Hotel East View

The main reason to stay here is the view: the corner rooms look out over the river, and there’s a top-floor shared room with a great panorama. It’s a cool old hotel, and everything in our room worked. The young men working there were attentive and helpful, and the food was okay. We found the price inexpensive and were comfortable for our one night. We might have stayed longer, but someone in our group couldn’t manage the stairs leading to the hotel or inside it.

We ended up staying just one night instead of the three nights we’d booked for seven people across four rooms. I was travelling with four people over 65, including two heart patients with knee trouble, another person who uses a wheelchair, and a small child. At 10:30 p.m., with my elderly and disabled parents and the child with us, I felt I had no option but to stay the night. When I refused to check in and asked for my money back, the property manager told us over the phone, “just stay or leave.” Getting there was a huge problem. The hotel is in a no-entry zone, and we found out only after arriving that there are no ground-floor rooms. Before booking, I had checked twice with Fab Hotels and was assured that our rooms would be on the ground floor. We were also told by phone that an e-rickshaw could reach the property, but Fab Hotel’s website leaves out key details: it can’t be reached by rickshaw or bike, and the only way in is on foot. We arrived in the evening and had unimaginable trouble managing the walk with senior citizens, a child, and luggage. We had to hire porters to carry the bags and help move the wheelchair user. The walk from Maidagin circle took almost 40 minutes. A hotel staff member came along, but he’d also misled us from the start about how far we had to walk. If we’d known at the railway station, we could have looked for another hotel. The rooms had very small mattresses and poor hygiene. I feel Fab Hotels completely misled us about the property. With the health issues in our group, this wrong information could have had serious consequences if something had gone wrong. I expect Fab hotel to file a complaint, give a written apology for the misinformation, issue a full refund, and put accurate information about this hotel on its website.

The staff were nice and the restaurant was good, but the owner was dismissive when I asked for help finding parking or whether we could share the cost. We’d been told online that free parking was available. Once we got to Varanassi, we found the place can’t be reached by car and has no parking. We had to pay 500INR a day for parking, then carry our luggage through Varanassi’s narrow streets for 20 minutes.

You get a better look at the Ganga river from the hotel balcony, since the view from the rooms is partly blocked. The rooms are well maintained, and there’s a good restaurant. It’s beside Manikarnika Ghat, though the steep stairs to the entrance are worth knowing about. Both the stay and restaurant are a bit expensive.