Reba Beach Resort - Hostel

The restaurant at Reba Beach Resort, Puri serves regional and continental food, and the setting has lovely views over the Bay of Bengal. The resort is close to Jagannath Temple and other local sights, with the beach and natural surroundings adding to the appeal. Rooms are kept clean and have modern amenities, and the staff are friendly and quick to help. It's a cozy beachfront option with basic facilities, especially for travelers who care more about the location and scenery than luxury.

The hotel's location is a plus, close to the temple and sea beach, and the in-house restaurant is really good. The service, though, was pathetic. Our room phone didn't work, and although they gave us a number for room service, nobody answered. For even small requests we had to walk down from the fourth floor to reception, since there's no lift. We were given just one towel for two people, and after pursuing it for a full day, we finally got another. In the newly built rooms there's no geyser. They said they'd bring buckets of hot water, but it was always late, even after calling ten times. We had no hot water or even morning tea before checkout. Checkout is at 7 am, so plan accordingly, since they expect you to leave by then. They charge 2750 Rs per room per night, yet there's no electric kettle. The old rooms aren't good either: small cockroaches came out when we switched off the light. I've stayed in many places and never had such bad service. We called for help, but they seemed reluctant to do anything.

The staff were polite and cooperative, and they let us leave our luggage in the lobby for 12 hours after checkout at no extra cost. Golden Beach is very close, which is a real advantage. Still, after two nights I left disappointed. The sheets had oil stains; they changed them after I complained, but the replacements had lighter stains. The toilet flush didn't work properly, and after one use we had to wait about 15 minutes before using it again, so we resorted to a bucket. The geyser wasn't giving hot water, and we were short on time, so we used regular water, which luckily wasn't too cold. The rooms also looked different from the online photos, which seemed heavily edited. I booked based on the high Google ratings, but the stay didn't live up to them. The price was too high for the quality and service, and I won't return.

The location is really great, close to the sea beach, and the caretakers and service boys were good and quick to respond to our needs. Mr. Anupam Dasgupta (Bapi) was especially helpful. We were a family of three and booked one room with a king bed and an extra bed. Honestly, the room was just okay and wasn't very clean when we arrived. There were a few oil stains on the sheet, and the table and cupboard hadn't been cleaned properly. Construction on the floor above us made noise all the time. Even so, it was a good staycation.