Sumitel Sanderling, Darjeeling

The in-house restaurant is superb, and the staff were decent and helpful. The rooms are clean and well kept. It's in Chowkbazar, right in Darjeeling's main market area. Share cabs and buses stop there, and it's easy to find a vehicle.

The room was spacious, with good amenities, and the food had a tasty, decent variety. The hotel is in a convenient, peaceful location. It was clean, comfortable, and well maintained, and the friendly staff made both check-in and check-out easy. A pleasant stay, and I'd recommend it and come back.

The bathroom was wet and smelled of urine, and the toilet was dirty. When I used the hand spray to rinse it, long hair washed out from underneath and went into the drain. There was no bathmat, hand towel, or bathroom items apart from soap and shampoo on the wall, and the shower tap knob fell off. Despite being advertised as a 4-star hotel, my room was dusty, smelly, cold, damp, and unclean. I complained about the lack of hot water on two consecutive days, and staff checked the geyser both times. They eventually found that the hot water geyser wasn't working and moved me to another room, where the hot water still didn't work. I was checking out the next morning and didn't have the heart to raise it again. I just wanted to leave and cut my losses. The staff were sweet and young, but seemed inexperienced. This hotel could, and should, be much better.

The restaurant food was delicious, and Raksha deserves a mention. She paid close attention to our food needs and was genuinely nice, which made dining feel special. We spent three days here and had a great time. The rooms were spacious, comfortable, and well kept, and the friendly staff and room service were really helpful.