Hotel Arina Inn

The room in person looked shabby compared with the website photos. There was also a problem at checkout: even though they had confirmed my booking and the agreed price on WhatsApp, they charged me 2,000 rupees extra, saying they had made a pricing mistake. They claimed they’d sent me a WhatsApp message about it, but I never got one. They could have called to confirm the change, but didn’t.

The reception and hospitality were bad. They cancelled my room without giving me 24 hours’ notice.

The stairs up to this first-floor hotel are very steep, which would be hard for older people. The staff were local men who didn’t seem professional or knowledgeable, and the area they call prime felt chhapri to me. Inside, the rooms were dirty, the walls marked, and there was a bad smell. The wiring hung broken beside the bed, the bathroom jet spray was damaged and leaked so badly it couldn’t be used, and the WC was as dirty as a public toilet. Lighting was poor and the Wi-Fi barely connected. They charged a lot but still wanted payment for bottled water, with no complimentary bottle. When I asked for room photos before booking, they sent nice ones, perhaps from when the hotel was new. Google’s three-star rating doesn’t fit, and I wouldn’t recommend it even to budget hotel seekers.

I booked through Makemytrip, which was my second mistake. During my four nights there, the staff weren’t cooperative, the TV didn’t work, nobody brought water, and the towels were never changed. The hotel service was very poor.