Southern Grand Kashi - Inside Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor

The dormitory was luxurious, well maintained, and had all the modern facilities. Staying inside the corridor gave us a sense of divine presence. The place has positive vibes and a deep feeling of peace and calm. A wonderful, spiritually enriching stay.

I didn’t feel safe or comfortable here as a solo female traveler. The staff didn’t make guests feel secure, and the safety concerns for women are alarming. Men and women share the same dormitory and restrooms, there’s no monitoring of camera footage for people coming and going, and sick guests are made to share the dorm without health checks. The other guests also didn’t seem good. The location is upsetting too: there’s no direct gate to the hotel, and you have to walk through areas that felt unsafe and where people approach you unsolicited. Hygiene is a problem. The bathrooms were extremely dirty, used by staff and guests all night, and staff only clean or change bedsheets when you point it out. Feedback isn’t accepted, and suggestions are strongly rejected. The guest house lacks basic services you’d expect from a hotel. It may be okay for budget travelers who just need a place to stay, but not for devotees.

Everything at Southern Grand Kashi was good, but I have a few suggestions. Please install a Wi-Fi router in the rooms. Right now it’s only at reception, so guests have to go downstairs to use the Wi-Fi. The bathroom should also be fully enclosed, since water splashes out while bathing and leaves the floor wet. It would help to give guests ID cards too, because police keep asking for them, and some officers ask for the guest’s name as well.

Southern Grand’s location is a real plus if you’re visiting nearby temples, but I left disappointed. Room 101 had serious drainage problems, and reception didn’t respond to my repeated complaints, so I ended up using the dormitory washroom. Getting luggage to the rooms is also a hassle: there’s no proper transport, and guests have to carry it a long way themselves. The hotel’s boat trip was expensive and poorly handled. It was outsourced to a local provider, and the boat I got was substandard and struggled to start. The noisy engine made it impossible to talk, the trip to Assi Ghat took barely five minutes, and there were no stops at other ghats. When I asked, the driver refused, saying it wasn’t the right time. I’d only recommend this hotel if you’re there for temple access, traveling very light, and in a small group of 1-2 people. Otherwise, there are better options.