The Rishi Villa

The place is quiet, and you can walk around the outdoor areas without people watching you. The bed was comfortable, but the air conditioner kept chugging at night, so I had to turn it off and ended up sweaty. The staff are very nice and apologetic, but that doesn’t fix things that should be taken care of before guests arrive. There are quite a few maintenance problems, plus the usual dirty laundry. Maybe 75% of it is good, while the other 25% is poor or unfinished work, or things that don’t work right. The water pressure inside was terrible and the outdoor shower didn’t work. At 500k a night, the size would make this a fair deal. Paying close to 800k, though, left me feeling like I was in an unfinished project or a partly abandoned property. I’d stay again, but hope it’s been repaired by then.

There’s an Indian restaurant and a shopping mart right across from the hotel, and you can rent bikes to explore the city. The staff are very kind, the pool is clean and working well, and the kitchen has an induction cooktop and microwave. It’s still good value for money, though the well-planned, well-built infrastructure needs more upkeep these days.

The pool was so dirty I couldn’t tell when it had last been cleaned. When I asked about cleaning it, they said the machine was broken. There’s a jacuzzi, but I was told it wasn’t working. Breakfast comes from a printed list of five or six items, but for vegetarians there were only three choices: watermelon, powder-based juice, and very dark black coffee. I also asked for bread as a vegetarian and was told they didn’t have any. For a four-star hotel, there really aren’t the services or upkeep you’d expect. If you just want somewhere to sleep and waste a lot of money, then sure, this is the place.

The location is the one good thing here. There are maintenance problems, and although there’s a gas stove, there’s no gas. I wouldn’t recommend staying.