OYO 4316 Hotel Sai Empire

A good, economical choice for families, especially if you have your own vehicle. There’s good parking, and the place feels safe for families. It’s within 1.5 km of Shirdi temple. The rooms are newly built, so they’re clean. There’s no restaurant, so you can order from Zomato or Swiggy, or go out to eat. The manager is a good guy and will help with directions if needed.

All the staff were polite and supportive, which was the good part of our stay. We stayed on 26th and 27th April, and OYO had given us a very affordable price. The experience was OK, though, for a few reasons. There’s no restaurant, and the hotel is outside the city. Good restaurants are about a 1-2 km walk away. Breakfast was included, but we got only a limited quantity of puri bhaji, and I had a very bad experience with it. Also, the hotel advertises pictures of different room categories, including super deluxe, but may give you another category because it has very few super deluxe rooms. Be aware of that.

Four-occupancy rooms are very small compared with the two-occupancy rooms, even though both are almost the same size. The toilets could be cleaner. The hotel is 500 m from the temple. Otherwise, it was a good stay with friendly staff and a good location.

I booked a room at a very late hour while heading to Shirdi, and both the hotel and OYO centre called to confirm it. They were fine with me cancelling too. The room was neat, clean, and had the facilities I needed at a reasonable price, with cooperative staff. OYO’s app impressed me: it even lets you call reception, so there’s no need to remember a number. They seem to check the quality of what they promise, from the room and bed to the toilet, OYO boutique soap, and towels.