Hotel Samman

We stayed at Hotel Samman for 2 and a half days, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. The place was a complete waste of money. Rooms were filthy and badly maintained, with bedbugs and small insects everywhere. Cockroaches crawled through the room and bathroom, and both the bathroom and toilet doors were broken. Basic facilities were missing too: there was no jet spray in the toilet and no inverter backup in the room. The hotel fell far short of basic hygiene, maintenance, and hospitality standards. I strongly don't recommend it.

The location near KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE is convenient, but I was very disappointed by the hotel. Rooms were untidy and looked like something from a 1 star hotel, and the cockroach infestation was bad. The bathrooms were in very poor condition, and the geysers didn't work. The hotel never deserved the 4.2 stars shown on the website. They have a bad habit of taking payment before you even enter the room. The steep stairs are uncomfortable for older people and children, and the hotel is far from the station. Really disappointing.

At Samman, the room had glass windows that let in some light, though they couldn’t really be opened for ventilation. In crowded old Varanasi, that seems common: open windows can mean noise or mosquitoes, and buildings leave little space between them. The room and compact bathroom were clean, with shampoo and soap provided, plus two bottles of water. The hot water worked well. I didn’t ask for a towel, check the TV, or use the AC since I was there in winter. The only thing I didn’t like was the yellow lighting. Most Indians are used to white lights. There’s no lift, and the hotel starts on the first floor, so expect to climb at least one flight, possibly more. Lots of hotels in Varanasi don’t have lifts, and some have shabby rooms and bathrooms. Everything at Samman was fine, and the location is best.

The rooms felt cramped and didn’t match the pictures shown by the hotel management. There were lots of cockroaches on the bed. When we complained, the staff got angry, and they refused when we asked to move to another room.