Wind Chimes Hotel

The rooms are very small and smell bad. There’s AC, but no remote, and there’s no fan regulator or hot water. They provide only one blanket and one towel per room, even when there’s more than one person, and no water bottles. When we asked for water, they said we had to get it from outside. Don’t opt for breakfast. If they don’t provide basic amenities, what’s the point of staying here?

The owner was very rude and insisted that we stay, even though we didn’t like the rooms and had confused this place with wind chimes hotel and homestay. The room was literally 10x10 feet for four people. The owner demanded full payment in a rude way. When we refused to stay, they kept our advance and wouldn’t refund even half of it, so we had to leave without getting our money back.

We paid about 5 k for the rooms, double the usual rate because we visited around New Year, and it didn’t feel worth the price. We were twin sharing through the organising team, but initially there was only one blanket for two people, which wasn’t ideal when we weren’t from the same family. After asking several times, we got two single blankets. Hot water wasn’t continuous, and even after switching on the geyser or heater it could take an hour or more to warm up. It was chilly, so we barely bathed in the morning and headed out to explore. The hotel is close to Auroville beach but far from the city centre. There’s no food service inside, so we had to order from outside. There’s no phone either, so we had to go downstairs whenever we needed something. They could improve by taking care of these things.

The breakfast was OK, though there’s no restaurant in the hotel. For 3k, I didn’t feel the service and facilities were worth the price. The place is very close to the beach, but the beach isn’t clean or suitable for families. The road is so narrow that two cars can’t pass, and the parking area is cramped enough that when you wake up depends on your neighbours’ checkout time. There were no toiletries or towels. The rooms weren’t very clean, and they’d used room spray. I spotted spiderwebs throughout the room, and the false ceiling was starting to decay. Water bottles and Wi-Fi were available on demand.