Hotel Kingfisher

The location worked well for getting around: the port, Bharatpur, and Laxmanpur beach were each about a five-minute drive. The stay itself was a different story. There was no hot water in the room and the cold water came and went. Checkout was firmly at 9 a.m.; they wouldn't give us even another half hour, despite our cab coming at 10. The room wasn't clean either. I found several strands of someone else's hair in the bed. Wi-Fi was patchy, and only worked at my bed. Step outside to the main road and Airtel gets 4G, but inside the hotel the connection was terrible. Breakfast was edible, but not great. The restaurant was badly understaffed, with one person trying to do the work of three. The phone kept ringing unanswered while guests waited as long as 45 minutes to be served. I'm not sure why there are so many good reviews. Maybe things have changed recently, or maybe I was just unlucky, but this was a very bad experience for me.

The rooms were spacious and pretty neat, and we had no other real problems during our one-day stay on Neil Island. The hotel is close to the tourist spots too. Our room was near the backyard, though, and the corridor outside it smelled so bad that it was hard to breathe whenever we stepped out. We told the staff, but they only sprayed room freshener instead of looking into the cause, and the smell came back. The dryer also kept stopping every couple of minutes, so we had to wait for it to work again each time.

Service and location were both very good. It's in the main market, close to the jetty and beaches. The rooms are really good, with nice interiors, and the food ranges from average to good. The price felt about 20% too high. It's a ground-plus-three-storey hotel, which felt like a city building on Neil Island. A resort-style place might give a better island experience.

It's near the jetty, but the service, staff, and rooms were pathetic. They rudely refused when we asked for omelettes, and much of the menu wasn't available. What they did have was limited to breakfast or lunch hours, and an order could take 90 minutes to reach the room. Checkout is strictly at 9 a.m. We saw people waiting around reception with their bags packed and nowhere to go. At best, this is a hotel to avoid.