Elephant Pushkar

We booked a Deluxe room at Elephant pushkar through Agoda and stayed one night. The staff were kind and welcoming, and the location is central to the town’s main attractions and temples. But the room and check-in problems made this a very unpleasant stay. The listing didn’t clearly state a check-in time. We arrived at 11.45 am and were told the standard time was 1.00 pm, though the staff said they were giving us an early check-in. Agoda showed check-in as anytime, with no specific hour. The room looked nothing like the photos online. I asked about that at reception when checking out, but they stayed silent. The hotel should state its check-in time clearly and post real room photos. The room itself was horrible and felt scary. The toilet was tucked into the corner, making it difficult to use. The geyser seemed almost dead, and we were afraid to use it. Plaster covered the switchboards to keep them in place. Body wash and shampoo were provided in the washroom, but weren’t labelled. It felt like we just had to get through the night and leave. For an old property like this, it wasn’t worth the money unless you need a central location near the attractions.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and the hotel is close to everything with a restaurant on site. We switched hotels afterward because the rooms were quite plain and had a funky smell, though that seems common in hotels here in Pushkar and India generally. Still, the enclosed courtyard made for one of the most peaceful nights of sleep I’ve had in India, once everyone had gone to bed after 11 or 12 am. I didn’t take any photos since we stayed just one night before moving on.

Looks grand by name, but the service was anything but professional. We arrived at 8am and told the front desk about our Agoda booking. They asked us to wait until 11 so housekeeping could get the room ready. Then, around 11, they suddenly said they don’t take Agoda bookings and have no connection with Agoda. We had reserved a super delux room on the first floor through Agoda at a very high rate. Instead, they tried to offer us a small, cramped room on the ground floor. They even told us to complain to Agoda if we wanted, saying, “Complain wherever and to whoever you want, we don’t care about these things.” We went to another hotel. Honestly, there are hundreds of better options in Pushkar than Elephant pushkar. It has a grand name, but the behavior felt like that of petty thieves.

The rooms are a good size, and there’s parking, plus a pretty verandah and garden dining area. The location is great, right in the middle of the market and within walking distance of all the places you might want to see. Staff were really good, and at 1750 the room was good value. The rooms and toilets do need modernising.