The Grand Vanam

You can get an auto or taxi right outside, and restaurants are within 300 meters. The location is very good. There’s also a wine shop next door, which isn’t great for families.

I’d avoid this place. The receptionist was unprofessional, the sheets were dirty and torn, and they didn’t fit the bed properly. I also saw cockroaches in the dark. This isn’t a three-star hotel, and it’s right beside an alcohol shop.

The bathroom setup was a privacy worry: its ventilator opened straight onto the floor’s verandah, with a sofa placed right below it. At night, the bar next door drew a loud local crowd and the area felt unsafe and uncomfortable. This didn’t feel suitable for families, and I’d tell solo travelers to avoid it too. We booked through Cleartrip.com and arrived with our family. I got one of only three parking spaces, but my car ended up with several scratches, apparently from people visiting the hotel bar. There seemed to be little supervision or security. Inside, the sheets were stained and smelly, while the bathroom was badly maintained, with a yellow-stained toilet and washbasin and broken taps. We had no hot water and weren’t given even a complimentary water bottle. For the money, it was a misleading listing and the worst hotel stay I’ve had in Mysore.

The room had two half-litre bottles of water, two glasses, an empty flask, two bath towels, a TV, two chairs, a small teapoy, and a shelf with a long mirror. The hotel is around 3.3 km from Mysore railway station. We paid a pretty high rate because we booked during Dussehra. The rooms and hotel were clean, but the bathroom fell short: its amenities weren’t maintained well and the pipes were damaged.