OYO Townhouse 311 Ekana Stadium

The location is a real plus. It’s right by Ekana stadium, close enough to walk to Phoenix Mall, and not far from the airport. The room itself had plenty of mosquitoes, but they offered kachhap brand agarbattis to burn in the air-conditioned room when I asked for repellant. There was just one 1l bottle of mineral water per day, and no room service. Reception controlled the AC, so there was no remote. The bedsheets were stained, and staff said the other sheets would be just as bad when I asked for a change.

When my Zomato food arrived, the staff refused to bring cutlery. Even after I asked politely, they said I’d have to eat without utensils or bring my own. As a guest, I found that completely unreasonable. The response summed up the poor hospitality I experienced. Nobody tried to help or suggest another option, and the staff and management came across as unprofessional from the start. It was a frustrating stay, and I’d strongly advise people to avoid this hotel. Management needs to rethink its customer service and staff training.

There was no housekeeping during my extended stay, and they didn’t change the bedding. I also wasn’t given a dental kit. The bedding had visible blood stains, and neither the room nor the washroom was cleaned.

On my latest visit in November 2024, check-in and payment went smoothly. Renovation work was happening, though the noise in the room wasn’t much of an issue. The mattress was so worn that I could feel the springs when I touched it. There was no soap or hand-wash in the bathroom, but they brought some quickly after I called. The food was just okay. They wouldn’t give me a room key, either. At first a worker took me upstairs with the master key. When I asked reception for my own key as I was heading out, they told me to go and said they’d give it to me when I returned. I was in a hurry and didn’t have valuables with me, so I left. When I came back, they sent the worker up with the master key again. I’ve never had that happen here or anywhere else, and it felt like a serious privacy and security issue. This wasn’t just one bad stay. I’d been back several times since my previous visit two years earlier, and the room size was the only thing that seemed unchanged. The beds and service had both gone downhill. On my last three or four OYO bookings, staff said I had to pay more because they wouldn’t accept bookings below a certain amount. I paid extra despite already paying OYO, then got a refund after contacting them several times. After that, I started calling OYO before going to confirm the booking. Once, they told me the hotel was sold out and offered a refund or a transfer to another hotel. I was travelling and had to book somewhere else in a different area. That room was better, but if I hadn’t called, the trip there would have wasted my time and caused a lot of stress. My first stay here had been much better. I was alone in Lucknow for my first hotel stay and worried about the things I was carrying, but the room and washroom were spacious and very clean. I paid around 1.1K for a day with breakfast through OYO. The receptionist was sweet, late check-in wasn’t a problem, and they gave us the room breakdown the next day. It was a little far from Ekana, though getting a cab was easy. I’ve changed my rating from five stars to two because of how things went on later stays.