupied) in the only functioning restaurant which has a board saying “ Closed for maintenance” even at 1pm! The kitchen is staffed almost entirely by trainees who have barely finished 1-year certificates in Hotel Management, which is why the same dish tastes completely different on different days. The food, too, leaves a lot to be desired.
I shall be suggesting that RCI take this resort off their list, or risk losing goodwill. If you think I have been exaggerating, you are welcome to check it out!